Cuban Maria Caridad Colon shone with her own light in Moscow 80

Javelin thrower Maria Caridad Colon shone with her own light at the 22nd Olympic Games in Moscow 80, becoming the first Cuban and Latin American woman to win a gold medal in a summer event.

But the performance of the outstanding athlete from the Cuban eastern province of Guantanamo was even more significant, since she won the title with 68.40 meters, a throw that went down in the books as an Olympic record.

The road was not an easy one for her, since next to her were Ruth Fuchs, winner of Montreal 76, who four months before had set a new world record, and the Soviet Tatiana Biriulina, world record holder.

Biriulina had beaten Ruth 13 days earlier with a 70.08, the first time a woman had cleared 70 meters.

This proved that the Moscow Games were attended by top-level athletes despite the boycott by the United States, a country joined by some other nations.
Another evidence of this is that the Games brought 74 Olympic records and 36 world records.

Weightlifter Daniel Nuñez, who arrived in Moscow with the world title, also stood out with a gold medal in the 56 kilograms (kg), setting new world records in the snatch and total.

However, he found a strong rival in the Soviet Yuri Sarkisian, who set a world record in the rebound, but was five kilograms short of the total achieved by the Cuban.

The boxers, who won six gold, two silver and two bronze medals, were also happy, especially the super heavyweight Teofilo Stevenson, winner of his third Olympic crown.

The Island's boxing medal count was completed by Juan Bautista (54 kg), Angel Herrera (60 kg), Andres Aldama (67 kg), Armando Martinez (71 kg) and Jose Gomez (75 kg), all with gold medals; Adolfo Horta (57) and Hipolito Ramos (48), with silver medals; and the bronze medals contributed by Ricardo Rojas (81) and Jose Aguilar (63.5).

The sprinters also had outstanding performances with Silvio Leonard, 1979 Pan American champion in the 100 and 200 meters, and Osvaldo Lara, who deserved the silver metal and fifth place, in that order, in a close final that had the British Allan Wells as the winner by photo finish.

A similar performance was registered by short hurdler Alejandro Casañas, owner of the silver medal, with a time of 13.40 seconds, one hundredth of a second faster than the winner, the democratic German Thomas Munkelt.

Luis Mariano Delis deserved the bronze medal in the discus throw, with a throw of 66.32 meters, only centimeters behind the silver medalist and 32 centimeters behind the gold medalist.
At the Moscow tatamis, Cuba also found joy with Jose Rafael Rodriguez Carbonell, Juan Ferrer Lahera and Issac Azcuy, all with silver medals, while the skeet shooter, Roberto Castrillo, finished with bronze.

Undoubtedly, a magnificent performance for Cuba, with 20 medals in five sports, one more than in Montreal 76, which counted with the presence of 92 nations, while the Soviet city gathered 81.

The result was eight gold, seven silver and five bronze medals, valid to remain at the top of the Olympic podium, this time among the 15 Latin American countries.