MOSCOW 1980

At the turn of the decade the Cold War turned chillier and the future of the Olympics became increasingly problematic.

After U.S. President Jimmy Carter led a western boycott in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan the previous year, the Moscow events, particularly on the track, were devalued.

Britain's outstanding middle-distance duo Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett won gold medals in ostensibly their weaker events with Coe triumphing in the 1,500 after running a tactically naive 800 to finish behind his compatriot.

Ethiopian Miruts Yifter, 35 years old according to the record books although he was believed to be even older, won the 5,000-10,000 double and East German Waldermar Cierpinski successfully defended his marathon title.

Cuban heavyweight Teofilo Stevenson, acclaimed as a fighter with the potential to challenge Muhammad Ali if he were tempted to leave the amateur arena, became the first boxer to win three titles in a row in the same division.

At the end of the Games the future of the Olympic movement was shrouded in doubt with the financial chaos of the Montreal Games now succeeded by the political impasse between the two superpowers.