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The Soviet Union was seen
as a major aggressive power,

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and there you had in the middle
of this dilemma the Olympic Games.

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The United States does not wish
to be represented in a host country

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00:00:23,740 --> 00:00:26,940
that is invading and
subjugating another nation.

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It was going to be impossible for
any Americans to go to the Games.

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The British government
did not approve

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of going to the Moscow Olympic Games.

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It became a free-for-all.

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We were sent letters and photographs
from 10 Downing Street.

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You realised you were in the
middle of a propaganda war.

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We were sort of taken
to one side and told,

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"Look, don't celebrate
anything too much."

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They were a good Games.

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It was the beginning of the...
people refer to it as the Golden Era.

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He had demonstrated that an
Olympic boycott is not effective.

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We don't ever really want
to go through that again.

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I was 19 in 1980 when I came here,

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and like a lot of young people
I was concerned about what was

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going on in the world and
the Cold War was at its height.

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And for me there was
a real fascination

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about coming to the
Soviet Union to see what

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it was really like, to try
and find out a little bit more.

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And I was really interested in what
I was going to experience here.

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'Cram stretching those long
legs of his. Still only 19...'

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Back in 1980,

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the world was a turbulent,
potentially dangerous place.

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An ideological war was
raging between East and West,

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between communism and capitalism.

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The Soviet Union was seen as a
major aggressive power with very

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substantial weaponry that was,
in our view, a threat,

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a serious threat to the stability
and peace of Western Europe.

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So the climate was extremely tense.

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MISSILE BLASTS

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Despite the ensuing arms race,
the US and Soviet superpowers

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would not clash directly
in conventional battle.

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But the Cold War would
impact on all aspects of life

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that pitched East and West together.

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All aspects including sport.

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At the Winter Olympic Games
of 1980 in Lake Placid,

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the two giants would meet on the ice
for what was always going to be

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far more than just a hockey match.

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And the United States
have beaten the Soviet Union!

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I have never seen such
scenes in all my life!

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While the Americans won that battle,
the Soviets had already secured

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a significant propaganda victory
over the US in the world of sport.

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The stadium seats just
over 100,000 people,

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though the Russians still hope
some two billion viewers

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around the world will watch
the display to outdo anything

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yet seen in the capitalist West.

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Some five years before America's
momentous hockey victory,

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the International Olympic Committee
had decided that Moscow

52
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and not Los Angeles would be the
venue for the 1980 Summer Games.

53
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Although, back then, winning
the right to stage the Olympics

54
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was not the glittering
prize that it is now.

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In '72 we had the tragedy
of the Israeli athletes shot.

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'76, we went to Montreal and there
was an absolute financial disaster.

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So by the time we
came round to 1980,

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it was like par for the course.

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Here's the Olympics,
here's more trouble.

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Frankly, nobody at that stage
wanted to touch the Olympic Games

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or really, as a city, the
movement with a bargepole.

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But while the Olympic movement
itself was listing badly,

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the quality of the
athletes set to take part

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had never been higher
or more exciting.

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'This crowd gasping at the speed
at which he takes these hurdles.'

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Around the world some stellar names
were preparing for Moscow.

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In America, a young Carl Lewis and
the world's greatest sprint hurdlers

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Edwin Moses and Renaldo Nehemiah
were set to make a huge impact.

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I was just 21 years of age,

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so it was very important,
my first Olympic Games.

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I had taken the world
by storm since I was 18,

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been the most dominant hurdler,
so the only thing left to do was

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to go to the Olympic Games
and win the gold medal.

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I was running very easy that year,
so it was a good year for me.

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And in 1980 I did resign
from my job as an engineer

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specifically to train
for the 1980 Games.

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I actually was in probably
the best shape of my life.

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Britain too was blessed

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with a golden generation
of swimming talent,

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and I was trying to force my way

81
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into an outstanding-looking
track team

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that promised a real
return of medals from Moscow.

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By the time we got to the
late '70s in track and field,

84
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I think people in the UK
were beginning to recognise

85
00:06:00,420 --> 00:06:05,060
that we were emerging as our
most successful national sport.

86
00:06:09,220 --> 00:06:12,300
But just six months before
the Games were due to start,

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the latest twist in the Cold War
would set off a chain of events

88
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that would deny the world a chance

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to see some of its greatest
athletes on the greatest stage,

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and it would threaten the very
existence of the Olympic movement.

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THUNDERING ARTILLERY FIRE
AND EXPLOSIONS

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'This is Radio Moscow...'

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For Moscow, the original entry to
Afghanistan seemed uncomplicated.

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00:06:42,220 --> 00:06:45,020
Christmas 1979.

95
00:06:45,020 --> 00:06:49,340
Soviet paratroopers poured into
the capital of Afghanistan, Kabul,

96
00:06:49,340 --> 00:06:52,940
to prop up a communist government
under threat from tribal resistance.

97
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They were convinced that the
war would not last very long,

98
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that everything will be over,

99
00:06:59,660 --> 00:07:02,100
and I don't think
that the Moscow Olympics

100
00:07:02,100 --> 00:07:04,700
were taken seriously
into consideration.

