Lake Placid 1980 Olympic Winter Games
, athletic festival held in
Lake Placid
, N.Y., U.S., that took place Feb. 13?24, 1980. The Lake
Placid
Games were the 13th occurrence of the Winter
Olympic Games
.
The 1980 Games marked the second time the small upstate
New York
town had hosted the Winter Olympics. But, in the age of television and increasing numbers of spectators, Lake Placid was ill-equipped to handle the demands of a modern Games. Transportation was inadequate to move the crowds, and athletes complained about the confinement of the Olympic Village, which would later be used to house juvenile offenders. While the
sports
facilities were praised, they were spread throughout the area, making it difficult for spectators to view the events. In addition, organizers were forced to use artificial snow?an Olympic first. International politics also dampened the Games. Only months before, the
Soviet Union
had invaded Afghanistan, and U.S. Pres.
Jimmy Carter
was already threatening a
boycott
of the
1980 Summer Games
, scheduled to be held in Moscow.
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The Olympic Games
The sporting action, however, was memorable, as Lake Placid provided stunning victories for the Americans. The U.S.
ice hockey
team defeated the powerful Soviets, the dominant team in international hockey over the previous decade and Olympic champions since 1964, en route to winning the gold medal. Almost overshadowed by the success of the hockey team was
Eric Heiden
’s record-breaking performance as he swept the
speed skating
events, becoming the first athlete to win five individual gold medals at a single Olympic Games. An instant celebrity, he was uncomfortable with the media attention and later that year retired from the sport.
The
Alpine skiing
competition starred a Swede and a Liechtensteiner.
Ingemar Stenmark
(Sweden) captured the gold in the slalom and giant slalom only five months after having suffered a serious concussion during a practice run. The leader in the women’s competition was
Hanni Wenzel
(Liechtenstein), who won gold medals in the slalom and giant slalom and a silver in the downhill; her gold medals were the first Olympic titles for the tiny country of
Liechtenstein
. Her brother Andreas also won a silver medal in the downhill.
The Games marked the final appearance of one of
figure skating’s
stars,
Irina Rodnina
(U.S.S.R.), who won her third consecutive title in the pairs competition. Cross-country skier
Nikolay Zimyatov
(U.S.S.R.) won three gold medals, and Ivan Lebanov took home Bulgaria’s first Winter Olympic medal, a bronze in the 30-km race.