Great Britain at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Flag of the Olympic Movement
IOC code	GBR
NOC	British Olympic Association
in Moscow
Competitors	219 (149 men and 70 women) in 14 sports
Flag bearer	Richard Palmer (official)
Medals Ranked 9th	Gold 5 Silver 7 Bronze 9 Total 21
Summer Olympics appearances (overview)
1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020
Other related appearances
1906 Intercalated Games

Great Britain, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. British athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games. 219 competitors, 149 men and 70 women, took part in 145 events in 14 sports.^[1]

In partial support of the American-led boycott, the UK government allowed its athletes to choose whether to compete. There was a boycott of the opening ceremony with Britain being represented solely by the General Secretary of the British Olympic Association, Dick Palmer, carrying the Olympic flag, and no athletes being present. Furthermore, the Olympic flag was raised for the British medal winners in place of the Union Flag, and the Olympic anthem was played instead of God Save the Queen for the five gold medalists.^[2][3]

Medallists

Medals by discipline

Discipline				Total
Athletics	4	2	4	10
Swimming	1	3	1	5
Rowing	0	1	2	3
Judo	0	1	1	2
Boxing	0	0	1	1
Total	5	7	9	21

Gold

• Allan Wells — Athletics, Men's 100 metres
• Steve Ovett — Athletics, Men's 800 metres
• Sebastian Coe — Athletics, Men's 1500 metres
• Daley Thompson — Athletics, Men's Decathlon
• Duncan Goodhew — Swimming, Men's 100 m Breaststroke

Silver

• Allan Wells — Athletics, Men's 200 metres
• Sebastian Coe — Athletics, Men's 800 metres
• Neil Adams — Judo, Men's Lightweight (71 kg)
• Henry Clay, Andrew Justice, Chris Mahoney, Duncan McDougall, Malcolm McGowan, Colin Moynihan, John Pritchard, Richard Stanhope, and Allan Whitwell — Rowing, Men's Eights
• Philip Hubble — Swimming, Men's 200 m Butterfly
• Sharron Davies — Swimming, Women's 400 m Individual Medley
• June Croft, Helen Jameson, Margaret Kelly, and Ann Osgerby — Swimming, Women's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay

Bronze

• Steve Ovett — Athletics, Men's 1500 metres
• Gary Oakes — Athletics, Men's 400 m Hurdles
• Beverley Goddard-Callender, Heather Hunte, Sonia Lannaman, and Kathy Smallwood-Cook — Athletics, Women's 4 × 100 m Relay
• Donna Hartley, Joslyn Hoyte-Smith, Linsey MacDonald, and Michelle Probert — Athletics, Women's 4 × 400 m Relay
• Anthony Willis — Boxing, Men's Light Welterweight
• Arthur Mapp — Judo, Men's Open Class
• Malcolm Carmichael and Charles Wiggin — Rowing, Men's Coxless Pairs
• John Beattie, David Townsend, Ian McNuff, and Martin Cross — Rowing, Men's Coxless Fours
• Gary Abraham, Duncan Goodhew, David Lowe, and Trevor Smith — Swimming, Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay

Archery

In the third appearance by Great Britain in modern Olympic archery, two men and two women represented the country. Mark Blenkarne missed winning a medal in the men's competition by only three points, by far the most successful result for Great Britain since archery was returned to the Olympic schedule.

Women's Individual Competition:

• Gillian Patterson — 2216 points (→ 22nd place)
• Christine Harris — 2187 points (→ 25th place)

Men's Individual Competition:

• Mark Blenkarne — 2446 points (→ 4th place)
• Dennis Savory — 2407 points (→ 13th place)

Athletics

Men's Competition

Men's 100 metres

• Allan Wells

• Heat — 10.35
• Quarterfinals — 10.11
• Semifinals — 10.27
• Final — 10.25 (→
  
  Gold Medal)

• Cameron Sharp

• Heat — 10.38
• Quarterfinals — 10.38
• Semifinals — 10.60 (→ did not advance)

• Drew McMaster

• Heat — 10.43
• Quarterfinals — 10.42 (→ did not advance)

Men's 800 metres

• Steve Ovett

• Heat — 1:49.4
• Semifinals — 1:46.6
• Final — 1:45.4 (→
  
  Gold Medal)

• Sebastian Coe

• Heat — 1:48.5
• Semifinals — 1:46.7
• Final — 1:45.9 (→
  
  Silver Medal)