101
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This is a callous violation
of international law

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and the United Nations charter.

103
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It is a deliberate
effort of a powerful,

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atheistic government to subjugate
an independent Islamic people.

105
00:07:29,740 --> 00:07:33,820
A political boycott had blighted
the 1976 Games in Montreal.

106
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African athletes
stayed away in protest

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against the apartheid
regime in South Africa.

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It wouldn't take long before
talk of a much bigger,

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US-led boycott of the
1980 Games began to circulate.

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It was something that
we knew was on the horizon

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but I think many of us just were
hopeful that it wouldn't happen.

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Initially the United States
tried to persuade the IOC

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00:08:01,180 --> 00:08:03,220
to move the Games
to another country.

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00:08:04,540 --> 00:08:06,740
There were three proposals.

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00:08:06,740 --> 00:08:12,340
Not to stage the Olympic Games at all
at 1980, or to move the Olympic Games

116
00:08:12,340 --> 00:08:16,420
from Moscow somewhere,
to another country,

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or even to stage the Olympic Games
in the United States.

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00:08:19,140 --> 00:08:21,100
It's all very well
for Carter to say,

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"Well, we'll just move the Games."

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And they have no idea
of the complexity.

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You just can't do it.

122
00:08:26,260 --> 00:08:31,820
So we knew that, and we also
knew that if we caved on that issue

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that we would be in the pockets
of the governments for ever.

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The International Olympic
Committee are unanimous

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that the Games must be
held in Moscow as planned.

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The United States does not wish
to be represented in a host country

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00:08:53,420 --> 00:08:58,660
that is invading and
subjugating another nation.

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00:08:58,660 --> 00:09:02,460
They were saying, and got
their athletes to vote in favour

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00:09:02,460 --> 00:09:06,300
of a boycott on the basis
of the President's advice to them

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00:09:06,300 --> 00:09:10,220
that the national security
of the United States of America was
at stake.

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00:09:11,780 --> 00:09:14,140
Arrant nonsense.

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00:09:14,140 --> 00:09:17,300
Olympic dreams were shattered
because that was the one opportunity

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00:09:17,300 --> 00:09:22,020
every four years so when that's taken
away, it devastated a lot of careers.

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00:09:23,460 --> 00:09:27,700
I don't think you ever, in reality,
accept anything like that.

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I think you just adjust to it.

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00:09:30,340 --> 00:09:35,020
We had no recourse. I think the
State Department got very, very
political.

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It was going to be impossible for
any Americans to go to the Games.

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It left such a bad
taste in my mouth.

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The boycott was the catalyst for me
leaving the sport, going to
American football.

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00:09:46,820 --> 00:09:49,460
Because we don't boycott
American football games.

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00:09:52,820 --> 00:09:56,220
The situation was not
so clear cut for British athletes.

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It was seen as a flagrant
act of aggression and, as such,

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00:10:00,420 --> 00:10:05,180
it provoked a response simply
satisfying public opinion.

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00:10:05,180 --> 00:10:08,100
Those who believe that sport has
nothing to do with

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00:10:08,100 --> 00:10:10,700
politics are living in a dream
world.

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00:10:13,220 --> 00:10:15,780
Mrs Thatcher appeals again to
Britain's athletes -

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"Think again about going to Moscow."

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00:10:20,740 --> 00:10:24,260
As an athlete, even if you didn't
want to be embroiled in it, you

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00:10:24,260 --> 00:10:28,700
had no alternative because once
the British government had

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00:10:28,700 --> 00:10:32,300
basically laid down the policy it
became a free-for-all.

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00:10:34,100 --> 00:10:37,180
We were quite young and we were
having to deal with some

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00:10:37,180 --> 00:10:42,060
pretty difficult situations that
most politicians would find tricky.

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00:10:43,900 --> 00:10:45,580
Like coming out of the bloody zoo.

154
00:10:45,580 --> 00:10:49,260
I mean, over that winter we saw it
unravelling and we were reading in
the

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00:10:49,260 --> 00:10:52,260
papers and actually getting
letters from people saying,

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00:10:52,260 --> 00:10:55,260
"You shouldn't go," even before the
question had even begun to arise

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00:10:55,260 --> 00:10:57,740
within the governing body as to
whether we should go.

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MARGARET THATCHER: One way to bring
home to the Russian people the
enormity of what

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00:11:02,620 --> 00:11:05,820
has happened by their government
invading Afghanistan is to

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00:11:05,820 --> 00:11:07,460
boycott the Olympic Games.

161
00:11:11,060 --> 00:11:12,180
It was a moral issue

162
00:11:12,180 --> 00:11:16,220
and I thought deeply
about what the consequences would be

163
00:11:16,220 --> 00:11:19,860
and I think that the war would
go on irrespective of

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00:11:19,860 --> 00:11:22,260
whether I went to Moscow or not.

165
00:11:22,260 --> 00:11:25,580
The host country will say,
"They don't care that much.

