1980 Lake Placid

Lake Placid 1980

The road to gold of the United States Ice Hockey Team in the 1980 Winter Olympic Games, was marked by a historical win over Soviet Union.

Ice Hockey

Lake Placid 1980 | Olympic Winter games

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In 1980 the US Ice Hockey team, created a ''Miracle on ice''

Eric Heiden arrived at Lake Placid as a national hero and favourite to win all five men’s speed skating events. In the four years since he had appeared on the scene from nowhere as a callow 17-year-old, he had pulled off a shock World Championship victory in 1977 and successfully defended the title twice.

Ingemar STENMARK

Highlights

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Eric Heiden - Speed skating

Irina Rodnina is the most successful pairs skater in sporting history, amassing a haul of 10 consecutive World Championship titles, 11 European Championships and three Olympic gold medals between 1972 and 1980 – during which time she was elevated to the status of national icon in the Soviet Union.

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Irina Rodnina - Figure skating

As Hanni Wenzel skied towards her third Olympic medal at Lake Placid in 1980, three flag-waving fans from her homeland of Liechtenstein cheered her on to glory. Their last-minute dash to the USA paid off, as Wenzel won gold in the women’s slalom, giving the tiny European principality a rare moment of sporting glory.

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Hanni Wenzel - Alpine Sking

Ski jumping is a family story for the Tepes. Father Miran was an Olympic silver medallist for Yugoslavia at Calgary 1988, and now his son Jurij has followed in his footsteps to become an Olympian for Slovenia.

Miran TEPES

Originals

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Meet Slovenia’s first family of ski jumping

Lake Placid 1980 - Overview Mosaic

Alpine Skiing/men/giant slalom - United States of America 1980 (Winter)

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INGEMAR Stenmark - Sweden

A member of Canada’s legendary “Crazy Canucks”, Steve Podborski was one of the best downhill skiers in the world at the start of the 1980s. But there was no greater moment than his third place at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games. He tells us all about it in this exclusive video.

Steve PODBORSKI

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Steve Podborski’s greatest victory: bronze in the downhill at Lake Placid in 1980!

The USA upsets the Soviet Union and wins gold during the hockey game known as the "Miracle on Ice" at Lake Placid 1980.

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The USA upset the Soviet Union to win men's ice hockey | Lake Placid 1980

Speed skating/men/500m, Speed skating/men/1000m, Short Track Speed Skating/men/1500m, Speed skating/men/5000m, Speed skating/men/10000m - United States of America 1980 (Winter)

Eric HEIDEN

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HEIDEN Eric - United States of America

As well as winning four gold medals at two editions of the Olympic Winter Games, Swedish cross-country skier Thomas Wassberg left the Games and his sport with a long-lasting legacy.

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Thomas Wassberg - Cross country skiing

Russian cross-country skier Nikolay Zimyatov won the first gold medal of the 1980 Games in Lake Placid – and by the end of the contest he would record another two triumphs, enough to earn him the title ‘The King of Skiing’ in his homeland.

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Nikolay Zimyatov - Cross country skiing

Any Olympic athlete will admit that to win gold takes a certain amount of ruthlessness, whether it be sticking rigidly to a training regime at the expense of one’s personal life or setting aside friendships with rivals once competition is underway.

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Erich Schärer and Joseph Benz - Bobsleigh

Lake Placid 1980 Overview Replays

Alpine Skiing

Figure Skating

Short Track Speed Skating

Speed Skating

Sweden

United States

USSR

40 years later: Remembering the 'Miracle on Ice'

Don’t miss when Olympic Magazine talked to one of the legendary names of the Winter Olympics: speed skater Eric Heiden on the anniversary of Vancouver 2010.

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Eric Heiden Reflects - Speed Skating | Vancouver 2010 Highlights

Figure skating/men/individual - United States of America 1980 (Winter)

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JEWELL Tyler - USSR

After his gold medal-winning heroics at the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, downhill star Franz Klammer became an Austrian hero and an international sporting celebrity. Such was his status that four years later, Olympic squad coach Karl Kahr was forced to explain on national TV his decision to leave the ace performer out of his Lake Placid team.

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Leonhard Stock - Alpine Skiing

Between 1952 and 1992 the Soviet ice hockey team enjoyed a near monopoly on Olympic success. The only nation to break its grip on the competition was its then Cold War rival, the USA – which most notably pulled off what came to be known as the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.

Olympic Winter Games Lake Placid 1980

Lake Placid 1980Highlights & Replays

INGEMAR Stenmark - Sweden

Steve Podborski’s greatest victory: bronze in the downhill at Lake Placid in 1980!

The USA upset the Soviet Union to win men's ice hockey | Lake Placid 1980

HEIDEN Eric - United States of America

Thomas Wassberg - Cross country skiing

Nikolay Zimyatov - Cross country skiing

All Replays

40 years later: Remembering the 'Miracle on Ice'

Steve Podborski’s greatest victory: bronze in the downhill a...

Eric Heiden Reflects - Speed Skating | Vancouver 2010 Highli...

HEIDEN Eric - United States of America

INGEMAR Stenmark - Sweden

JEWELL Tyler - USSR

Nikolay Zimyatov - Cross country skiing

Erich Schärer and Joseph Benz - Bobsleigh

Thomas Wassberg - Cross country skiing

Leonhard Stock - Alpine Skiing

Hanni Wenzel - Alpine Sking

USA ice hockey team

Irina Rodnina - Figure skating

Eric Heiden - Speed skating