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56-586: The 1980 Winter Olympics , officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980 , were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid , New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected as the host city for the 1980 Winter Games at the 75th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session in Vienna , Austria in 1974. This marked

112-528: A city of less than 15,000 inhabitants. The Lake Placid Winter Olympics brought together 1,072 athletes from 37 countries to take part in six sports and 10 disciplines comprising a total of 38 official events (one more than in 1976 ). People's Republic of China , Cyprus and Costa Rica participated in the Winter Olympic Games for the first time. American speed skater Eric Heiden set the record for most medals for an athlete in one edition of

168-630: A deficit of $ 8.5 million. After a request for funds and the authorities' refusal, the organizing committee saw no other option but to declare bankruptcy, but in January 1981 the Governor of New York announced that the remaining deficit would be paid by New York State. The construction was financed by the Federal government and the State of New York at a total cost of $ 92 million including $ 22.7 million for

224-674: A late bid to host the 1976 Games to the IOC in February 1973, with the support of the USOC. The IOC selected Innsbruck , Austria to host the 1976 Games in place of Denver, with Lake Placid finishing as the runner-up. IOC President Lord Killanin later stated that members of the IOC executive favored the Austrian bid as a way to "make peace with the people of Austria" over the decision in 1972 to declare Austrian skiing star Karl Schranz ineligible for

280-659: A selected group of athletes, rather than everybody, which was the case with the Olympic Games. The Soviets organized the first Spartakiad in 1920, a communist alternative to the 'bourgeois' Olympic Games, and in 1922 the University Olympia was organizedor in Italy , the forerunner of the World University Games , meant for students only. Regional games were another kind of multi-sport event that

336-732: A ski tester. Schranz began skiing before age five on salvaged broken skis, left by tourists and reworked by his father. At age 18, he won the first of three consecutive Arlberg-Kandahar downhill and combined titles at Chamonix in March 1957. Schranz won again the following year, rotated back to his hometown at St. Anton, and also in 1959 at Garmisch , West Germany . He missed the 1958 World Championships in Bad Gastein due to illness. The Olympics were unfortunately Schranz's nemesis. His disqualification from his fourth Olympics in 1972 for acknowledging that he, like all other top racers,

392-506: Is a former champion alpine ski racer from Austria , one of the best of the 1960s and early 1970s. Born and raised in St. Anton , Tyrol , Schranz had a lengthy ski career, from 1957 to 1972. He won twenty major downhills , many major giant slalom races and several major slaloms . Late in his career he was the successor to Jean-Claude Killy as the World Cup overall champion; Schranz won

448-605: Is a stylized Ionic Column that refers to Ancient Olympics . The indentation at the top of the column represents two basins which symbolize the two editions of the Games organized in Lake Placid. On the Games poster, the Olympic rings overhang this emblem. Notable highlights included: There were 38 events contested in 6 sports (10 disciplines). See the medal winners, ordered by sport: The former Will Rogers Memorial Hospital

504-584: Is no secret to us in America that the measure of federal support given to athletes in Communist countries (so that they win medals and improve the countries' image abroad) is on a level unknown to us here in America,” he told Congress .” This would be a step in the right direction, a worthy investment in American winter athletes.” The local Olympic committee needed congressional approval for funding to build

560-602: The Carter Administration joined Sakharov's appeal and set a deadline by which the Soviet Union must pull out of Afghanistan or face the consequences, including an international boycott of the games. On 26 January 1980, Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark announced that Canada, like the US, would boycott the Olympic Games if Soviet forces did not leave Afghanistan by 20 February 1980. Carter also proposed moving

616-465: The Governor of New York Hugh Carey declared a partial state of emergency to address the issues. The LPOOC attributed the transportation challenges, among other things, to the lack of communication with transport companies and the State. The Emblem of the 1980 Olympic Winter Games contains several symbols . The right part is reminiscent of the mountains surrounding Lake Placid and the left part

