Summer Olympic Games the first athlete to ever win the distance double twice. Following the Soviet Union's 1979 invasion of Afghanistan, 66 nations, including the United States, Canada, West Germany, and Japan, boycotted the 1980 games held in Moscow. Eighty nations were represented at the Moscow Games – the smallest number since 1956. The boycott contributed to the 1980 Games being a less publicised and less competitive affair, which was dominated by the host country. In 1984 the Soviet Union and 13 Soviet allies reciprocated by boycotting the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Romania, notably, was one of the nations in the
President of the International Olympic Committee years, and was succeeded by Lord Killanin. Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, was elected as Honorary President of the Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) in 1950, and became the Irish delegate at the IOC in 1952. He eventually became senior vice-president of the IOC in 1968, and succeeded Avery Brundage to the presidency on 23 August 1972, being elected at the 73rd IOC Session in Munich, just prior to the 1972 Summer Olympics. The Olympic Movement experienced a difficult period during his presidency, having to deal with the aftermath of the tragedy at the 1972 Munich Games and the financial