| Event: | Liberty Bell Classic |
| Venue: | Franklin Field |
| Location: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Dates: | July 16–17, 1980 |
| Nations: | 29 |
The Liberty Bell Classic was a track and field athletics event organized by the Athletics Congress as part of the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott and held at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia on July 16 and 17, 1980.[1] It was named after Philadelphia's Liberty Bell.
The U.S. Congress voted to approve $10 million in funding to alternative tournaments in several Olympic sports, to which athletes from boycotting countries would be invited.[1] In addition to the Liberty Bell Classic, the U.S. Gymnastics Federation held an International Invitational tournament in Hartford, Connecticut. Earlier in the year, the United States had considered holding other games in Côte d'Ivoire, Italy, Japan, West Germany, or China.[2]
The IAAF prohibited any official track and field meets that would clash with the Olympic meet, so the Liberty Bell began three days before the Moscow Games opened (and ten days before the Olympic athletics events began).[1] The Liberty Bell came the day after the prestigious Bislett Games in Oslo, and many eligible athletes declined to compete, including 17 of the 34 champions at the US Olympic Trials.[1] The winning performances in the men's 110 m hurdles and 400 m hurdles were better than those in Moscow.
Athletes from 29 countries participated in the event, many of which had taken part in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, including:
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Countries marked with an asterisk (*) went on to be represented in the 1980 Summer Olympics under the Olympic flag.
| 100 meters | 10.31 | 10.31 | 10.33 | ||||
| 200 meters | 20.65 | 20.66 | 20.92 | ||||
| 400 meters | 45.59 | 45.60 | 45.79 | ||||
| 800 meters | 1:47.19 | 1:47.27 | 1:48.03 | ||||
| 1500 meters | 3:40.19 | 3:40.34 | 3:41.40 | ||||
| 5000 meters | 13:37.52 | 13:39.72[3] | 13:45.77 | ||||
| 110 meter hurdles | 13.31 | 13.68 | 13.94 | ||||
| 400 meter hurdles | 48.6 | 49.1 | 50.0 | ||||
| 4 × 100 meter relay | Mel Lattany Harvey Glance James Butler Carl Lewis | 38.61 | Tony Sharpe Desai Williams Marvin Nash Ben Johnson | 39.54 | 41.29 | ||
| 4 × 400 meter relay | Walter McCoy Fred Taylor David Lee Herman Frazier | 3:03.20 | James Atuti Billy Konchellah James Maina Boi Daniel Kimaiyo | 3:05.72 | 3:09.06 | ||
| High jump | 2.26 m | 2.26 m | | 2.22 m | |||
| Pole vault | 5.50 m | 5.33 m | 5.18 m | ||||
| Long jump | 8.20 m | 7.95 m | 7.77 m | ||||
| Triple jump | 16.90 m | 16.75 m | 16.42 m | ||||
| Shot put | 19.69 m | 19.58 m | 16.17 m | ||||
| Discus throw | 61.46 m | 60.76 m | 59.48 m | ||||
| Hammer throw | 72.62 m | 71.34 m | 69.08 m | ||||
| Javelin throw | 89.12 m | 84.56 m | 79.24 m | ||||
| Decathlon | 8058 | 8009 | 7015 |
| 100 meters | 11.27 | 11.41 | 11.43 | ||||
| 200 meters | 22.77 | 22.84 | 23.41 | ||||
| 400 meters | 52.04 | 52.33 | 52.34 | ||||
| 800 meters | 2:02.34 | 2:02.53 | 2:02.63 | ||||
| 1500 meters | 4:00.87 | 4:10.37 | 4:10.39 | ||||
| 100 meter hurdles | 13.08 | 13.17 | 13.20 | ||||
| 4 × 100 meter relay | Chandra Cheeseborough Karen Hawkins Kathy McMillan Jeanette Bolden | 44.57 | 45.26 | 46.90 | |||
| 4 × 400 meter relay | Kim Thomas Delisa Walton Robin Campbell Roberta Belle | 3:32.69 | 3:33.50 | ||||
| High jump | 1.92 m | 1.84 m | 1.80 m | ||||
| Long jump | 6.65 m | 6.60 m | 6.48 m | ||||
| Shot put | 17.09 m | 16.24 m | 15.98 m | ||||
| Discus throw | 56.56 m | 55.20 m | 53.52 m | ||||
| Javelin throw | 57.42 m | 55.30 m | 54.94 m | ||||
| Pentathlon | 4640 | 4346 | 4314 |
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Swaziland