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672-619: 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 . These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1980 Winter Games.   *    Host nation ( United States ) 37 NOCs participated. Cyprus made their Olympic debut at

728-404: The downhill and sixth in the giant slalom , both won by rival Jean-Claude Killy of the host country. In his first run in the slalom , Schranz's time was only 0.32 behind. His second run was run in a very dense fog, which hampered his visibility, and Schranz claimed he was impeded by a race official which affected his race. He was given another chance to run the second run and took the lead, but

784-521: The invasion of Afghanistan , which led to United States President Jimmy Carter calling for the international boycott of the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow. The Western governments first considered the idea of boycotting the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics in response to the situation in Afghanistan at the 20 December 1979 meeting of NATO representatives. The idea was not completely new to the world: in

840-661: The world championships of non-Olympic years: gold in the downhill and combined in 1962 and gold in the giant slalom in 1970 . (From 1948 through 1980 , the Winter Olympics were also the world championships for alpine skiing.) Classified as a professional by the International Olympic Committee , Schranz was banned from the 1972 Winter Olympics and retired from the World Cup circuit in mid-February at age 33. In July 1973, he joined

896-724: The 1980 Games, and events were held 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. The Games were a success in terms of sport, but the organization was criticized because of numerous transport problems. The 1980 Games were the last to take place in

952-501: The 1980 Winter Games: Vancouver — Garibaldi (Canada), Lahti (Finland) and Chamonix (France). The bids for Lahti and Chamonix were withdrawn early in the bid process, and Vancouver (the latter hosted the 2010 games ), which was unable obtain the support of the Government of British Columbia , withdrew its candidacy on October 4, 1974. The members of the IOC awarded the 1980 Winter Games to Lake Placid on October 23, 1974, during

1008-594: The 75th IOC Session in Vienna . The Lake Placid Games took place in the shadow of the Cold War with a number of other complex international events occurring in the lead up to the games. In November 1979, Sixty-two Americans were taken hostage at the United States Embassy in Tehran by Iranian militants, a situation that would not resolve until after the Games. In December 1979, the Soviet Union began

1064-531: The February 1979 pre-Olympic ski jumping competition which saw spectators create an 11-mile traffic jam. Once the Games started, the inadequate transportation planning was evident quickly as American and Soviet athletes arrived late for the opening ceremony. Throughout the Games the main street of Lake Placid was often blocked by traffic jams, and journalists, spectators and athletes found long waits at bus stops. Spectators were often left stranded either missing events or unable to return home from events. After five days,

1120-636: The Federal government ($ 82.7 million), the State of New York ($ 32.4 million), and the organizing committee ($ 53.6 million). In the 2016 study of cost overruns at Olympic Games at Oxford University, researchers found the Lake Placid Winter Olympic Games had the largest cost overruns of any Winter Games at 324 per cent above the planned cost. The budget overruns were attributed to environmental protection measures, additional work undertaken to modernize existing facilities, overly optimistic cost estimates, and inflation. The Games ended with

1176-649: The International Olympic Committee: 1968 , 1976 and 1980. Until 1980, each of the bid attempts failed, either due to falling short of gaining support at the national level, or during the IOC vote. When Denver withdrew after being selected to host the 1976 Winter Games, the USOC initially supported Salt Lake City to replace Denver. But on January 26, 1973, the Salt Lake City bid collapsed due to unsecured financial backing and discontent by Utah residents. Lake Placid organizers submitted

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1232-473: The LPOOC prohibited private cars from entering Lake Placid for the duration of the Games. Instead the LPOOC provided car parks and a shuttle system to transport spectators to the competition venues, and hired 60 taxis and 300 coaches, instead of the 450 initially planned, to be available to athletes, coaches, officials and VIPs. The first evidence that the Games would be plagued with transportation issues came with

1288-489: The LPOOC's marketing director to be replaced. Further scrutiny came when another director was asked to resign when it became public they had not filed income taxes for a number of years. The company awarded the food management contract for the Games came under federal investigation for associations with organized crime. Revenue for the LPOOC came primarily from sponsorship contracts signed with more than 200 companies totaling around $ 30 million in cash, goods or services, and from

