U.S. to boycott the first Olympics held in the Soviet Union after Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan in December 1979. As the Soviets won medal after medal in Moscow, U.S.
athletes were given token medals at a White House reception. The boycott came just months after the U.S. had hosted the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, beating the Soviets 4-3 in the “Miracle on Ice” final.
Carter recruited boxing legend Muhammad Ali to criss-cross Africa with an appeal to countries to join the boycott. Of the five nations Ali visited, three competed in Moscow anyway.The U.S., China, Canada, West Germany and much of South America stayed home.