• Dave Warren

• Heat — 1:49.9
• Semifinals — 1:47.2
• Final — 1:49.3 (→ 8th place)

Men's 1,500 metres

• Sebastian Coe

• Heat — 3:40.1
• Semifinals — 3:39.4
• Final — 3:38.4 (→
  
  Gold Medal)

• Steve Ovett

• Heat — 3:36.8
• Semifinals — 3:43.1
• Final — 3:39.0 (→
  
  Bronze Medal)

• Steve Cram

• Heat — 3:44.1
• Semifinals — 3:43.6
• Final — 3:41.0 (→ 8th place)

Men's 10,000 metres

• Brendan Foster

• Heat — 28:55.2
• Final — 28:22.6 (→ 11th place)

• Mike McLeod

• Heat — 28:57.3
• Final — 28:40.8 (→ 12th place)

• Geoff Smith

• Heat — 30:00.1 (→ did not advance)

Men's Marathon

• Dave Black

• Final — did not finish (→ no ranking)

• Bernie Ford

• Final — did not finish (→ no ranking)

• Ian Thompson

• Final — did not finish (→ no ranking)

Men's 4x400 metres Relay

• Alan Bell, Terry Whitehead, Rod Milne, and Glen Cohen

• Heat — 3:05.9
• Final — did not finish (→ no ranking)

Men's 110 m Hurdles

• Wilbert Greaves

• Heat — 13.85
• Semifinals — 13.98 (→ did not advance)

• Mark Holtom

• Heat — 13.83
• Semifinals — 13.94 (→ did not advance)

Men's 400 m Hurdles

• Gary Oakes

• Heat — 50.39
• Semifinals — 50.07
• Final — 49.11 (→
  
  Bronze Medal)

Men's 3,000 m Steeplechase

• Colin Reitz

• Heat — 8:35.3
• Semifinals — 8:29.8 (→ did not advance)

• Roger Hackney

• Heat — 8:36.4
• Semifinals — 8:29.2 (→ did not advance)

• Tony Staynings

• Heat — 8:47.5
• Semifinals — 8:52.3 (→ did not advance)

Men's Pole Vault

• Brian Hooper

• Qualification — 5.35 m
• Final — 5.35 m (→ 11th place)

Men's High Jump

• Mark Naylor

• Qualification — 2.21 m
• Final — 2.21 m (→ 9th place)

Men's triple jump

• Keith Connor

• Qualification — 16.57 m
• Final — 16.87 m (→ 4th place)

Men's Shot Put

• Geoff Capes

• Qualification — 19.75 m
• Final — 20.50 m (→ 5th place)

Men's Javelin Throw

• David Ottley

• Qualification — 77.20 m (→ did not advance, 14th place)

Men's Hammer Throw

• Chris Black

• Qualification — 66.74 m (→ did not advance, 14th place)

• Paul Dickenson

• Qualification — 64.22 m (→ did not advance, 15th place)

Men's Decathlon

• Daley Thompson

• Final — 8495 points (→
  
  Gold Medal)

• Bradley McStravick

• Final — 7616 points (→ 15th place)

Men's 20 km Walk

• Roger Mills

• Final — 1:32:37.8 (→ 10th place)

Men's 50 km Walk

• Ian Richards

• Final — 4:22:57 (→ 11th place)

Women's Competition

Women's 100 metres

• Kathy Smallwood-Cook

• Heat — 11.37
• Quarterfinals — 11.24
• Semifinals — 11.30
• Final — 11.28 (→ 6th place)

• Heather Hunte-Oakes

• Heat — 11.40
• Quarterfinals — 11.25
• Semifinals — 11.36
• Final — 11.34 (→ 8th place)

• Sonia Lannaman

• Heat — 11.58
• Quarterfinals — 11.20
• Semifinals — 11.38 (→ did not advance)

Women's 800 metres

• Christina Boxer-Cahill

• Heat — 2:02.1
• Semifinals — 2:00.9 (→ did not advance)

Women's 1,500 metres

• Janet Marlow

• Heat — 4:15.9 (→ did not advance)

Women's 100 m Hurdles

• Shirley Strong

• Heat — 13.39
• Semifinal — 13.12 (→ did not advance)

• Lorna Boothe

• Heat — 13.86 (→ did not advance)

Women's High Jump

• Louise Miller

• Qualification — 1.88 m
• Final — 1.85 m (→ 11th place)

Women's Long Jump

• Susan Hearnskaw

• Qualification — 6.66 m
• Final — 6.50 m (→ 9th place)