1344-719: The Lake Placid Winter Games was provided by the New York State Police and 26 other agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation . The organizing committee also hired the private security company Pinkerton National Detective Agency . The security headquarters were located at Ray Brook , which also was the site of the Olympic Village. Police officers were trained in hostage negotiation techniques and various sensors were installed to detect any terrorist attack. A four-meter double barrier

1400-610: The Olympiade de la République in France in the 1800s. In the late 19th and early 20th century, athletes at multi-sport events were almost exclusively male. As international women's sport began to develop, events such as the Women's World Games and Olympics of Grace were held to allow women to engage in sport on the international stage. Though short-lived, events such as these led to greater inclusion of women at multi-sport events over

1456-476: The Olympic Village, $ 16.9 million for the Olympic Center , more than $ 15 million for the alpine ski center of Whiteface Mountain , $ 7.9 million for the facilities of Mont Van Hoevenberg (cross-country skiing, bobsleigh and biathlon), $ 5.4 million for the ski jumps and $ 5.3 million for the bobsled run. Additional costs included transport improvements totaling $ 4.8 million, the extension of the electricity and hydroelectric network at $ 2.7 million, and construction for

1512-955: The Olympics became very popular nowadays. The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The Paralympic Games is the largest multi-sport event involving athletes with physical disabilities and is organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Arranged for the first time in 1960 in Rome , Italy . The number of sports, initially only a few, is still growing. The first Special Olympics International Summer Games were held in Chicago , Illinois, in 1968. The most recent Special Olympics World Winter Games in Schladming, Austria involved 25 sports and approximately 2,277 athletes from 133 countries. At

1568-489: The Olympics to Greece on a permanent basis to eliminate the issue of politicisation of the Games' hosting, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) rejected this idea. Ultimately, 66 nations would boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics , but this did not impact the Lake Placid Games. Another ongoing international situation was the conflict between People's Republic of China and Taiwan . Taiwan competed under

1624-832: The USOC requirements, with a referendum held in October 1973 garnering 75 per cent support for hosting the games, a joint resolution of the New York Legislature , a joint resolution from the Congress of the United States , a letter of support from the Governor of New York and the President of the United States. Lake Placid also secured the support of the environmental groups Sierra Club and Adirondack Mountain Club. Three other cities declared themselves candidates for

1680-625: The Winter Olympic Games after he medaled in all five speed skating events. The Olympic ice hockey tournament saw the young American team defeat the heavily favored Soviet professionals in what became known as the Miracle on Ice , on their way to the gold medal. In the other disciplines, Soviet Nikolaj Zimjatov won three gold medals in cross-country skiing and the Liechtenstein skier Hanni Wenzel won her country's first two gold medals in alpine skiing . The Soviet Union finished first in

1736-646: The beginning of the 20th century, another multi-sport event, the Nordic Games were first held. These Games were held in Scandinavia , and the sports conducted were winter sports such as cross-country skiing and speed skating . The Nordic Games were last held in 1926, after which the 1924 Winter Sports Week in Chamonix was declared the first Olympic Winter Games . In the 1920s, all kinds of other multi-sport events were set up. These were usually directed for

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1792-591: The course of the 20th century. Although the modern tradition commemorates the 1921 revolution , the Naadam festival in Mongolia is a continuation of ancient sporting practises amongst Mongolians. The three events of wrestling, horse racing and archery are thought to date back centuries and represent the three most important pursuits of a strong man in nomadic society. Alongside these sporting events there are other cultural activities such as dances and parades. Since

1848-462: The establishment of the Olympics, most serial multi-sport events have been organized for specific audiences and participating countries or communities. These affiliations include: The first modern multi-sport event organised were the Olympic Games, organised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) (est. 1894) for the first time in 1896 in Athens , Greece . After some celebrations (1900, 1904),

