Why Michelle Ford is fighting for the ‘forgotten Olympians’

The only Australian to win an individual gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Michelle Ford is embarking on a new quest: to right the wrongs of the era she competed in.

The only Australian to win an individual gold medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Michelle Ford is embarking on a new quest: to right the wrongs of the era she competed in, when the Olympic Games were hijacked by Cold War politics.

Australia is one of a small handful of countries which has competed at every Summer Olympics but the copybook was almost blotted when the government called for a boycott of Moscow, in protest at the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan.

The team still went but marched under a neutral flag at the opening ceremony because it was a highly divisive issue and won seven medals.

They might have won more but were up against an East German team fuelled by a state-run doping program that saw the GDR dominate women’s Olympic sports in the 1970s and 1980s.

Almost half a century later, Ford has dived back into the past through her explosive new biography Turning the Tide, with a call for arms that it is never too late to make things right.

Michelle Ford. Photographer Sebastien Moret.

One of the most common questions I get asked is why does what happened in the 1980s still matter after all these years?

I understand why so many people think that, but it does matter, for two important reasons.

First, there is a cohort of Olympians who represented Australia at the 1980 Olympics

who feel like ‘forgotten’ Olympians.

We feel forgotten because we chose to compete when the federal government

was telling us not to (in protest at the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan).

We believe strongly that we have never been afforded the same level of respect as other

Australian Olympic teams.

Back then, most of us were teenagers; who were subjected to abuse, bullying, ridicule, death threats, and called traitors, merely because we chose to support our athletic dreams of competing at the highest level.

All of us who were on that Olympic team faced difficult circumstances, but we still stepped up and won seven medals, two of which were gold.

Because I am the only Australian who won an individual gold, I feel compelled to take this stand on behalf of my fellow 1980 Olympians.

What I would like to see is the Australian Government and the Australian Olympic

Committee acknowledge and recognise the 1980 Moscow team.

The athletes, coaches and administrators should be respected and recognised for our

unwavering commitment to the Olympic ideals.

Michelle Ford after winning a heat in 400m freestyle at 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

Australians Denise Boyd and Max Metzker lead the team into the Moscow Olympics under the Olympic flag in 1980.

Those who went to Moscow not only kept the torch lit, but also ensured the flame

continued to burn for future athletes.

Secondly, as Australians we hold the concept of ‘a level playing field’ to be the base condition not only in sport, but also in life. We value fair play and respect.

Yet, this is not the environment in which we took part.

We had to compete against the biggest state-sanctioned doping scheme in the world.

Younger generations may be aware of the more recent, systemic doping scandal involving Russia.

But what East Germany did was far more extensive, sophisticated and plainly dangerous to the East German women involved.

It was also life-changing for thousands of female athletes throughout the 1970s and 1980s because it sent a message that the only way to win was through cheating.

I proved them wrong when I won the gold in the 800m freestyle.

But many other clean swimmers missed out on their due rewards because the playing field wasn’t level - and went against the Olympic ideals.

What I would like to see is the IOC and international sporting federations acknowledge this injustice and give the athletes – mostly young women - who missed out on medals because of this cheating their rightful recognition and medal.

There is already a program for doing this: it’s called the ‘Olympic Medal Reallocation

Program’.

The record books from that period need to be amended and fellow athletes given their rewards because recognition, respect, fairness and justice still matters, all these years later.

Michelle Ford-Eriksson MBE won a gold and bronze medal at the 1980 Moscow

Olympics. Her book ‘Turning the Tide’ (with Craig Lord) is published by Fair Play

Publishing.

Originally published as Why Michelle Ford is fighting for the ‘forgotten Olympians’