• Sue Reeve

• Qualifying Round — 6.48 m
• Final — 6.46 m (→ 10th place)

Women's Discus Throw

• Meg Ritchie

• Qualification — 58.66 m
• Final — 61.16 m (→ 9th place)

Women's Javelin Throw

• Tessa Sanderson

• Qualification — 48.76 m (→ did not advance)

• Fatima Whitbread

• Qualification — 47.44 m (→ did not advance)

Women's Shot Put

• Angela Littlewood

• Final — 17.53 m (→ 13th place)

Women's Pentathlon

• Judy Livermore — 4304 points (→ 13th place)
  1. 100 metres — 13.57 s
  2. Shot Put — 13.56 m
  3. High Jump — 1.77 m
  4. Long Jump — 5.71 m
  5. 800 metres — 2:25.30
• Susan Longden — 4234 points (→ 15th place)
  1. 100 metres — 14.10 s
  2. Shot Put — 11.47 m
  3. High Jump — 1.74 m
  4. Long Jump — 6.09 m
  5. 800 metres — 2:19.60
• Yvette Wray — 4159 points (→ 16th place)
  1. 100 metres — 13.78 s
  2. Shot Put — 12.01 m
  3. High Jump — 1.65 m
  4. Long Jump — 5.60 m
  5. 800 metres — 2:15.90

Boxing

Men's Flyweight (51 kg)

• Keith Wallace
  1. First Round — Bye
  2. Second Round — Lost to Daniel Radu (Romania) on points (1-4)

Men's Bantamweight (54 kg)

• Raymond Gilbody
  1. First Round — Bye
  2. Second Round — Defeated João Luis de Almeida (Angola) on points (5-0)
  3. Third Round — Lost to Daniel Zaragoza (Mexico) on points (1-4)

Men's Featherweight (57 kg)

• Peter Joseph Hanlon
  1. First Round — Bye
  2. Second Round — Defeated Antonio Esparragoza (Venezuela) on points (4-1)
  3. Third Round — Lost to Viktor Rybakov (Soviet Union) on points (0-5)

Men's Lightweight (60 kg)

• George Gilbody
  1. First Round — Bye
  2. Second Round — Defeated Blackson Siukoko (Zambia) on points (4-1)
  3. Quarter Finals — Lost to Richard Nowakowski (East Germany) on points (5-0)

Men's Light-Welterweight (63.5 kg)

• Anthony Willis → Bronze Medal
  1. First Round — Defeated Jaime Soares França (Brazil) on points (5-0)
  2. Second Round — Defeated Shadrach Odhiambo (Sweden) on points (5-0)
  3. Quarter Finals — Defeated William Lyimo (Tanzania) after knock-out in third round
  4. Semi Finals — Lost to Patrizio Oliva (Italy) on points (0-5)

Canoeing

Cycling

Twelve cyclists represented Great Britain in 1980.

Individual road race

• John Herety
• Jeff Williams
• Neil Martin
• Joseph Waugh

Team time trial

• Robert Downs
• Des Fretwell
• Steve Jones
• Joseph Waugh

Sprint

• Terrence Tinsley

1000m time trial

• Terrence Tinsley

Individual pursuit

• Sean Yates

Team pursuit

• Tony Doyle
• Malcolm Elliott
• Glen Mitchell
• Sean Yates

Diving

Men's Springboard

• Christopher Snode

• Preliminary Round — 557.10 points (→ 5th place)
• Final — 844.470 points (→ 6th place)

Men's Platform

• Christopher Snode

• Preliminary Round — 468.21 points (→ 9th place, did not advance)

• Martyn Brown

• Preliminary Round — 380.91 points (→ 19th place, did not advance)

Fencing

Eleven fencers, six men and five women, represented Great Britain in 1980.

Men's foil

• Pierre Harper
• Rob Bruniges

Men's team foil

• John Llewellyn, Steven Paul, Rob Bruniges, Pierre Harper

Men's épée

• Steven Paul
• John Llewellyn
• Neal Mallett

Men's team épée

• Steven Paul, John Llewellyn, Neal Mallett, Rob Bruniges

Men's sabre

• Mark Slade

Women's foil

• Ann Brannon
• Linda Ann Martin
• Susan Wrigglesworth

Women's team foil

• Susan Wrigglesworth, Ann Brannon, Wendy Ager-Grant, Linda Ann Martin, Hilary Cawthorne

Gymnastics

Judo

Modern pentathlon

Three male pentathletes represented Great Britain in 1980.

