Missed Olympics8217; flame still burns 20 years later

Baltimore, August 12: Twenty years after being denied a trip to the Olympics, sprinter Cliff Wiley remains haunted by the missed opportuni...

Baltimore, August 12: Twenty years after being denied a trip to the Olympics, sprinter Cliff Wiley remains haunted by the missed opportunity caused by an American-led boycott of the 1980 Moscow Games.

8220;I can get over the fact that I didn8217;t get to compete in an Olympics,8221; Wiley told The Baltimore Sun. 8220;What bothers me is that I didn8217;t get an opportunity to be in an Olympic atmosphere.8221;

Athletes from many nations missed chances to compete due to boycotts in 1980 and 1984, the latter led by the Soviet Union for the Los Angeles Olympics. Cuban athletes stayed away in 1984 and 1988 as well, skipping Seoul to show unity with North Korea.

It8217;s the Olympian void that nags at Wiley, who along with Steve Williams, Steve Riddick and Bill Collins set a 4x100M World record in 1977 of 38.03 seconds that lasted until 1983.

Wiley attended a ceremony honouring past US track stars at last month8217;s US Olympic trials and found himself with little to say.

8220;My whole time there was difficult,8221; Wiley said. 8220;It was delightful to be there but hard because I don8217;t have any Olympic stories to tell. The 8217;76 guys talked about 8217;76. The 8217;64 guys talked about 8217;64.

Only a few weeks after the US ice hockey team pulled off 8220;Miracle on Ice8221; in Lake Placid, US President Jimmy Carter ordered the US boycott of the Moscow Games in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

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Wiley kept training in hopes of a last-minute reversal that never came, qualifying for the only US Olympic team ever selected that never took part in an Olympics.

8220;I heard all this talk about making a sacrifice,8221; Wiley said. 8220;I thought sacrifice was a voluntary thing. People tell you if you work hard for something, you can attain it. We couldn8217;t.8221;

Wiley kept his thoughts to himself during a visit to the White House where he posed for pictures with the President. Now 45, Wiley hopes the boycott lesson forced upon him and others is not lost upon current Olympians.

8220;A lot of people died for our country. My loss isn8217;t that great,8221; Wiley said. 8220;As I have gotten older I have recognised that. But I still believe in keeping politics separate from sports.8221;