Ric Charlesworth welcomes Australian government recognition of 1980 Moscow Olympics team

As the Australian government prepares to acknowledge the athletes who competed at the 1980 Olympics after more than four decades, one of those involved in the drama has spoken out.

Hockey legend Ric Charlesworth considers himself among the lucky ones because he got to experience the thrill of representing Australia at the Olympics.

Check the record books and you’ll see his name listed as a four-time Olympian who competed at the greatest show in sport in 1972, 1976, 1984 and 1988, winning a silver medal for his country at Montreal in 1976.

But what the record books don’t show is that Charlesworth should have competed at another Olympics because he was also selected to captain the Kookaburras at Moscow in 1980.

And even though the Australian Olympic Committee defied the federal government’s demands to join the United States-led boycott by voting 6-5 to send a team to the Soviet Union, Hockey Australia caved in to Cold War political pressure and withdrew its men’s and women’s teams.

Hockey legend Ric Charlesworth.

For all the players, it was a devastating decision that served no purpose other than to rob them of their chance to go for gold while igniting the most divisive feud in Australia’s sporting history.

“We were mortified because we had lobbied so hard to go and were told by our sport that if the AOC went then we’d go because the teams had already been selected and everyone knew who was going,” Charlesworth said.

“But within a few days of the AOC decision, we started hearing rumblings about changes in Hockey Australia.

“A lot of pressure was brought on the sport that you shouldn’t go or you might lose funding, so the decision was made not to go.

“For the players, it was absolute devastation but it worked all right out for the officials because some of them ended up getting awards at the New Years’ Honours list.”

The hockey players weren’t the only Australians who were blocked from going to Moscow for reasons outside of their control, but few teams paid as high a price as the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos.

The men had won silver four years earlier and were tipped to go one better in 1980 while Moscow marked the first time women’s hockey was contested at the Olympics.

The Hockeyroos were hot favourites to win the gold but in their absence, it was Zimbabwe that took home the chocolates.

“It’s a good quiz question. Who won the gold medal in 1980?” Charlesworth said.

“It was very frustrating. We were always contenders but we were especially ripe for Moscow.”

Jan Ramshaw was chosen to play hockey for Australia at the 1980 Moscow Olympics only to be told the team was banned from going

The athletes who went to Moscow were vilified by sections of the Australian public, subjected to abuse and death threats.

Many of the athletes suffered in silence and still do, almost half a century later.

“If you’re involved in sport, you always want to succeed and win but more than anything else you just want the opportunity,” Charlesworth said.

“You understand that things can go wrong and you can lose or you can be disappointed. I played against New Zealand more than 30 times in my career and the only day they ever beat us was the Olympic final (in 1976) so you’re going to stew about that.

“But I got to go to the Olympics. Most of the players did but not everyone and for anyone not to get the chance or be recognised as an Olympian, that hits harder.”

After retiring as a player, Ric Charlesworth went on to become a master coach

Wiped from the record books and shunned for the past 45 years, the Australian team that went to Moscow will finally be welcomed home by the government next week.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will deliver a formal statement to the federal parliament in Canberra on July 30.

Included in the Prime Minister’s speech will be an acknowledgment of the athletes who were denied the chance to pursue their sporting dreams in Moscow.

“I welcome that,” Charlesworth.

“Though it’s long overdue and I’m still not sure what it means.

“I’ve got a letter somewhere in my files from Malcolm Fraser saying that you’re an Olympian in every true sense of the word, written back then but that was never the case.

“I’m assuming it means that the AOC and the government are in sync with this and therefore these people will be considered as Olympians.

“Does it mean that players who never went to an Olympics will now be considered an Olympian? I hope that’s the case.”

Originally published as Ric Charlesworth welcomes Australian government recognition of 1980 Moscow Olympics team