Jovana Perišić

SPORT IS (NOT) ABOVE ALL: THE OLYMPICS IN MOSCOW IN 1980 FROM THE PERCEPTION OF NON-ALIGNED YUGOSLAVIA

Abstract: In the context of studying the Cold War, based on Yugoslav archives, relevant domestic and foreign literature, as well as examples from the Yugoslav press, the paper perceives the position of the Yugoslavia and its correlation with the blocs at the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow in 1980. The analysis of the participation of Yugoslav athletes in the Olympics gives us the answer to the extent to which Yugoslav sport has followed the current political and ideological trends in the world, that is, causally depending on it.

Keywords: Moscow Olympics, USSR, USA, Yugoslavia, Yugoslav athletes, press, boycott, Cold War 

Summary: The use of the Yugoslav press for a better understanding and interpretation of Yugoslav society became almost inevitable after the press liberalization process. From the beginning to the end, Borba, Politika and Vjesnik tried to give as much concrete information as possible related to the boycott and the organization of the Olympics, but also to the participation of Yugoslav athletes there. The analysis of the Yugoslav press regarding the Moscow Olympics clearly shows two phases. The first phase refers to informative reporting, sensationalist headlines and somewhat ideologically colored texts on the boycott, in which journalists from the party newspapers Borba and Vjesnik did not support and justify the Carter administration’s move. The second phase refers to the period when the Yugoslav sports federations decided to send their athletes to the Olympics, so newspaper articles from that period are also informative, but with more emphasis on Yugoslav sporting successes and more objective analysis of the quality of their game. Although the information obtained from the press was still ideologically colored, it was in this informative character and its separation from interpretation that lay the greatest advantage of the Yugoslav press, thanks to which we can now approach its analysis as a relevant historical source. The political exploitation of the world sporting event, and its consequences, were key indicators of the intensifying globalization of the media and sport. The 1980 Olympic Games are now considered a symbol and culmination of the Cold War in sports and Olympism. They are an excellent example of the unbreakable connection and constant intertwining of sports and politics in the Cold War period. The boycott campaign that Yugoslavia did not join was just a confirmation of Tito’s non-aligned policy. By participating in the Olympics, Yugoslavia directly participated in the fight to alleviate international tensions, in order to preserve peace on the principles of equality and mutual respect, on which the modern Olympic movement itself rested. Although the then Yugoslav political leadership decided not to follow the boycott campaign led by the United States, relations with it were not shaken by that decision. On the other hand, Yugoslav participation in the Moscow Olympics did not mean approval of the political philosophy of the USSR. Yugoslav sport zealously followed all phases of Yugoslavia’s foreign policy maneuvering during the Cold War and remained faithful to the end to the policy dictated by the state apparatus. The Yugoslav leadership was probably aware of the fact that a boycott would facilitate the participation of Yugoslav athletes. Due to the absence of certain countries due to boycott actions, weakened competition in certain sports has led to Yugoslav athletes winning an enviable number of medals for their country, including a gold medal in basketball and boxing. The Games in a totality were assessed by the Yugoslav leadership as very successful, especially for the Yugoslavia and for the development of its sport, as well as for the continuation of cooperation with other international sports federations.