It was meant to be simple. You train, you qualify, you represent your country at the Olympic Games. But in 1980, nothing about competing in Moscow was simple.
For Australian distance legend Chris Wardlaw, the lead up to the Games became a battle fought not on the roads or the track, but in the media, in parliament and within the soul of Australian sport. 45 years on, he reflects.
As Cold War tensions flared and the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, US President Jimmy Carter led a global push to boycott the Olympic Games. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser backed it forcefully, and the pressure on athletes to withdraw intensified by the week.
“We were training like any other Olympic year,” Wardlaw says. “But by the summer, we knew something was coming. It just kept getting louder.”
That pressure only grew. “It really ramped up… Malcolm Fraser came in behind it. Then a couple of heavies were starting to suggest that we might join in. So those last three months, we all knew it was going to be a problem.”
When others backed down, Wardlaw found his voice.
While training for his campaign at Falls Creek preparing for the Australian trials in Adelaide, he was writing long opinion pieces for The Australian. He used his media profile to call for the Olympic movement to remain independent of political interference, and he wasn’t alone.
“We set up this thing called the Defend the Olympics Committee, which had no formal basis. We appointed a president, Bruce Jones, and we had a lot of support. The late great Ron Clarke supported us financially, and a couple of members of parliament gave us access, because in those days it was telegrams. We did a lot of telegrams.”
Wardlaw’s advocacy became relentless. Interviews, speeches, newspaper articles and the constant lobbying of the Australian Olympic Federation, now the Australian Olympic Committee.
“It was full on, I can tell you. In those days, it wasn’t social media, it was mainstream media. All the TV channels were there, all the newspapers. I read a statement, fully blazered up in my Australian kit.”
There was solidarity and there was heartbreak. Athletes from sports like hockey and sailing were pulled from competition by their federations, others, including Australian legendary sprinter Raelene Boyle, withdrew herself, in despair.
“Raelene rang me the night before she announced it. She’d already been to three Olympics and just thought this was too much to bear. And she didn’t go. It was devastating.”
Then there was John Higham, selected for the 800m. Unlike Boyle, he would never have a taste of competing at the pinnacle of athletics competition.
Wardlaw wanted better for himself and for his compatriots. He fought for the right to go, not just to compete, but to keep the Olympic Games grounded in their purpose: unity, peace and performance.
“I’m absolutely totally opposed to any boycott of the Olympic Games. Under any circumstances. I fundamentally believe in Olympism and the excellence in everything and the participation, in everything that goes on with it.”
His voice mattered. In May 1980, the AOF met to decide Australia’s fate. The result was a narrow 6-5 vote favour of sending a team.
“One of the jokes is when they had their final meeting, they had all these telegrams from us all over the table. And one of the ironies is one of the guys on the AOF, Lewis Luxton, we didn’t know which way he was going to vote and he became part of the story.
“Fraser rang him on the morning of the vote to put pressure on him, and Luxton said, ‘That’s enough for me, they’re going!’ So I don’t know whether the government defeated themselves or whether our telegrams helped.”
Australia went to Moscow, but marched under the Olympic flag and now 45 years later, Parliament has formally acknowledged the 1980 Australian Olympic Team, including those who made it and those who were lost to politics.
“There’s some melancholy around it. Because you’re reminded that some people were boycotted out. Friends who have died, friends who are still bitter. I’ve got two very dear friends who have passed,” he said.
“Rick Mitchell, who won silver, he died young and I don’t think he ever got the credit he deserves for his race. We don’t have many track medallists.”
“But I think it is significant that it’s done in Parliament. And it’s closure. We’re able now able to wear that blazer proudly. It’s the people who didn’t go, I want them remembered as well.”
He hopes the story of 1980 reminds people what athlete voices can do, and why they must never be silenced.
“I’ve always been a big believer in athlete’s voice. We don’t all have to agree all the time, but moving out of that into a broader contribution to the sport. I’ve always thought that was important.”
Wardlaw helped ensure Australia upheld its Olympic legacy and gave athletes the right to choose. Not everyone crossed the finish line in Moscow, but thanks to his work and countless hours put in by many others, they had the chance fulfil their Olympic dream.
More about the Australian athletics team at the 1980 Olympic Games can be read in Fields of Green, Lanes of Gold, written by Paul Jenes, who played a significant role as Chair of Selectors for this team.
The Australian Athletics Team Selected for the 1980 Olympic Games, including those who chose not to compete
Women:
100m: Denise Boyd (Robertson), Debbie Wells
200m: Denise Boyd (Robertson), Raelene Boyle – did not compete
400m: Raelene Boyle – did not compete
100m Hurdles: Penny Gillies (McCallum)
High Jump: Christine Stanton (Annison)
Shot Put: Gael Martin (Mulhall)
Discus Throw: Gael Martin (Mulhall)
Javelin Throw: Pam Matthews, Petra Rivers
Men:
400m: Rick Mitchell – won Olympic silver
800m: John Higham – did not compete
5000m: Steve Austin, Dave Fitzsimons
10,000M: Steve Austin, Gerard Barrett, Bill Scott
Long Jump: Gary Honey
Triple Jump: Ian Campbell, Ken Lorraway
Hammer Throw: Peter Farmer
Marathon: Gerard Barrett, Rob De Castella, Chris Wardlaw
20km Race Walk: Dave Smith
50km Race Walk: Willi Sawall, Dave Smith
Decathlon: Peter Hadfield
Australian Officials at the 1980 Olympic Games
Section Manager: Ray Durie
Assistant Manager: Wendy Ey
Assistant Manager: Jean Roberts
Coach: John Daly
Coach: Pat Clohessy
By Sascha Ryner, Australian Athletics
Posted: 30/7/2025