Individual

• Robert Nightingale — 5,168 pts, 15th place
• Peter Whiteside — 5,085 pts, 21st place
• Nigel Clark — 4,809 pts, 33rd place

Team:

• Nightingale, Whiteside and Clark — 15,062pts, 8th place

Rowing

Men's Single scull

• Hugh Matheson

• (→ 6th place)

Men's Double scull

• Jim Clark, Chris Baillieu

• (→ 4th place)

Men's Coxless pair

• Malcolm Carmichael, Charles Wiggin

• (→ Bronze)

Men's Coxed pair

• James MacLeod, Neil Christie, David Webb

• (→ 9th place)

Men's Coxless four

• John Beattie, David Townsend, Ian McNuff, Martin Cross

• (→ Bronze)

Men's Coxed four

• Lenny Robertson, Gordon Rankine, Colin Seymour, John Roberts, Alan Inns

• (→ 7th place)

Men's Eight

• Henry Clay, Andrew Justice, Chris Mahoney, Duncan McDougall, Malcolm McGowan, John Pritchard, Richard Stanhope, Allan Whitwell, Colin Moynihan

• (→ Silver)

Women's Single scull

• Beryl Mitchell

• (→ 5th place)

Women's Double scull

• Sue Handscomb, Astrid Ayling

• (→ 7th place)

Women's Coxed four

• Pauline Janson, Bridget Buckley, Pauline Hart, Jane Cross, Sue Brown

• (→ 6th place)

Women's Eight

• Gillian Hodges, Joanna Toch, Penny Sweet, Lin Clark, Elizabeth Paton, Rosie Clugston, Nicola Boyes, Beverly Jones, Pauline Wright

• (→ 5th place)

Swimming

Men's Competition

Men's 100 m Freestyle

• Mark Taylor

• Heats — 52.65 (→ did not advance)

Men's 200 m Freestyle

• Martin Smith

• Heats — 1:54.17 (→ did not advance)

• Kevin Lee

• Heats — 1:55.63 (→ did not advance)

Men's 100 m Butterfly

• Gary Abraham

• Final — 55.42 (→ 6th place)

Men's 200 m Butterfly

• Philip Hubble

• Final — 2:01.20 (→
  
  Silver Medal)

• Peter Morris

• Final — 2:02.27 (→ 4th place)

• Stephen Poulter

• Final — 2:02.93 (→ 8th place)

Men's 100 m Breaststroke

• Duncan Goodhew

• Final — 1:03.44 (→
  
  Gold Medal)

• Leigh Atkinson

• Heats — 1:06.43 (→ did not advance)

Men's 200 m Breaststroke

• Duncan Goodhew

• Final — 2:20.92 (→ 6th place)

Men's 100 m Backstroke

• Gary Abraham

• Final — 58.38 (→ 8th place)

Men's 200 m Backstroke

• Douglas Campbell

• Final — 2:04.23 (→ 7th place)

Men's 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay

• Douglas Campbell, Philip Hubble, Martin Smith, and Andrew Astbury

• Final — 7:30.81 (→ 6th place)

Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay

• Gary Abraham, Duncan Goodhew, David Lowe, and Martin Smith

• Final — 3:47.71 (→
  
  Bronze Medal)

Women's Competition

Women's 200 m Freestyle

• June Croft

• Final — 2:03.15 (→ 6th place)

Women's 100 m Butterfly

• Ann Osgerby

• Final — 1:02.21 (→ 4th place)

• Janet Osgerby

• Final — 1:02.90 (→ 8th place)

Women's 200 m Butterfly

• Ann Osgerby

• Final — 2:14.83 (→ 6th place)

Women's 100 m Breaststroke

• Margaret Kelly

• Heats — 1:12.38
• Final — 1:11.48 (→ 4th place)

• Susannah Brownsdon

• Heats — 1:12.83
• Final — 1:12.11 (→ 6th place)

Women's 400 m Individual Medley

• Sharron Davies

• Heats — 4:52.38
• Final — 4:46.83 (→
  
  Silver Medal)

• Sarah Kerswell

• Heats — 5:03.75 (→ did not advance)

Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay

• Sharron Davies, Kaye Lovatt, Jacquelina Willmott, and June Croft

• Final — 3:51.71 (→ 4th place)

Women's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay

• Helen Jameson, Margaret Kelly, Ann Osgerby, and June Croft

• Final — 4:12.24 (→
  
  Silver Medal)

Weightlifting

Wrestling