The Moscow 1980 Olympics Boycott

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The Olympic Boycott

The Olympic boycott was the attempt to keep many nations out of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, in a movement to draw the Soviets out of the Afghanistan war. The U.S knew that if they could start a boycott that it would ripple through all the nations and they would all follow the boycott. The U.S. didn’t want the Olympics to come to an end, they were hoping to put Russia in a position where they would have to make the soviets pull out. If the Soviets didn’t withdraw from the war, then Moscow could be looking at major debts for the 1980 Olympics.

Though the boycott was a smart idea; to prove a point, but the nations boycotting had to deal with all the people that were to participate, and missed their chance of a lifetime. President Carter stated, ‘“Regardless of what other nations might do, I would not favor the sending of an American Olympic team to Moscow while the Soviet invasion troops are in Afghanistan.”’ (Bigelow) If the Soviets didn’t retreat within a month of the Olympics, from the invasion, President Jimmy Carter would withdraw from the Olympics along with many nations. Canada, some of Germany, and Japan joined the U.S. in boycotting the Olympics. Carter tried, but failed to convince Great Britain, France, Greece and Australia to also boycott the games. The U.S. not only issued a boycott, Carter also pressured the Soviets to back out on the Afghanistan war, by cutting off their trade supply of the goods they needed, such as grain and technology.

When an international coalition suggested that the nations that were boycotting send athletes to go to the Olympics under a neutral Olympic banner, President Carter threatened to revoke the passport of any U.S. athlete who attempted to leave to go compete. Rea...

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...y.com. A&E Television Networks. Web. 19 May 2014. .

Champaign. "Johnson Looks Back at 1980 Olympic Boycott | News-Gazette.com." Johnson Looks Back at 1980 Olympic Boycott | News-Gazette.com. The News Gazette, 20 July 2008. Web. 20 May 2014. .

Hill, Christopher R. "The Cold War and the Olympic Movement." History Today. History Today, 1999. Web. 18 May 2014. .

Sarantakes, Nicholas E. "Jimmy Carter's Disastrous Olympic Boycott."POLITICO Magazine. History Dept., 9 Feb. 2014. Web. 19 May 2014. .

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