166
00:11:25,580 --> 00:11:29,180
"Look, they've sent their athletes
here." And equally in the domestic

167
00:11:29,180 --> 00:11:33,060
opinion of your own country people
will say, "What a weak lot we are.

168
00:11:33,060 --> 00:11:35,980
"We protest about their invasion
of Afghanistan

169
00:11:35,980 --> 00:11:38,860
"and yet we've got all these British
athletes over there."

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Many athletes felt that sport was
being singled out,

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00:11:41,780 --> 00:11:43,940
that it was the only weapon
the Government was

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00:11:43,940 --> 00:11:46,300
using in its dispute with
the Soviet Union.

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Are you still hoping to go to Moscow?
That's what I'm training for.

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00:11:50,820 --> 00:11:52,580
And very hard, yes.

175
00:11:52,580 --> 00:11:55,420
I suppose for me the clincher was
being told left, right

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00:11:55,420 --> 00:11:58,460
and centre that
I really shouldn't be going there

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00:11:58,460 --> 00:12:02,140
at the same time that the Bolshoi
Ballet was arriving in London and,

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00:12:02,140 --> 00:12:05,980
I think, an oil pipe contract was
being signed with British interests.

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00:12:08,060 --> 00:12:11,220
I think some of us at that point
felt, "Hey, hang on a minute."

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00:12:12,460 --> 00:12:16,100
I think we felt very strongly that
had the full panoply of measures

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00:12:16,100 --> 00:12:19,780
been taken, of course, the sportsmen
would have gone along with that.

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00:12:19,780 --> 00:12:23,420
If anybody in politics ever thought
not sending the British Olympic

183
00:12:23,420 --> 00:12:26,020
team to the Olympic Games in Moscow
was going to affect

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00:12:26,020 --> 00:12:29,020
the situation in Afghanistan, they
would have to be foolish.

185
00:12:34,820 --> 00:12:36,220
Despite the opposition

186
00:12:36,220 --> 00:12:39,500
and all the pressure
I was part of a British team, albeit

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00:12:39,500 --> 00:12:43,380
incomplete, that arrived in Moscow
for the 22nd Olympic Games.

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00:12:45,980 --> 00:12:48,260
Some individual sports had
deferred their decision

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00:12:48,260 --> 00:12:50,860
whether to attend
until the very last minute.

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00:12:50,860 --> 00:12:54,500
Others, like equestrianism,
would not come to Moscow at all.

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00:12:55,900 --> 00:12:59,180
But all of us who came had defied
the wishes of our government.

192
00:13:01,740 --> 00:13:07,500
The security was, I mean, just over
the top in every conceivable way.

193
00:13:07,500 --> 00:13:09,140
Getting back in and out of the hotel.

194
00:13:09,140 --> 00:13:11,940
Getting back into the hotel
in the evening you had to go through

195
00:13:11,940 --> 00:13:15,220
the same process. Everything was
searched. You were searched, frisked.

196
00:13:15,220 --> 00:13:18,700
There was, believe it or not, a guy
called Boris who used to come in at

197
00:13:18,700 --> 00:13:22,140
four o'clock every day and fiddle
around with the television in our
room.

198
00:13:22,140 --> 00:13:24,300
And there was nothing wrong
with the television.

199
00:13:24,300 --> 00:13:26,820
We sometimes, once or twice,
sat in the bedroom and used to

200
00:13:26,820 --> 00:13:29,980
rail off at the Soviet regime and the
Soviet system just to annoy somebody.

201
00:13:29,980 --> 00:13:30,940
HE LAUGHS

202
00:13:32,500 --> 00:13:35,420
The Moscow Olympics had the lowest
number of participating nations

203
00:13:35,420 --> 00:13:37,380
since 1956.

204
00:13:37,380 --> 00:13:38,980
Just 80 nations were present.

205
00:13:40,380 --> 00:13:42,940
Many of the Western countries would
discard their national

206
00:13:42,940 --> 00:13:44,380
flag for the Olympic rings.

207
00:13:46,940 --> 00:13:50,140
But this was still supposed to be
the greatest show on earth.

208
00:13:50,140 --> 00:13:52,180
MUSIC: "Zadok The Priest"
by Handel

209
00:13:54,820 --> 00:13:56,980
And our hosts were determined to
show the world

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00:13:56,980 --> 00:13:59,500
they could put on the most
impressive Olympics ever.

211
00:14:00,940 --> 00:14:05,060
We wanted to have the largest,
the biggest Olympic Games.

212
00:14:05,060 --> 00:14:07,660
And each country, in particular
Great Britain,

213
00:14:07,660 --> 00:14:12,300
which was a very important
country from many points of view

214
00:14:12,300 --> 00:14:16,180
and particularly in sport,
we were very pleased to have them,

215
00:14:16,180 --> 00:14:19,620
in spite of the position
of the government.

216
00:14:19,620 --> 00:14:22,660
But for those countries
opposed to the Games, little or no

217
00:14:22,660 --> 00:14:26,700
publicity of what was happening
in the Soviet capital was the goal.

