Swimming at the 1980 Moskva Summer Games:

The United States’ sprinters would have been favored in this event, led by Rowdy Gaines, who shortly after Moscow, who had best times of 49.61, which he had done twice. The world record holder, Jonty Skinner of South Africa, also was absent, because the IOC banned his nation due to their policy of apartheid in sporting events. In the semi-finals, East German teenager Jörg Woithe set a European record of 50.21 in the semi-finals, which made him only the fifth fastest performer ever. He was not quite as good in the final, going 50.40, but that was sufficient for the gold medal. He was surprisingly followed by two Swedes, [Pelle Homertz] and Peter Johansson who won the silver and bronze medals.