1904-521: The first Games for deaf athletes. The Stoke Mandeville Wheelchair Games , incepted in 1948 in England, were the first Games for wheelchair athletes. In 1960, the first Paralympic Games were held, connected with the Olympic Games . The Special Olympics World Games , for athletes with intellectual disabilities, were first held in 1968. Karl Schranz Karl Schranz (born 18 November 1938)

1960-497: The first Winter Games in its history. The Lake Placid Olympic Organizing Committee (LPOOC) was established as a not-for-profit corporation in December 1974. Its board of directors was made up of 48 people, with a 13-member executive board. Ron MacKenzie, who was instrumental in developing the region and securing the Games, was the chair of the organizing committee when it was founded. He died in December 1978, fourteen months before

2016-583: The games as a professional athlete. Undeterred, Lake Placid re-submitted the materials for the 1976 bid for the 1980 Winter Games, secured the support of the United States Olympic Committee on November 20, 1973, and made the official bid in September 1974. The United States Olympic Committee, embarrassed by Denver's 1976 withdrawal, required Lake Placid's bid to be widely supported by residents and government. Lake Placid satisfied

2072-685: The games. The People's Republic of China and Costa Rica both made their Winter Olympic debut. The Republic of China refused to attend both the Summer Games in Montreal, the Winter Games in Lake Placid and the Summer Games in Moscow 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

2128-540: The headquarters of the New York State Police at $ 3.8 million. In addition, $ 8 million was allocated for security costs. The expenses of the organizing committee were mainly administrative totaling $ 48.1 million, and for press and broadcasting centers. The increasing costs for the Games and charges of nepotism and mismanagement resulted in a federal auditor investigating the LPOOC. Public questions regarding accounting practices and contract awards resulted in

2184-673: 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. 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 (along with the song "Piña Colada") live at the Closing Ceremony, with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra (Canada). Notes Citations Multi-sport event The Ancient Olympic Games , first held in 776 BC,

2240-453: The legendary Arlberg-Kandahar events, winning nine times, from 1957 (Chamonix) to 1970 (Garmisch-Partenkirchen). Schranz' father was a tunnel worker in St. Anton, which led to an early death from tuberculosis ; his widow was left to raise five children. In addition to the hardship, their hut burned down. At age 12, Schranz became an apprentice ski maker, then worked in a sawmill, and later became

2296-512: The medal standings, with ten gold medals, while East Germany won the most medals overall, 23. The United States was third on both counts. After Lake Placid hosted the 1932 Olympic Winter Games , the community continued to bid on upcoming editions of the Games, submitting seven total bid attempts, including 1948 , 1952 , 1956 . Three of these were supported by the United States Olympic Committee and presented to

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2352-401: The mid-1970s, proposals for an Olympic boycott circulated widely among human rights activists and groups as a sanction for Soviet violations of human rights . At that time, very few member governments expressed interest in the proposal. However, this idea gained popularity in early January 1980 when Soviet nuclear scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov called for a boycott. On 14 January 1980,

2408-610: The name of "Republic of China" and with its national flag until the 1976 Winter Games. In October 1979, the International Olympic Committee recognized the Olympic Committee of the People's Republic of China after threats from China to withdraw from the Games, and forced Taiwan to take the name "Chinese Taipei" and to adopt a new flag for the 1980 Games. The decision was appealed to Swiss court, and

2464-534: The other hand, returned to the Olympics for the first time since 1952 and made its Winter Olympic debut, however then boycotting the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics . 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 ,

2520-586: The pro ski racing circuit. Schranz later became a hotel owner in his hometown of St. Anton and played a key role in organizing the 2001 World Championships . Results from the 1968 Winter Olympics and 1970 World Championships were included the World Cup standings. From 1948 through 1980 , the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing. At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980,