218
00:14:26,700 --> 00:14:30,180
The American network didn't go to
cover it so we had essentially

219
00:14:30,180 --> 00:14:33,820
no coverage of the Olympic Games
except on the news at night.

220
00:14:33,820 --> 00:14:35,660
We were sort of taken to one side
and told,

221
00:14:35,660 --> 00:14:37,700
"Look, don't celebrate anything too
much.

222
00:14:37,700 --> 00:14:40,620
"Because the British government
don't really want us to be there."

223
00:14:40,620 --> 00:14:43,340
Today, Britain's swimmers picked
up two silver medals.

224
00:14:43,340 --> 00:14:44,740
The BBC, for example,

225
00:14:44,740 --> 00:14:47,780
had decided they weren't going to
cover the Games to the normal extent.

226
00:14:47,780 --> 00:14:49,580
And then we started doing quite well

227
00:14:49,580 --> 00:14:53,740
and the more we won medals the more
coverage increased.

228
00:14:53,740 --> 00:14:54,980
Duncan Goodhew.

229
00:14:58,620 --> 00:15:00,060
STARTING GUN FIRES

230
00:15:00,060 --> 00:15:03,620
Away first time and there's under two
seconds separating these eight

231
00:15:03,620 --> 00:15:04,860
swimmers.

232
00:15:04,860 --> 00:15:09,300
I just knew that it was my time.
Goodhew getting by far
the better turn.

233
00:15:09,300 --> 00:15:12,460
25 metres before the end
I heard myself saying, "Duncan,

234
00:15:12,460 --> 00:15:15,140
"if you don't do something
right now, you're not going to win."

235
00:15:15,140 --> 00:15:19,500
Goodhew is now fighting back.
Goodhew has come back marvellously.

236
00:15:19,500 --> 00:15:21,580
It's a gold medal for Duncan Goodhew.

237
00:15:23,100 --> 00:15:26,460
And there was a moment where
I just savoured the fact

238
00:15:26,460 --> 00:15:28,660
that my life would be different.

239
00:15:28,660 --> 00:15:31,460
And that was a very special moment.

240
00:15:31,460 --> 00:15:33,980
Duncan Goodhew became the first
British athlete to win

241
00:15:33,980 --> 00:15:37,580
gold at the Games, but on this,
the proudest day of his sporting

242
00:15:37,580 --> 00:15:41,900
life, there would be no Union Flag
and no God Save The Queen.

243
00:15:41,900 --> 00:15:44,420
MUSIC: "Olympic Hymn"
by Spryridon Samaras

244
00:15:46,260 --> 00:15:52,420
And so, for the first time
in the history of the Olympic Games

245
00:15:52,420 --> 00:15:57,300
a British competitor receives a gold
medal under the Olympic flag

246
00:15:57,300 --> 00:16:01,580
and to the music
of the Olympic anthem.

247
00:16:01,580 --> 00:16:08,460
It was very strange. It was slightly
disappointing as a thing to do.

248
00:16:08,460 --> 00:16:10,660
But I'd prepared myself for it.

249
00:16:10,660 --> 00:16:14,100
In the context of the environment
and what was

250
00:16:14,100 --> 00:16:19,980
going on in Afghanistan,
it was a small price to pay.

251
00:16:19,980 --> 00:16:24,340
That first gold provided inspiration
for Britain's team of swimmers.

252
00:16:24,340 --> 00:16:29,180
Plymouth teenager Sharron Davies
went in the 400m individual medley.

253
00:16:29,180 --> 00:16:31,220
And coming into shot now
it's Sharron Davies,

254
00:16:31,220 --> 00:16:35,100
and Sharron Davies is going to
win the silver medal.

255
00:16:35,100 --> 00:16:38,180
Sharron's silver medal was
reward for a great swim,

256
00:16:38,180 --> 00:16:41,500
but the margin of her defeat to
East German Petra Schneider would

257
00:16:41,500 --> 00:16:44,020
allude to the next great Moscow
controversy.

258
00:16:45,660 --> 00:16:48,660
It wasn't a surprise to say that
East Germany and Russia

259
00:16:48,660 --> 00:16:51,740
and basically all the Eastern Bloc
countries had won

260
00:16:51,740 --> 00:16:53,980
so many medals,
particularly in women's events.

261
00:16:53,980 --> 00:16:56,660
I mean, they totally dominated
in women's events in the swimming

262
00:16:56,660 --> 00:16:58,460
pool, apart from I think it
was two medals.

263
00:16:58,460 --> 00:17:01,740
And it wasn't a surprise whatsoever
that years later all this

264
00:17:01,740 --> 00:17:03,740
evidence came out
and the lady that beat me

265
00:17:03,740 --> 00:17:07,180
called Petra Schneider admitted to
taking little blue pills.

266
00:17:07,180 --> 00:17:10,420
I personally have no issue with her,
because she was in a system

267
00:17:10,420 --> 00:17:13,460
that gave her no choice whatsoever
and, in fact, she's very poorly now.

268
00:17:13,460 --> 00:17:15,940
I wouldn't swap places with
her for anything.

