Lake Placid
Eric and the Miracles.
Over 1,100 athletes from 37 countries participated in the 1980 Winter Games, but the only ones most people will ever remember are 21–year-old American speed skater Eric Heiden, who won five individual gold medals, and the U.S. hockey team—a bunch of college kids (average age 22) who beat the unbeatable Russians.
No one before or since Heiden has won five individual gold medals in a single Olympic Games (three of swimmer Mark Spitz's seven gold medals were for relay races). And Heiden's sweep of the men's speed skating events has never been duplicated.
The hockey team, on the other hand, was a decided underdog. Seeded seventh out of 12 teams in the first round, they had also been routed, 10–3, by the Soviet Union in an exhibition game only a week before the Olympics.
Nevertheless, the Americans reached the final round with a 4–0–1 record. Playing in front of a boisterous, flag-waving home crowd, the U.S. upset the Soviets, 4–3 (captain Mike Eruzione scored the winning goal midway through the third period and goalie Jim Craig made 39 saves), then beat Finland, 4–2, to win the gold medal. “Do you believe in miracles?” asked ABC-TV announcer Al Michaels as the final seconds ticked off against the Russians. “Ye-s-s-s!”
That game was played on Feb. 22—five days short of exactly 20 years after the 1960 U.S. team beat the USSR, 3–2, on their way to the gold medal at Squaw Valley. Other links to the past included right wing Dave Christian, whose father Billy and uncle Roger were linemates on the 1960 team, and coach Herb Brooks, who had been the last player cut from the 1960 squad.
Swedish Alpine skier Ingemar Stenmark, who would retire in 1989 with 86 World Cup victories, won the slalom and GS for his only two Olympic wins.
Top 10 Standings
National medal standings are not recognized by the IOC. The unofficial point totals are based on 3 points for a gold medal, 2 for a silver and 1 for a bronze. Total medals are in parentheses.
| | | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | USSR (22) | 10 | 6 | 6 | 48 |
| | East Germany (23) | 9 | 7 | 7 | 48 |
| 3 | USA (12) | 6 | 4 | 2 | 28 |
| 4 | Finland (9) | 1 | 5 | 3 | 16 |
| 5 | Austria (7) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 15 |
| | Norway (10) | 1 | 3 | 6 | 15 |
| 7 | Sweden (4) | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 |
| | Liechtenstein (4) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| 9 | Holland (4) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| | Switzerland (5) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
Leading Medal Winners
Number of individual medals won on the left; gold, silver and bronze breakdown to the right.
Men
| No | | Sport | G-S-B |
|---|
| 5 | Eric Heiden, USA | Sp. Skating | 5-0-0 |
| 3 | Nikolai Zimatov, USSR | X-country | 3-0-0 |
| 3 | Anatoly Alyabiev, USSR | Biathlon | 2-0-1 |
| 3 | Frank Ullrich, E. Ger. | Biathlon | 1-2-0 |
| 3 | Juha Mieto, FIN | X-country | 0-2-1 |
| 2 | Ingemar Stenmark, SWE | Alpine | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Vladimir Alikin,USSR | Biathlon | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Josef Benz, SWI | Bobsled | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Hans Jurgen Gerhardt, E. Ger. | Bobsled | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Bernhard Germeshausen, E. Ger. | Bobsled | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Vasili Rochev, USSR | X-country | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Erich Schärer, SWI | Bobsled | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Bogdan Musiol, E. Ger. | Bobsled | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Meinhard Nehmer, E. Ger. | Bobsled | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Kai Arne Stenshjemmet, NOR | Sp. Skate | 0-2-0 |
