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.
Participants
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:
