Athletics at the 1980 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games
Host City: Moskva, Soviet Union
Location: Lenin Stadium
Date Started: July 24, 1980
Date Finished: July 25, 1980
Gold: | María Colón |
Silver: | Saida Gunba |
Bronze: | Ute Hommola |
For a women’s field throwing event, this was the only one on which the American-led boycott had any effect. Kate Schmidt (USA) had won bronze medals in 1972 and 1976 and late in 1977 had broken the world record. But Ruth Fuchs regained that record in 1979 and broke it again early in 1980. She had been world-ranked #1 every year from 1972-79 and was an overwhelming favorite to win her third consecutive gold medal in Moskva. But it was not to be. She was never in contention for a medal, barely qualified for the final three throws, and eventually finished eighth. In round one, the lead was taken by María Colón (CUB), the 1979 Pan-American champion, with 68.40 (224-5). That mark would hold up for the gold medal. The other medalists were equally unlikely, with silver medalist Saïda Gunba (URS/GEO) and bronze medalist Ute Hommola (GDR) standing on the medal podium for the first time at a major event.
Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | María Colón | 22 | Cuba | CUB | Gold | OR |
2 | Saida Gunba | 20 | Soviet Union | URS | Silver | |
3 | Ute Hommola | 28 | East Germany | GDR | Bronze | |
4 | Ute Richter | 22 | East Germany | GDR | ||
5 | Ivanka Vancheva | 26 | Bulgaria | BUL | ||
6 | Tatyana Biryulina | 25 | Soviet Union | URS | ||
7 | Ileana Zörgö-Raduly | 25 | Romania | ROU | ||
8 | Ruth Fuchs | 33 | East Germany | GDR | ||
9 | Bernadeta Blechacz | 24 | Poland | POL | ||
10 | Antoaneta Todorova-Selenska | 17 | Bulgaria | BUL | ||
11 | Jadvyga Putinienė | 34 | Soviet Union | URS | ||
12 | Fausta Quintavalla | 21 | Italy | ITA | ||
13 QR | Mária Janák | 22 | Hungary | HUN | ||
14 QR | Tiina Lillak | 19 | Finland | FIN | ||
15 QR | Petra Rivers | 27 | Australia | AUS | ||
16 QR | Pam Matthews | 22 | Australia | AUS | ||
17 QR | Agnès Tchuinté | 21 | Cameroon | CMR | ||
18 QR | Fatima Whitbread | 19 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
19 QR | Tessa Sanderson | 24 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
20 QR | Patricia Guerrero | 17 | Peru | PER | ||
AC QR | Sofia Sakorafa | 23 | Greece | GRE |