The Winter Olympic Games returned to Lake Placid, New York for the second time in 1980. It was the first town chosen to host the Winter Games in 1932, and the United States topped the competition with six gold medals. and 12 medals overall.
As the second edition of the Lake Placid Games deepened the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, the competition represented an opportunity for athletes from both sides to prove who was the best. , with intense media scrutiny and high expectations from fans at home.
The Soviet Union and Soviet-bloc member nation East Germany were ranked #1 and #2 respectively in the medal standings at the conclusion of the games. The Soviet Union’s medal tally was 22 with 10 golds, while East German athletes took home a total of twenty-four, including nine golds.
However, America’s heaviest defeat of the Soviet Union in men hockey shocked millions of Americans and speed. skater Eric Heiden’s unprecedented five gold medals made his country very proud.
The following list includes information on the ten athletes we consider to be the top medalists at the 1980 Lake Placid Games:
Vladimir Alikin: Alikin was a biathlete for the Soviet Union. He earned a gold medal and finished second in the 10-kilometer sprint for a silver medal.
Anatoly Alyabyev: Alyabyev was the second highest biathlete for the Soviet Union in Lake Placid and performed better than the aforementioned Alikin. Alyabyev took the 20 kilometer title and was a member of the 4×7.5 kilometer winner for two golds. He also achieved a bronze finish with a third place finish in the 10 kilometer sprint.
Eric Heiden: Heiden was the individual star of the 1980 Winter Olympics. He won five gold medals in speed skating, winning competitions at all distances from 500 meters to 10,000 meters. In the process he showed exceptional speed and patience. His victories also occurred in four Olympic seasons, and the world record of events in the last event was grueling in ten thousand meters.
Leah Poulos: Poulos has also represented the US in speed skating. She won silver in the 500- and 1,000-meter races, and shared a bronze medal with teammate Beth Heiden in the 3,000 meters to give the U.S. the best showing overall in women’s speed skating.
Hilkka Riihivuori: Riihivuori was a cross-country skiing star in Finland and achieved Olympic glory at the Lake Placid Games. He earned two podium finishes for both the 5 kilometer and 10 kilometer events.
Ingemar Stenmark: The pride of Sweden, Stenmark ranks as one of the world’s best slalom skiers of all time. In 1980, he won both the Slalom and Giant Slalom golds. The world was also three times more impure.
Ulrich Wehling: Wehling reigned supreme in Nordic skiing throughout the 1970s, and the Lake Placid Games in 1980 were no different. In fact, East German athletes won three consecutive gold medals from 1972-1980.
Hanni Wenzel: Wenzel dominated the women’s alpine skiing event in Lake Placid, Liechtenstein. He earned a pair of golds in the slalom and added a silver in the Exin.
Frank Ullrich: One of the most winter decorations sports athletes of recent times, Ullrich excelled at Lake It was a peaceful game. Competing for East Germany, he won gold in the 10 kilometer sprint. He also earned a pair of silvers: one in the 20-kilometer race, and the other as part of the 4×7.5-kilometer public race.
Nikolay Zimyatov: Zimyatov helped the Soviet Union to the top medal haul with three golds in his cross-country skiing. He won both the 30 and 50 kilometer races, as well as the 4×10 kilometer public race with his teammates.
Patrick Hattman covered the London Games for Yahoo! Contributor Network. I am already looking forward to the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
