The stunning gold medal performance of the U.S.
men’s ice hockey team at the Winter Games pro-
vided a morale boost to a country dealing with eco-
nomic problems at home and political crises around
the world, and it helped to cover up an otherwise
mediocre performance by the entire U.S. Olympic
squad. The absence of more than fifty nations at the
Summer Games as the result of a boycott ensured
the domination of Soviet and Eastern European ath-
letes.
Successes and Setbacks at Lake Placid The expec-
tations for the Winter Games, hosted by Lake Placid,
New York, were immediately put into doubt because
of a chronically failing transportation system. The
small roads and inadequate transportation ensured
that many spectators either arrived late to their
events or never made it to them at all. Attendance at
the opening ceremonies, for example, was at less
than capacity because many people were stranded
and unable to get to the stadium.
Compounding the problems at the beginning of
the Olympics was an unusual weather pattern that
meant that almost no snow was on the ground. Artifi-
cial snow was made in order to cover the numerous
bare spots, but the conditions did not negatively
affect the athletes’ performances. The conditions
especially did not bother Swedish skier Ingemar
Stenmark, who won gold medals in both the giant
slalom and slalom. In the slalom, Stenmark held off
American Phil Mahre, winning by half a second.
A total of thirty-seven nations and 1,072 athletes
made up the Lake Placid Olympics. When the Games
were over, the Soviet Union, as expected, had won
more gold medals (ten) than any other nation. Its
haul of twenty-two total medals was one less than
East Germany. The United States finished third in
the medal count, with only six gold and twelve total
medals.
At Lake Placid, the People’s Republic of ChinaThe Eighties in America Olympic Games of 1980 725
Leading Medal Winners of the 1980 Winter OlympicsTotal Medals Athlete Country Sport Gold-Silver-Bronze
5 Eric Heiden United States Speed skating 5-0-0
3 Hanni Wenzel Liechtenstein Alpine skiing 2-1-0
2 Ingemar Stenmark Sweden Alpine skiing 2-0-0
2 Raisa Smetanina Soviet Union Cross-country skiing 1-1-0Leading Medal Winners of the 1980 Summer OlympicsTotal Medals Athlete Country Sport Gold-Silver-Bronze
8 Alexander Dityatin Soviet Union Artistic gymnastics 3-4-1
5 Nikolay Andrianov Soviet Union Artistic gymnastics 2-2-1
4 Nadia Comaneci Romania Artistic gymnastics 2-2-0
4 Natalia Shaposhnikova Soviet Union Artistic gymnastics 2-0-2
3 Yelena Davydova Soviet Union Artistic gymnastics 2-1-0
3 Uladzimir Parfianovich Soviet Union Canoeing 3-0-0
3 Vladimir Salnikov Soviet Union Swimming 3-0-0
2 Sebastian Coe Great Britain Track and field 1-1-0
2 Steve Ovett Great Britain Track and field 1-0-1
2 Miruts Yifter Ethiopia Track and field 2-0-0