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Logo of the second Games in Seattle
The Goodwill Games was an international sports competition, created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other Western countries to boycott the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, an act reciprocated when the Soviet and other Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
[edit] Overview
The first Games, held in Moscow in 1986, featured 182 events and attracted over 3,000 athletes representing 79 countries. World records were set by Sergey Bubka (pole vault), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (heptathlon), and both the men and women's 200 m cycle racing, by East Germany's Michael Hübner and the Soviet Union's Erika Salumäe, respectively. World records also fell at the 1990 Games in Seattle, to Mike Barrowman in the 200 m breaststroke and Nadezhda Ryashkina in the 10 km walk.
The 1994 Games were held in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the first competition since the Soviet Union had been replaced by fifteen independent republics. Russians set five world records in the weightlifting section, and the games were the first major international event to feature beach volleyball, which would appear at the Olympics for the first time at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Ted Turner's last games were in 1998 in New York City, with memorable highlights including Joyner-Kersee winning her fourth straight heptathlon title, and the U.S. 4x400m relay team setting a world's best time.
The games were later bought from Turner by Time Warner Australia, who organised the Brisbane 2001 Games, before announcing that it would be the last. The 2001 edition witnessed Australia win the most medals with 75, but it received very low television ratings in the United States. Nevertheless, critics praised Turner Network Television for showing the games live, rather than on tape delay.
[edit] Summer Goodwill Games
[edit] Winter Goodwill Games
[edit] Sports
[edit] Summer sports
[edit] Winter sports
[edit] Participating countries
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Africa and Middle East
Asia and Oceania
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Eastern Bloc
Europe
- Britain
- Finland
- France
- Greece
- Ireland
- Italy
- Portugal
- Spain
- Sweden
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North America
- Canada
- Mexico
- United States
Caribbean and Central America
South America
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- ^ Men's basketball was not held in 1986 because the World Basketball Championship was taking place in Madrid at the same time.
- ^ Motoball was held only in 1986; the host country was allowed to include one sport of its choice.
- ^ At the 2000 Games, the figure skating event featured professional skaters because of conflicts with Olympic Eligible skaters competing in their National championships. This enabled France's Surya Bonaly [Surya Bonaly] to become the only skater in history to win the same event as both an amateur and professional skater as she also won in 1994.
[edit] External links
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Goodwill Games |
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| Winter |
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