269
00:17:21,020 --> 00:17:22,620
As damaging as the boycott

270
00:17:22,620 --> 00:17:26,300
were allegations of state-supported
cheating at an event that is

271
00:17:26,300 --> 00:17:27,900
supposed to be
the model of fair play.

272
00:17:29,540 --> 00:17:33,860
A gold, silver
and bronze for the Russians.

273
00:17:33,860 --> 00:17:35,660
Of course there was
cheating going on.

274
00:17:35,660 --> 00:17:38,980
I mean, we know those East German
lady swimmers who were

275
00:17:38,980 --> 00:17:40,460
popping all sorts of Smarties.

276
00:17:40,460 --> 00:17:43,140
I don't think there's any doubt that
we're going to see a world

277
00:17:43,140 --> 00:17:44,300
record from Schneider.

278
00:17:44,300 --> 00:17:48,060
I remember we put an official
protest in because we thought we had
men in the changing rooms.

279
00:17:48,060 --> 00:17:50,380
It wasn't men, it was
the East German swimming team.

280
00:17:50,380 --> 00:17:53,420
In fact, the Soviet judges have
been accused of blatant cheating.

281
00:17:53,420 --> 00:17:56,300
An Australian guy called
Ian Campbell, he was in the

282
00:17:56,300 --> 00:17:59,700
triple jump. His second to last jump
was further than the Olympic record.

283
00:18:01,420 --> 00:18:04,060
He quickly got a red flag
and the sand was raked over

284
00:18:04,060 --> 00:18:05,700
so they couldn't measure it anyway

285
00:18:05,700 --> 00:18:07,100
because it was a winning jump.

286
00:18:07,100 --> 00:18:09,220
They were cheating at lots of things.

287
00:18:09,220 --> 00:18:10,980
The results have never been
approached.

288
00:18:10,980 --> 00:18:14,820
This squad that goes on breaking the
world record, they've done it again.

289
00:18:14,820 --> 00:18:16,500
Kelly Holmes' winning time in Athens

290
00:18:16,500 --> 00:18:18,380
wouldn't have got her
a medal in the 800m.

291
00:18:18,380 --> 00:18:24,860
1:53.42, a new world record.

292
00:18:27,420 --> 00:18:28,420
The Soviet Union

293
00:18:28,420 --> 00:18:32,300
and East Germany won over half
of all the medals at these Games.

294
00:18:33,300 --> 00:18:36,780
The hosts won
an astonishing 80 gold medals.

295
00:18:38,020 --> 00:18:41,620
It was all about the propaganda
message of, "We are...

296
00:18:41,620 --> 00:18:45,700
"the Eastern Bloc is better at sport
than the Western society."

297
00:18:45,700 --> 00:18:48,140
And this was their way
of showing it.

298
00:18:48,140 --> 00:18:54,460
So from fourth to first in one
mighty jump, no medal to the gold.

299
00:18:54,460 --> 00:19:00,900
What we have to admit was that top
sport was a policy,

300
00:19:00,900 --> 00:19:04,260
was a part of a political programme.

301
00:19:04,260 --> 00:19:09,060
For some countries, like the GDR,
participation in sport meant

302
00:19:09,060 --> 00:19:10,220
much more.

303
00:19:10,220 --> 00:19:12,100
Russia got about 80 gold medals.

304
00:19:12,100 --> 00:19:16,060
Germany got about 47 medals
and the next highest after 80

305
00:19:16,060 --> 00:19:21,180
and 47 was eight medals,
so it was a propaganda success.

306
00:19:21,180 --> 00:19:24,900
And even when the stranglehold
of the communist states was broken,

307
00:19:24,900 --> 00:19:27,340
athletes found themselves having to
deal with the claim

308
00:19:27,340 --> 00:19:30,260
they only took gold
because the Americans weren't here.

309
00:19:31,860 --> 00:19:34,420
The Olympic final under way.
Wells got away well and also going

310
00:19:34,420 --> 00:19:36,940
well is Lara and on the far side
Leonard and Aksinin...

311
00:19:36,940 --> 00:19:39,260
They were the first
and foremost contenders for me

312
00:19:39,260 --> 00:19:43,900
to think about and when it was
said that they weren't going

313
00:19:43,900 --> 00:19:47,660
and they were boycotting, I was very
disappointed, to be honest.

314
00:19:47,660 --> 00:19:50,540
On the far side, Leonard of Cuba.
They can't see each other.

315
00:19:50,540 --> 00:19:54,780
Wells lunges at the line
and takes the gold medal.

316
00:19:54,780 --> 00:19:56,820
My Olympic Games hadn't finished.

317
00:19:56,820 --> 00:19:58,420
The big event was still to
happen for me

318
00:19:58,420 --> 00:20:00,500
and that was to actually beat
the Americans.

319
00:20:00,500 --> 00:20:03,580
They used to say,
"Well, the Americans weren't there
and you won the 100m.

320
00:20:03,580 --> 00:20:06,220
"If the Americans weren't there,
what value was there in it?"

321
00:20:06,220 --> 00:20:08,780
But I think a few weeks later
he ran against the Americans who

322
00:20:08,780 --> 00:20:11,820
would have been there
and beat them anyway.

