Bloom Trail High School - Trail Blazer Yearbook (Chicago Heights, IL)

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10 SPORTS

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Dedication There comes a time in everyone's life when a crucial decision must be made. There comes a time in everyone's life when they are called upon to make a sacrifice. There comes a time in everyone's life when they must put the needs of others ahead of their own personal objectives. This time arrived during 1980 for our American Summer Olympic Team when they were asked by United States President jimmy Carter to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics scheduled to be held in Moscow, Russia. It all began six months before the summer games were to start when Russia invaded Afghanistan. The games symbolize friendship among countries and are usually kept free of politics, demonstrating that peace can exist, even in a world of nations with vastly differing values, differing religious beliefs, differing economic and social standards, and differing government structures. However, the invasion was viewed by most nations of the world as a contradiction of what the games symbolized and a violation of human rights by a country that was scheduled to soon host the World Games. Even as the debate of withdrawal vs. boycott was being heard round the world, the 1980 Winter Olympics were being held in Lake Placid, New York, and American athletes were making history. Linda Fratianne took a silver medal in figure skating. Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner were expected to take the gold medal in pairs skating until Randy suffered a pulled leg muscle and the couple was forced to drop from the competition. Eric Heiden, a young speed skater from Wisconsin, made all Americans proud as he became the first athlete in Olympic history to win five individual gold medals. h But the greatest moment of the games came when the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, which was considered the underdog, soundly defeated the Russian Hockey Team in a symbolic battle on the ice, and then went on to win the gold medal. On February 10, 1980, President Carter's time for decision and sacrifice had come and he took the initiative to lead the free world in a rebuke of Russia's invasion and on behalf of the United States' Olympic Team, threatened to boycott the Summer games if Russia did not withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by May. lt is all history now. Russia refused to withdraw. The United States Olympic Team and teams from all over the free world voted to boycott the Summer Games, the first such boycott in the Games' history. For most athletes it was a difficult decision and it was a tremendous personal sacrifice. Most athletes had been training for years in preparation for their events. Most athletes had endured years of personal, social and economic hardship for an opportunity to represent their nation in the World Olympics which come only once every four years. For most athletes this was to be their only chance to participate in the Games. Four years hence, most would be past their prime and called upon to step aside to make room for younger, better developed athletes to represent their nation. But these athletes realized that the time had also come for them to put the needs of others ahead of their own personal objectives, and they patriotically voted to support the leadership initiative taken by President Carter. Did the boycott accomplish its desired goal? Russia did not withdraw from Afghanistan, but for Russia the games were definitely not as successful as they had hoped and the boycott may have deterred them from invading other nations. Ultimately, only time and history will reveal how successful the boycott really was. Was the personal sacrifice made by the individual athletes worth it? This is a question that can only be decided by the individual athlete, and again, only time and history may provide the ultimate answer . . . Because of the greatness of our 1980 Olympic athletes, both those who participated in the Winter Games and those who sacrificed their opportunity to participate in the Summer Games, we dedicate our 1980 Trail Blazer Yearbook to the 1980 Olympic Teams and make the Olympics and what they symbolize, the theme of our book. DEDICATION 9

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Sports