Moscow 1980 OC - Lightning of the Cauldron

Exactly on time, three-time Olympic gold medallist, Victor Saneyev, ran into the stadium carrying the Olympic Torch. At the flagpole flying the Olympic Flag he passed it on to Olympic gold medallist Sergei Belov. Before the eyes of the amazed spectators a pathway connecting the field with the Bowl of the Olympic Flame took shape above the heads of athletes in the East Stands. Sergei Belov ran up along it to the Bowl and lit the Olympic Flame. Thousands of pigeons soared skywards, to the strains of the "Ode to Sport", written for the Opening Ceremony by Soviet composer
Eduard Artemyev.(Extracted from The Official Report Games of the XXII Olympiad Volume 2: Organization)

Belov is considered to be one of the best non-American basketball players of all time. He was the first European to be inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame on May 11, 1992. In 1991 FIBA named him the "Best European Player Ever".

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• moscow
• mосква
• 1980
• olympic
• games
• Oлимпийские
• игры
• flame
• torch
• sergei
• belov
• Серге́й
• Бело́в
• soviet
• union

[davo666ify]

Viva la URSS¡¡¡

[redletter2008]

@schueaj The boycott served no purpose in the end. LA was granted the '84 Games in '78, so Carter knew that his boycott would compel the Soviets to retaliate when it was our show. Like today's inpotent "sanctions" against Iran or Lybia or North Korea, the '80 boycott acheived nothing. It did not cause the USSR to pull even one troop out of Afghanistan. Once again, Carter failed. What an atrocious President (though the current boob is challenging). Moscow had a great show, even without us there.

[schueaj]

@redletter2008 I think it's hilarious that we boycotted the USSR for 'invading(actually invited by the Afghan government) Afghanistan to fight Islamic insurgents. Because America knows that any country that invades Afghanistan is evil.

[redletter2008]

I really liked the Moscow torch lighting. It was very impressive. I remember as a kid watching it on the evening news. Because of the US-led boycott, there was no US coverage of the '80 Games. Jimmy Carter ruined two Olympic Games with his useless boycott. The Soviets retaliated in '84 for the LA Games. I remember US athletes, who had trained for years, being invited to see Carter at the White House. Many of them gave Carter a piece of their mind, then helped defeat him a few months later.

[YagoDiego]

@rucksplash08 Sore losers! That is why in fact the US boycotted the 1980 Olympics. They would be surpassed by the USSR, the GDR and who knows... just unbearable by the US.

[rucksplash08]

@caravaggio31 More like a theft of epic proportions.

[iago68]

@caravaggio31 that's odd. i could have sworn that was 1972 munich

[caravaggio31]

Sergei Belov had the honour to light the cauldron cause he was the captain of the basketball team that won the gold medal at Montreal 1976, first time USA was defeated in Olympics.

An Epic victory.

[Gordao44]

A melhor Olimpíada de todos os tempos!!

[GabAxe]

@krLiThoxX Eso dicen todos los radicales, los que quieren justificar la injusticia propia, pero armar escándalo sólo por la de los demás.