| 2 | Ove Aunli, NOR | X-country | 0-1-1 |
| 2 | Eberhard Rosch, E. Ger. | Biathlon | 0-1-1 |
| 2 | Tom Erik Oxholm, NOR | Sp. Skate | 0-0-2 |
Women
| No | | Sport | G-S-B |
|---|
| 3 | Hanni Wenzel, LIE | Alpine | 2-1-0 |
| 2 | Barbara Petzold, E. Ger. | X-country | 2-0-0 |
| 2 | Raisa Smetanina, USSR | X-country | 1-1-0 |
| 2 | Natalia Petruseva, USSR | Sp. Skate | 1-0-1 |
| 2 | Leah Mueller, USA | Sp. Skate | 0-2-0 |
| 2 | Hilkka Riihivuori, FIN | X-country | 0-2-0 |
| 2 | Sabine Becker, E. Ger. | Sp. Skate | 0-1-1 |
Alpine Skiing
Men
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| Downhill | Leonhard Stock, AUT | 1:45.50 |
| Slalom | Ingemar Stenmark, SWE | 1:44.26 |
| G.Slalom | Ingemar Stenmark, SWE | 2:40.74 |
Women
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| Downhill | Annemarie Moser-Pröll, AUT | 1:37.52 |
| Slalom | Hanni Wenzel, LIE | 1:25.09 |
| G.Slalom | Hanni Wenzel, LIE | 2:41.66 |
Biathlon
| Event | | MT | Adj.Time |
|---|
| 10km | Frank Ullrich, E. Ger. | 2 | 32:10.69 |
| 20km | Anatoly Alyabiev, USSR | 0 | 1:08:16.31 |
| 4x7.5km | USSR (Alikin, Tikonov, Barnashov,
Alyabiev) | 0 | 1:34:03.27 |
Bobsled
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 2-Man | SWI (Erich Schärer & Josef Benz) | 4:09.36 |
| 4-Man | E. Ger (Meinhard Nehmer, Bogdan |
| | Musiol, Bernhard Germeshausen, Hans-Jürgen Gerhardt) | 3:59.92 |
Figure Skating
| Event | | Points |
|---|
| Men | Robin Cousins, GBR | 189.48 |
| Women | Anett Pötzsch, E. Ger. | 189.00 |
| Pairs | Irina Rodnina & Aleksandr Zaitsev, USSR | 147.26 |
| Dance | Natalia Linichuk | |
| | & Gennady Karponosov, USSR | 205.48 |
Ice Hockey
Medal Round
(Overall records in parentheses)
| | | Gm | W-L-T | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|
| 1 | USA (6-0-1) | 3 | 2-0-1 | 5 | 10 | 7 |
| 2 | USSR (6-1-0) | 3 | 2-1-0 | 4 | 16 | 8 |
| 3 | Sweden (4-1-2) | 3 | 0-1-2 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| 4 | Finland (3-3-1) | 3 | 0-2-1 | 1 | 7 | 11 |
Note: Games against common opponents carried over from the preliminary round. FIRST ROUND—USA tied Sweden, 2–2, and USSR over Finland, 4–2. MEDAL ROUND—USA over USSR, 4–3, and Finland, 4–2; USSR over Sweden, 9–2; and Sweden tied Finland, 3–3.
Luge
Men
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 1-Seat | Bernhard Glass, E. Ger. | 2:54.796 |
| 2-Seat | Hans Rinn & Norbert Hahn, E. Ger. | 1:19.331 |
Women
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 1-Seat | Vera Zozulia, USSR | 2:36.537 |
Nordic Skiing
Men
Cross Country
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 15km | Thomas Wassberg, SWE | 41:57.63 |
| 30km | Nikolai Zimyatov, USSR | 1:27:02.80 |
| 50km | Nikolai Zimyatov, USSR | 2:27:24.60 |
| 4x10km | USSR (Rochev, Bazhukov, |
| | Beliaev, Zimyatov) | 1:57:03.46 |
Ski Jumping
| Event | | Points |
|---|
| 70m | Anton Innauer, AUT | 266.3 |
| 90m | Jouko Törmänen, FIN | 271.0 |
Nordic Combined
| Event | | Points |
|---|
| 15km/Jump | Ulrich Wehling, E. Ger. | 432.200 |
Women
Cross Country
| Event | | Time |
|---|
| 5km | Raisa Smetanina, USSR | 15:06.92 |
| 10km | Barbara Petzold, E. Ger. | 30:31.54 |
| 4x5km | E. Ger. (Rostock, Anding, Hesse, |
| | Petzold) | 1:02:11.10 |
Speed Skating
Men
| Event | | Time | |
|---|
| 500m | Eric Heiden, USA | 38.03 | OR |
| 1000m | Eric Heiden, USA | 1:15.18 | OR |
| 1500m | Eric Heiden, USA | 1:55.44 | OR |
| 5000m | Eric Heiden, USA | 7:02.29 | OR |
| 10,000m | Eric Heiden, USA | 14:28.13 | WR |
Women
| Event | | Time | |
|---|
| 500m | Karin Enke, E. Ger. | 41.78 | OR |
| 1000m | Natalia Petruseva, USSR | 1:24.10 | OR |
| 1500m | Annie Borckink, NED | 2:10.95 | OR |
| 3000m | Bjoerg Eva Jensen, NOR | 4:32.13 | OR |