323
00:20:11,820 --> 00:20:14,780
For one British athlete
there would be NO doubt that he was

324
00:20:14,780 --> 00:20:16,420
the true Olympic champion.

325
00:20:17,620 --> 00:20:21,780
On their way. Daley Thompson got
a remarkable start. He's miles ahead.

326
00:20:21,780 --> 00:20:24,460
Daley Thompson was a great
decathlete.

327
00:20:24,460 --> 00:20:27,060
He was by far the best
decathlete in the world.

328
00:20:27,060 --> 00:20:29,020
People loved him or hated him.

329
00:20:29,020 --> 00:20:31,940
But you couldn't fail to notice
that Daley Thompson was

330
00:20:31,940 --> 00:20:34,180
out in that Olympic arena
doing his stuff.

331
00:20:34,180 --> 00:20:37,620
The crowd already applauding
the greatest all-round

332
00:20:37,620 --> 00:20:39,460
athlete in the world.

333
00:20:39,460 --> 00:20:42,340
Thompson, the Olympic champion.

334
00:20:43,940 --> 00:20:46,620
But even the exploits
of Daley Thompson were just

335
00:20:46,620 --> 00:20:49,500
an appetiser for the 1980 Olympics'
main event.

336
00:20:56,540 --> 00:21:00,180
Coe versus Ovett is up there with
the best ever sporting rivalries.

337
00:21:00,180 --> 00:21:03,900
You talk about Ali, Frazier in boxing
but they were right up there.

338
00:21:03,900 --> 00:21:07,460
Two of the best ever middle distance
runners came from Britain.

339
00:21:07,460 --> 00:21:08,700
Extraordinary.

340
00:21:08,700 --> 00:21:11,580
I don't think they had much time
for each other, which was good copy,

341
00:21:11,580 --> 00:21:12,580
good for journalism.

342
00:21:12,580 --> 00:21:14,300
And they were different in style.

343
00:21:14,300 --> 00:21:17,220
Ovett was more the sort
of extrovert, somewhat enigmatic.

344
00:21:17,220 --> 00:21:19,300
Coe was sort of thoughtful and

345
00:21:19,300 --> 00:21:23,140
applied himself meticulously to the
art of middle-distance running.

346
00:21:23,140 --> 00:21:25,220
They were different kettles of fish,
as it were.

347
00:21:25,220 --> 00:21:27,580
That made it even more exciting
and more interesting.

348
00:21:30,300 --> 00:21:34,180
Our two careers were
converging on those Games.

349
00:21:34,180 --> 00:21:39,780
So we knew, I certainly knew and I
guess Steve knew that really if one

350
00:21:39,780 --> 00:21:43,460
of us was going to lift an Olympic
title, we had to beat the other one.

351
00:21:46,860 --> 00:21:49,380
The first press conference I had
when I got there, hosted

352
00:21:49,380 --> 00:21:54,020
by the British Olympic Association,
400 or 500 people turned up.

353
00:21:54,020 --> 00:21:55,340
And they were...

354
00:21:55,340 --> 00:21:58,420
It was the first port of call
for overseas journalists.

355
00:21:59,780 --> 00:22:01,940
It was quite a claustrophobic
atmosphere.

356
00:22:06,620 --> 00:22:10,060
Seb was hot favourite to win the 800m
and when I saw him leave

357
00:22:10,060 --> 00:22:11,900
and supporting him said, "Good luck",

358
00:22:11,900 --> 00:22:15,380
as he left, I remember him
being in a state of confusion.

359
00:22:15,380 --> 00:22:18,180
I think he had so many thoughts
and plans in his mind about how

360
00:22:18,180 --> 00:22:21,460
he was going to run the race that it
actually evolved in such

361
00:22:21,460 --> 00:22:24,260
a way that he didn't execute
any one of his plans.

362
00:22:25,500 --> 00:22:27,500
800 is a complicated distance.

363
00:22:27,500 --> 00:22:30,580
Actually, I would argue that it's
probably one of the toughest

364
00:22:30,580 --> 00:22:32,620
distances on the track to get right.

365
00:22:32,620 --> 00:22:35,700
Tremendous roar around the stadium
as they go on their way.

366
00:22:35,700 --> 00:22:37,460
Three Britons, two East Germans...

367
00:22:37,460 --> 00:22:39,860
It's the first race
effectively out of lanes

368
00:22:39,860 --> 00:22:43,380
but the first 110m are in lanes.
You then have to break.

369
00:22:43,380 --> 00:22:45,180
You then have to find
the right space.

370
00:22:45,180 --> 00:22:47,700
Sebastian Coe right on the outside
taking it fairly easy.

371
00:22:47,700 --> 00:22:50,460
But he's about seven metres
back as they break there.

372
00:22:50,460 --> 00:22:55,540
Eight guys, all basically
challenging for eight square

373
00:22:55,540 --> 00:22:57,580
metres of the track.

374
00:22:58,620 --> 00:23:03,500
In an 800m, if you make a mistake,
it's pretty terminal.

