Athletics at the 1980 Summer Olympics – Men's 110 metres hurdles explained

Event:	Men's 110 metres hurdles
Games:	1980 Summer
Venue:	Luzhniki Stadium
Date:	25 and 27 July
Competitors:	23
Nations:	16
Win Value:	13.39
Longnames:	yes
Gold:	Thomas Munkelt
Goldnoc:	GDR
Silver:	Alejandro Casañas
Silvernoc:	CUB
Bronze:	Aleksandr Puchkov
Bronzenoc:	URS
Prev:	1976
Next:	1984

The men's 110 metres hurdles at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union had an entry list of 23 competitors from 16 nations, with three qualifying heats (23 runners) and two semifinals (16) before the final (8) took place on Sunday 27 July 1980.^[1] The maximum number of athletes per nation had been set at 3 since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Thomas Munkelt of East Germany, the first medal by a German runner in the event. Alejandro Casañas of Cuba took silver for the second Games in a row, making him the eighth man with two medals in the event. Aleksandr Puchkov's bronze was the Soviet Union's second medal in the event and first since 1964.

Background

This was the 19th appearance of the event, which is one of 12 athletics events to have been held at every Summer Olympics. Two finalists from 1976 returned: silver medalist Alejandro Casañas of Cuba and fifth-place finisher Thomas Munkelt of East Germany. While 1976 had been an off year for American hurdles, the United States had two dominant athletes in 1980: Renaldo Nehemiah and Greg Foster. The American-led boycott of the 1980 Games, however, prevented both from competing. In their absence, Casañas and Munkelt were favored.^[2]

Bulgaria, the Republic of the Congo, Mozambique, the Seychelles, and Syria each made their first appearance in the event. Great Britain made its 17th appearance (having missed 1900 and 1904), most of any nation competing in 1980 but still one behind the absent United States's 18.

Competition format

The competition continued to use the three-round format used since 1908 (except 1960, which had four rounds) and eight-man semifinals and finals, as well as the "fastest loser" system, used since 1964. The first round consisted of three heats, with 7 or 8 hurdlers each. The top five hurdlers in each heat, along with the next fastest overall, advanced to the semifinals. The 16 semifinalists were divided into two semifinals of 8 hurdlers each; the top four hurdlers in each advanced to the 8-man final.^{[2] [3]}

Records

These were the standing world and Olympic records (in seconds) prior to the 1980 Summer Olympics.

No new world or Olympic records were set during the competition.

Schedule

All times are Moscow Time (UTC+3)

Date	Time	Round
Friday, 25 July 1980	19:20	Round 1
Sunday, 27 July 1980	17:00 19:00	Semifinals Final

Results

Round 1

The first round was held on Friday 25 July 1980.

Heat 1

Rank	Lane	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	6			13.75
2	1			13.84
3	4			13.95
4	2			14.18
5	5			14.19
6	8			15.42
7	7			15.45
data-sort-value=8	—	3			data-sort-value=99.99
				Wind: +0.2 m/s

Heat 2

Rank	Lane	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	5			13.55
2	3			13.61
3	4			13.72
4	2			13.85
5	6			14.13
6	1			14.57
7	7			14.89
				Wind: +0.5 m/s

Heat 3

Rank	Lane	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	4			13.46
2	1			13.77
3	3			13.83
4	6			13.84
5	5			13.93
6	2			14.28
7	8			15.18
8	7			16.36
				Wind: +1.0 m/s

Semifinals

The semifinals were held on Sunday 27 July 1980.

Semifinal 1

Rank	Lane	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	8			13.44
2	3			13.50
3	2			13.78
4	7			13.80
5	4			13.90
6	1			13.98
7	6			14.16
8	5			14.60
				Wind: +0.7 m/s

Semifinal 2

Rank	Lane	Athlete	Nation	Time	Notes
1	7			13.49
2	8			13.59
3	2			13.78
4	4			13.81
5	1			13.94
6	6			13.99
7	5			14.00
8	3			14.12
				Wind: +0.9 m/s

Final

Casañas hit the first two hurdles, allowing Munkelt to build a lead; Casañas nearly caught him, but "lost out to Munkelt in a lean at the tape."^[2]

Rank	Lane	Athlete	Nation	Reaction	Time
	3			0.129	13.39
	6			0.144	13.40
	4			0.145	13.44
4	5			0.145	13.49
5	1			0.149	13.68
6	2			0.175	13.76
7	8			0.151	13.78
8	7			0.166	15.80
				Wind: +0.9 m/s

See also

• 1976 Men's Olympic 110m Hurdles (Montreal)
• 1978 Men's European Championships 110m Hurdles (Prague)
• 1982 Men's European Championships 110m Hurdles (Athens)
• 1983 Men's World Championships 110m Hurdles (Helsinki)
• 1984 Men's Olympic 110m Hurdles (Los Angeles)
• 1984 Men's Friendship Games 110m Hurdles (Moscow)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Athletics at the 1980 Moscow Summer Games: Men's 110 metres Hurdles . https://web.archive.org/web/20200417172701/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/summer/1980/ATH/mens-110-metres-hurdles.html . dead . 17 April 2020 . 24 September 2017 . sports-reference.com.
2. Web site: 110 metres Hurdles, Men . Olympedia . 20 August 2020.
3. Official Report, vol. 3, p. 45.