The Thrill of Victory, The Agony of Defeat

Has it really been thirty years?!

The Winter Olympics was held in Lake Placid, NY, in 1980. I was a little girl then but I remember the Olympics! It was broadcast on television; the ice skating and speed skating competitions were my favorite. Remember Eric Heiden?! And Scott Hamilton… and Robin Cousins from the UK?

Oh, and the ski slopes– wow– and do any of you remember watching the ABC intro video for the Wide World of Sports, of the skier flailing off the slope and Jim McKay’s narration: “… the agony of defeat.” I did some digging and located the intro video.

Here are a few trivia tidbits about the Lake Placid Winter Olympics:

• It was the second Olympic competition held in Lake Placid; the first one was in 1932. That game was opened by then-governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt.



• It was the first time artificial snow was used in the Olympics.
• The mascot for the event was Ronny the Raccoon, because the athletes’ goggles looked similar to black markings on a raccoon’s face.
• The Olympics was held during the Cold War, so there was an added, political element added to the competition. The Soviet Union walked away with 10 gold medals; Germany came in second with 9; the United States won 6.
• The United States won the most gold medals for ice hockey; the win is called “Miracle on Ice.”
• Twenty-two year old Eric Heiden won five gold medals for phenomenal performances in speed-skating. He broke four Olympic records and one world record. Today, he’s a doctor practicing in Utah.
• Heiden’s sister, Beth, won the bronze medal for speed-skating.

PBS has just released a DVD for the Lake Placid anniversary; you can learn more about that here.