375
00:23:03,500 --> 00:23:05,980
And Coe now has got
himself in trouble right at the back.

376
00:23:05,980 --> 00:23:08,020
So, to be honest,

377
00:23:08,020 --> 00:23:11,060
giving Steve four or five paces
going into the last

378
00:23:11,060 --> 00:23:17,620
200m of an 800 and having been
off the back of the field for far

379
00:23:17,620 --> 00:23:20,340
too much of the race
and just not involved

380
00:23:20,340 --> 00:23:22,580
was really a recipe for disaster.

381
00:23:22,580 --> 00:23:26,260
Kirov leads, Ovett second,
Coe is beaten, surely.

382
00:23:26,260 --> 00:23:29,660
Physically, he was finishing like a
train coming into the finishing
straight...

383
00:23:29,660 --> 00:23:31,860
Ovett coming home to take
the gold medal...

384
00:23:31,860 --> 00:23:33,660
..when the race was already won.

385
00:23:33,660 --> 00:23:36,580
..to beat Sebastian Coe, who gets the
silver. Kirov gets the bronze.

386
00:23:37,780 --> 00:23:41,740
Steve winning the 800m,
he kind of won the wrong event.

387
00:23:41,740 --> 00:23:44,220
Once he'd won that, it was
like, "Can Ovett go on

388
00:23:44,220 --> 00:23:48,300
"and win the second one? Or can
Seb Coe come back and win the
1,500m?"

389
00:23:48,300 --> 00:23:53,020
When we finally came out,
I didn't feel too bad,

390
00:23:53,020 --> 00:23:54,900
because the final was my gold medal.

391
00:23:54,900 --> 00:23:58,900
I was 19 and reaching the final was
what I really wanted to do.

392
00:23:58,900 --> 00:24:00,220
And it was only

393
00:24:00,220 --> 00:24:04,140
when I walked out into the stadium
the enormity of it sort of hit me.

394
00:24:06,260 --> 00:24:10,300
What rich talent
we have in this event, the 1,500m,

395
00:24:10,300 --> 00:24:12,140
for all three Britons to get through,

396
00:24:12,140 --> 00:24:14,460
especially young
Steve Cram at the age of only 19.

397
00:24:16,020 --> 00:24:19,180
Coe of Great Britain, Plachy
of Czechoslovakia, Ovett
of Great Britain.

398
00:24:19,180 --> 00:24:20,460
STARTING GUN FIRES

399
00:24:20,460 --> 00:24:22,380
The 1,500m Olympic final.

400
00:24:22,380 --> 00:24:25,860
That day in that 1,500m,
Seb Coe opened a door for himself

401
00:24:25,860 --> 00:24:28,580
that meant he could be
classed as a successful athlete.

402
00:24:29,580 --> 00:24:31,260
And the pace is very slow indeed.

403
00:24:31,260 --> 00:24:34,820
I don't think we'd have seen him
on the track again if he'd lost
that 1,500m.

404
00:24:34,820 --> 00:24:38,900
Coe, just checking where everyone is.
But he's being stalked by Ovett.

405
00:24:38,900 --> 00:24:41,140
They seem to be going even slower.

406
00:24:41,140 --> 00:24:43,540
I got the last laugh in the end
because they were two

407
00:24:43,540 --> 00:24:46,660
ridiculously slow opening laps
and then an 800m race.

408
00:24:46,660 --> 00:24:48,900
It was back onto my territory.

409
00:24:48,900 --> 00:24:50,980
Straub makes the strike for home.

410
00:24:50,980 --> 00:24:54,100
Just over a lap and a half left and
he's stretching away from the others.

411
00:24:54,100 --> 00:24:56,020
Sebastian Coe in second place

412
00:24:56,020 --> 00:24:59,100
looking very comfortable, but this is
the strike we want to see.

413
00:24:59,100 --> 00:25:02,140
Can they outsprint each other?
Which one is the faster?

414
00:25:02,140 --> 00:25:04,060
Ovett coming up to attack.

415
00:25:04,060 --> 00:25:07,780
There will be no waves, I suspect,
today to the crowd. There goes Coe.

416
00:25:07,780 --> 00:25:11,660
He's looking for Ovett
and there he is, right behind him.

417
00:25:11,660 --> 00:25:14,660
And Ovett gathers
himself on the near side.

418
00:25:14,660 --> 00:25:17,820
Straub on the far side.
Could this be Ovett's first defeat?

419
00:25:17,820 --> 00:25:20,580
Ovett is in trouble. And Coe gets
the event he wants.

420
00:25:22,180 --> 00:25:25,460
Second is Straub, third is Ovett.

421
00:25:25,460 --> 00:25:30,620
And what a comeback for Sebastian
Coe, the man they write off totally.

422
00:25:33,420 --> 00:25:35,020
And he's revelling in this moment.

423
00:25:40,820 --> 00:25:45,140
Britain finished the Moscow Games
with 21 medals, five of them gold.

424
00:25:45,140 --> 00:25:46,940
Our best performance in years.

