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Moscow 1980: The Cold War Olympics

Steve Cram recalls how the Moscow Olympics of 1980 came to symbolise the intensity of the Cold War. As politics and sport collided head on, athletes faced tough dilemmas.

Back in 1980, a teenage Steve Cram was part of a team of British athletes who defied their government to go behind the iron curtain and compete in the Olympic Games.

Steve Cram returns to the Russian capital to relive the story of the most controversial Olympics of modern times. An Olympics boycotted by the United States because of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and blighted by allegations of cheating and state sponsored doping.

But these were also the games of Daley Thompson, Duncan Goodhew, Alan Wells and the incredible rivalry between Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett.

It's a fascinating story in which we hear how the games that threatened the very existence of the Olympic movement actually changed it for the better and, decades later, provided an unexpected bonus for the whole of British sport.

30 minutes

Last on

Wed 14 Aug 2013 18:30

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Steve Cram
Producer Stephen Lyle

Broadcasts

  • Mon 4 Aug 2008 10:00
  • Mon 4 Aug 2008 12:00
  • Mon 4 Aug 2008 18:00
  • Tue 5 Aug 2008 06:00
  • Wed 6 Aug 2008 06:00
  • Wed 6 Aug 2008 10:00
  • Wed 6 Aug 2008 12:00
  • Wed 6 Aug 2008 18:00
  • Thu 7 Aug 2008 06:00
  • Wed 14 Aug 2013 18:30