What was the boycott of the 1980 Olympics?

Boykot of the 1980 Summer Olympics was the boycott of Moscow Summer Games led by a number of Western nations, especially the United States. The boycott orchestrators claimed that they were protesting against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and saying that they would not send athletes to compete at the 1980 summer games, unless Russia did not have its troops. In 1984, the Soviet Union was retaliatory, boycotted by the Olympic Games in Los Angeles and Russia was associated with a number of Eastern Bloc countries. Even today, the Olympics should be completely without politics and serve as a neutral meeting for the most talented athletes in the world to compete, meet and learn more about themselves and their cultures. By decision to boycott the Olympics, the participating nations brought political aspects, and as a result it was difficult to shake the policy of the Olympics.

Russian invasion of Afghanistan occurred in 1979 and met a considerable opposition from the West, especiallyby US President Jimmy Carter. Carter introduced his intention to encourage the boycott of the upcoming Olympic Games, and other Western allies followed. The International Olympic Committee protested that governments had no power to have their national Olympic committees, and that it was up to these committees to decide whether or not to send athletes to the Olympics. Carter retailed by threatening to cancel the passports of athletes who traveled to Moscow to compete and boast American attitude in the 1980s in the Summer Olympics.

Several nations involved in the Summer Olympics in 1980, including the United States, refused to send athletes to the competition and indicate others would be punished if they decided to participate in their national flag. Several other countries said they would support boycott, but do not find athletes who wanted to travel to Moscow. As a result, athletes from several nations marched under the Olympic flag rather than their national flags and OlyThe Mpic anthem was played during their ceremonies.

In retrospective, the boycott of the Summer Olympics in 1980 was not a very healthy political or social step, and some critics believed that other diplomatic channels could be more effective leadership for discussion about Afghanistan situation. The boycott also set a precedent and caused the problem of future Olympic boycott.