425
00:25:48,020 --> 00:25:50,300
Despite the boycott,
despite the drugs

426
00:25:50,300 --> 00:25:53,900
and the allegations of cheating,
these were a memorable Games.

427
00:25:57,780 --> 00:25:59,740
Oh, he's clear!

428
00:25:59,740 --> 00:26:02,100
But what of the Olympic
movement itself,

429
00:26:02,100 --> 00:26:05,860
how much damage had been done to
this already fragile organisation?

430
00:26:08,780 --> 00:26:13,180
Having faced down the politicians in
'80 and to a lesser

431
00:26:13,180 --> 00:26:17,460
extent in '84, I think the Olympic
movement was far stronger for that.

432
00:26:17,460 --> 00:26:20,300
..that I will faithfully execute
the office of President

433
00:26:20,300 --> 00:26:22,300
of the United States.

434
00:26:22,300 --> 00:26:24,980
I think, in a way, it was
more of a searing

435
00:26:24,980 --> 00:26:28,860
experience for politicians at the end
who were clearly on the losing side.

436
00:26:30,660 --> 00:26:35,940
At that time was very famous
expression of Lord Killanin saying

437
00:26:35,940 --> 00:26:38,980
that unfortunately the President
of the United States is wrongly

438
00:26:38,980 --> 00:26:41,620
informed and badly advised.

439
00:26:41,620 --> 00:26:46,300
It finally demonstrated, I think for
everybody, that an Olympic boycott

440
00:26:46,300 --> 00:26:50,420
is not effective so that if you
as a politician are advocating

441
00:26:50,420 --> 00:26:53,580
an Olympic boycott, you're inept.

442
00:26:53,580 --> 00:26:56,860
And if there's a cardinal
sin in politics, it's to be inept.

443
00:26:59,980 --> 00:27:02,340
Do you think the boycott had
an effect on Brezhnev

444
00:27:02,340 --> 00:27:04,060
and Soviet foreign policy?

445
00:27:04,060 --> 00:27:05,380
Absolutely not at all.

446
00:27:06,620 --> 00:27:07,820
Not at all.

447
00:27:09,940 --> 00:27:13,980
1980, of course, was also the year
Samaranch came to the presidency,

448
00:27:13,980 --> 00:27:20,420
and Samaranch drove the movement
into a very commercial era.

449
00:27:20,420 --> 00:27:23,260
The Games became a wholly
different type of product.

450
00:27:23,260 --> 00:27:26,340
But I think the Olympic movement
also looked back at '80 and thought,

451
00:27:26,340 --> 00:27:29,780
"Well, we don't really want to go
through that again."

452
00:27:31,380 --> 00:27:35,460
Back in 1980 I was among a team
of young British athletes who defied

453
00:27:35,460 --> 00:27:39,100
a government and ventured into the
unknown in a quest for medals.

454
00:27:42,300 --> 00:27:43,380
I don't think any of us

455
00:27:43,380 --> 00:27:48,580
have any regrets, especially
now, as it seems our decision to go

456
00:27:48,580 --> 00:27:52,140
to Moscow had an unexpected benefit
for the whole of British sport.

457
00:27:52,140 --> 00:27:54,300
We have always supported
the Olympic movement.

458
00:27:54,300 --> 00:27:56,860
We are one of the founding countries.

459
00:27:56,860 --> 00:27:59,820
And we've been to every Winter
and Summer Games.

460
00:27:59,820 --> 00:28:05,300
Fast-forwarding to Singapore, it was
a very important issue for us

461
00:28:05,300 --> 00:28:07,260
to raise subliminally.

462
00:28:07,260 --> 00:28:08,740
..the city of London.

463
00:28:08,740 --> 00:28:10,180
CHEERING

464
00:28:12,940 --> 00:28:18,100
Samaranch really did express
a lot of gratitude to the British

465
00:28:18,100 --> 00:28:20,140
team for going to compete

466
00:28:20,140 --> 00:28:22,820
and for the stance they took
and I think that helped us

467
00:28:22,820 --> 00:28:24,180
behind the scenes

468
00:28:24,180 --> 00:28:25,900
in the decision in Singapore.

469
00:28:27,500 --> 00:28:32,180
Had we not been to the
Moscow Olympic Games in 1980, I think

470
00:28:32,180 --> 00:28:36,780
that would have made bidding for us
for future Games a problem.

471
00:28:38,780 --> 00:28:43,100
This city, this country has changed
so much since 1980.

472
00:28:43,100 --> 00:28:45,340
So too has the Olympic movement,

473
00:28:45,340 --> 00:28:50,860
the legacy of those troubled Games.
Now everybody wants the Olympics,

474
00:28:50,860 --> 00:28:52,820
they are a huge prize.

475
00:28:52,820 --> 00:28:55,900
As I look back, I can't help
thinking the Cold War Games,

476
00:28:55,900 --> 00:28:59,780
with all its problems,
perhaps because of all its problems,

477
00:28:59,780 --> 00:29:03,700
played a huge part in creating
the Olympics we have today.

478
00:29:06,100 --> 00:29:09,100
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