sports during the cold war

  • Bobby Fischer

    In 1972, he captured the World Chess Championship from Boris Spassky of the USSR in a match held in Reykjavík, Iceland, publicized as a Cold War confrontation which attracted more worldwide interest than any chess championship before or since.[9] In 1975, Fischer refused to defend his title when an agreement could not be reached with FIDE over one of the conditions for the match. This allowed Soviet GM Anatoly Karpov, who had won the qualifying Candidates' cycle, to become the new world champion
  • Miracle on Ice

    The "Miracle on Ice" is the name in American popular culture for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, on Friday, February 22. The United States national team, made up of amateur and collegiate players and led by coach Herb Brooks, defeated the Soviet Union national team, which had won the gold medal in six of the seven previous Olympic games.
  • Americans Olympic Boycott

    The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott of the Moscow Olympics was one part of a number of actions initiated by the United States to protest the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan.[1] The Soviet Union and other countries would later support the 1984 Summer Olympics boycott in Los Angeles.
  • Rocky VI

    In the film, the Soviet Union and their top boxer make an entrance into professional boxing with their best athlete Ivan Drago, who initially wants to take on World champion Rocky Balboa. His best friend Apollo Creed decides to fight him instead, but is fatally beaten in the ring. Enraged by this, Rocky decides to fight Drago in the Soviet Union to avenge his friend and defend the honor of his country.