2576-631: The sale of broadcasting rights totaling $ 21 million and included $ 8 million donated to the IOC. Around 550,000 tickets were distributed for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. Ticket distribution to the public included different regions of the United States (65.8%), Canada (6%) and other countries (8.2%). The remainder was distributed among sponsors and suppliers (8.7%), the US Olympic committee, the organizing committee, authorities, donors and authorized companies (10.1%) or kept in reserve (1.2%). The public prices for tickets ranged from $ 15 to $ 70. Security for

2632-531: The second time the Upstate New York village hosted the Winter Games, after 1932 . The only other candidate city to bid for the 1980 games, Vancouver - Garibaldi withdrew before the final vote. This was the second of two consecutive Olympic games held in North America, following by the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Some venues from the 1932 Games were renovated for use in

2688-415: The start of the Games. J. Bernard Fell was the chairman of the board of directors and Art Devlin was the vice-chairman. The LPOOC's vision for the Games was a simple Games that would return to the basics of the Olympic movement. The budget for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games grew from an initial projection of US$ 30 million, to a total of US$ 168.7 million. The cost of the games was financed by three parties,

2744-412: The title at age 30 in the third World Cup season of 1969 , and repeated in 1970 . He was also the downhill champion for those two seasons and was the giant slalom season champion in 1969. Schranz won both the "classic downhills" four times each: the Hahnenkamm at Kitzbühel , Austria (1966, 1969, 1972, 1972), and the Lauberhorn at Wengen , Switzerland (1959, 1963, 1966, 1969). He also excelled at

2800-417: 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 . The existing facilities meant the Olympics could be staged on a reasonable budget and with limited environmental impact. It was not just a matter of convenience, either, according to Lake Placid's congressman, Representative Robert McEwen . “It

2856-506: Was erected surrounding the Olympic Village. The Lake Placid Winter Games were plagued with transportation problems complicating the planning and operations of the Games. The small mountain community did not have the accommodations or resources to handle the expected 50,000 spectators each day. Most of the accommodations within the community were reserved for Games officials and athletes' families, meaning spectators commuted as much as 90 miles daily to attend events. Anticipating these challenges,

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2912-491: Was established, such as the Far Eastern Championship Games (1913), the Central American and Caribbean Games (1926) or the Pan American Games (1951). The Olympic Games are still the largest multi-sport event in the world in terms of worldwide interest and importance (though no longer in participation), but several others also have significance. Other Games are intended for handicapped or disabled athletes. The International Silent Games , first held in Paris in 1924, were

2968-540: Was later informed that his first attempt at run two should have been counted as he missed a gate before encountering the race official, and Schranz was disqualified. A jury upheld the decision and Killy was declared the winner for a third Olympic gold medal in the same games. There was a great deal of controversy over the suspicion that partisan French officials were attempting unfairly to prevent Schranz from winning so that Killy would sweep all three races, duplicating Toni Sailer 's 1956 sweep. Schranz had better success at

3024-442: Was not a pure amateur caused a furor and subsequent reform of the IOC . In his first Olympics in 1960, at age 21, Schranz was injured but started anyway and finished seventh in both the downhill and giant slalom. He won a silver medal in giant slalom in 1964 at Innsbruck , despite being ill with the flu . In 1968 at Grenoble , France , Schranz competed in all three alpine events, held at Chamrousse . He finished fifth in

3080-419: Was the precursor to the Modern Olympic Games , although its first edition only featured a footrace and the number of sporting competitions expanded at later editions. There were several other "games" held in Europe in the classical era : Other multi-sport festivals emerged in the Middle Ages in Europe, including the Cotswold Olimpick Games in England in the 1600s, the Highland Games in Scotland , and

3136-442: Was upheld on January 15, 1980. The Taiwanese delegation refused to comply with the IOC's decision and arrived at the Olympic Village with the same flag and the same name as before. After being refused entry, the Taiwan team canceled their participation in the Games. The People's Republic of China, which threatened to withdraw if Taiwan participated under the name of "Republic of China", took part in its first Olympic Games since 1952 and

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