1980 Winter Olympics


The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XIII Olympic Winter Games, was a multi-sport event which was celebrated from February 13 to February 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. This was the second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Games, after 1932. The only other candidate city to bid for the Games was Vancouver-Garibaldi, British Columbia, Canada, which withdrew before the final vote
The mascot of the Games was "Roni", a raccoon. The mask-like rings on a raccoon's face recall the goggles and hats worn by many athletes in winter sports. The sports were played at the Olympic Center, Whiteface Mountain, Mt. Van Hoevenberg Olympic Bobsled Run, the Olympic Ski Jumps, the Cascade Cross Country Ski Center, and the Lake Placid High School Speed Skating Oval.

Host selection

The selection process for the 1980 Winter Olympics consisted of one bid, from Lake Placid, New York, United States. It was selected at the 75th International Olympic Committee Session in Vienna on October 23, 1974.

Highlights

Notable highlights included:
There were 38 events contested in 6 sports. See the medal winners, ordered by sport:

Venues

The former Will Rogers Memorial Hospital was briefly used as press headquarters.
The site was considered ideal for the available infrastructure from the 1932 Winter Olympics, most notably the Bobsleigh run. However, the local Olympic committee needed congressional approval for funding to build the Olympic Village. Congress required an after use contract for facilities, and it was agreed that the Olympic Village would be built in accordance to Federal Bureau of Prisons needs. Following the Olympic Games, it was repurposed for Federal Correctional Institution, Ray Brook.

Medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1980 Winter Games.

Participating nations

37 NOCs participated.
Cyprus made their Olympic debut at the games. The People's Republic of China and Costa Rica both made their Winter Olympic debut. The Republic of China refused to attend the Games over the IOC's recognition of the People's Republic of China as "China", and its request for the Republic of China to compete as "Chinese Taipei". The PRC, on the other hand, returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1952 and made its Winter Olympic debut.
Participating :Category:Nations at the 1980 Winter Olympics|National Olympic Committees

Mascot

Roni is the Olympic mascot of these Games, created by Don Moss. The mascot is a racoon, which is a familiar animal from the mountainous region of the Adirondacks where Lake Placid is situated. The name Roni comes from the word racoon in Iroquoian, the language of the native people from the region of the State of New York and Lake Placid and was chosen by Lake Placid school children.

Theme song

The official theme song for the 1980 Winter Olympics was "Give It All You Got" by the American flugelhorn player Chuck Mangione, who performed the song live at the Closing Ceremony, with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra.