NEW YORK (APRIL 7, 2010) – Thirty years ago on April 12, 1980, Vice President Walter F. Mondale appeared at the Antlers Plaza Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado and passionately argued on behalf of President Jimmy Carter to the United States Olympic Committee and its delegates the reasons why the USOC should support a boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games.
Following Mondale’s speech a vote was taken on whether the USOC and its delegates should support the call for a boycott. In the end, the margin of 1,604 to 797 in favor to boycott the Moscow Games resulted in one of the saddest chapters in Olympic history as nearly 60 more countries around the world followed suit and supported President Carter’s initiative.
The process that resulted in this monumental decision, its aftermath and the gripping stories of 18 American athletes who lost out on their one and only opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games are featured in the book “BOYCOTT: Stolen Dreams of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games (New Chapter Press, www.NewChapterMedia.com).
BOYCOTT, written by identical twin authors Tom Caraccioli and Jerry Caraccioli, chronicles the stories of these elite American athletes who trained thousands of hours for their once-in-a-lifetime chance at Olympic glory in Moscow only to be denied the opportunity. The book also outlines the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan that began on December 27, 1979 that led to the boycott, efforts by a group of athletes to overturn the boycott by legal means, and the entire 1980 team eventually receiving the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award which is bestowed by the United States Congress. The 1980 Olympic Games were held July 19 – August 3, 1980, featuring only 81 nations.
Athletes featured in the book are: Don Paige (Athletics) Philadelphia, Pa. /Bahama, N.C.; Glenn Mills (Swimming) Ridgeville, Ohio / Chester, Md.; Gwen Gardner (Athletics) Los Angeles, Calif.; Gene Mills (Wrestling) Pompton Lakes, N.J. / Liverpool, N.Y. ; Craig Beardsley (Swimming) New York, N.Y. / Chatham, N.J. ; Sue Walsh (Swimming) Hamburg, N.Y. / Durham, N.C.; Bill Hanzlik (Basketball) Beloit, Wisc., / Denver, Colo.; Amy Koopman (Gymnastics) Arlington Heights, Ill.; Isiah Thomas (Basketball) Chicago, Ill. / New York, N.Y.; Carol Blazejowski (Basketball) Fairview, N.J.; Luci Collins (Gymnastics) Inglewood, Calif.; David Kimes (Shooting) Monterey Park, Calif. / La Palma, Calif.; Brian Gust (Wrestling) Lakeville, Minn.; Lisa Buese (Swimming) Louisville, Ky. / Palo Alto, Calif.; Linda Cornelius Waltman (Athletics) Ft. Worth, Texas / Boerne, Texas; Thomas Schuler (Cycling) Birmingham, Mich. / Wauwatosa, Wisc.; Ron Galimore (Gymnastics) Ames, Iowa / Indianapolis, Ind.; Debbie Landreth (Volleyball) El Segundo, Calif. / Granger, Ind.
Vice President Walter F. Mondale wrote the Foreword for the book. In the opening pages, Mondale apologizes to all the athletes who were denied the opportunity to compete calling them, “warriors in our country’s defense of freedom.”
In BOYCOTT, Waltman says she thinks of her missed opportunity each time the Olympic Games takes place, whether it is the Summer Games or the Winter Games.
“I don’t think I’ve ever watched a Winter or Summer Olympic Games, and seen the American team march in, that I don’t think about missing out on that. Every time,” she says. “It never feels any better. It’s really not about what you do at the Olympics. It’s being a part of the Olympics. You’ve heard that statement before and it really is true. That is something you shouldn’t take away from an athlete who’s given so much and worked really hard.”
Says Collins of missing out on potentially winning Olympic gold in gymnastics: “I truly did believe that if I had some my best performances during those (1980) Olympic Games, which I was on track to do, there could have been a possible medal for me and some worldwide recognition past the gymnastics world. Missing out on that will always leave me with an empty space, because I never got the change to fulfill that dream.”
Says volleyball star Brown of her 1980 Olympic status: “It’s something that I am proud of and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to play at the highest level and represent our country. While I know I was on the Olympic team according to the Olympic Committee and everyone else…it’s with an asterisk.”
Among those who endorsed the book include CBS Sports commentator Dick Enberg, who stated, “Boycott uniquely and poignantly captures the impact of American athletes denied the opportunity to compete in the Olympic Games. Nearly three decades later, I continue to appreciate and understand their heartbreak and anger. Thanks to the authors, we are reminded of their brave, but painful sacrifice. This book, then, becomes their belated, but deserved Olympic salute.”
Said Anita DeFrantz, President of LA84 Foundation, member of the International Olympic Committee and USOC Board member, “The boycott of 1980 was a stunning experience because I thought in our country, the individuals had the right to make their choices in sport. It is reassuring that the Caracciolis decided to tackle this story about America and American athletes in a challenging time.”
BOYCOTT is published by New Chapter Press – also the publisher of The Roger Federer Story, Quest for Perfection by Rene Stauffer, The Bud Collins History of Tennis by Bud Collins, The Lennon Prophecy by Joe Niezgoda, Bone Appetit, Gourmet Cooking For Your Dog by Susan Anson, The Rules of Neighborhood Poker According to Hoyle by Stewart Wolpin, People’s Choice Cancun – Travel Survey Guidebook by Eric Rabinowitz, The Education of a Tennis Player by Rod Laver and Bud Collins, Weekend Warriors: The Men of Professional Lacrosse by Jack McDermott, Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match by Cliff Richey and Hilaire Richey Kallendorf, Tennis Made Easy by Kelly Gunterman, among others.
Founded in 1987, New Chapter Press is an independent publisher of books and part of the Independent Publishers Group. More information can be found at www.NewChapterMedia.com.
I was there at that meeting as the USOC’s Oregon Chairman and remember the pall that overtook the crowd. The contrast, if I remember correctly, it was at this same meeting that Bill Simon, the USOC’s President said, “Warning, This area is infected with Olympic Fever, and it is known to be contagious”
Later that year, I was a member of the US Delegation to the International Olympic Academy to be held in Olympia, Greece where the flame would be lit to start it’s trail to Moscow. On our way we stopped, first, at the State Department for a briefing of what to expect from press that would be there and how to handle the large contingent of the delegation from Russia.
As it happened, I only knew of one person from the US media (Newsweek, I think) and the interview was short. The delegation from Russia from Russia was made up of just a few people headed by a professor of Olympic History. The biggest surprise was that they came without enough Olympic memorabilia for each academy attendee.
When home, I was present at several tv group interview shows with Olympians, from former Olympics, other sports personalities and those who would not be going to the Games. There were many different emotions and attitudes in these events. Some athletes bemoaned that they would not be able to go. Others said that in preparing for the games, they knew that these efforts could be used in other ways as they went into their lives after competitive lives. I see many of the latter athletes and, yes, they’ve used their experience of striving to make it to the games in their business and personal lives.
This whole decision by the US Government to deny the US athletes to go to the games was what caused Ted Turner to put on an alternative international multi-sport competition. While it did not carry the panache of the Olympic Games, it did, partially, fill the empty void left by the boycott.
The result, maybe, is that what is as important as the Olympic Games are, it is Olympism that helps gives and keeps the Games as the most important international event the esteem that it continues to hold.
Alan J. Zell,
Oregon Olympic Committee Chairman, Retired
Member, US delegation to the ’80 International Olympic Academy
Member, International Society of Olympic Historians
Member, Committee International Pierre Coubertin