Winner's medal awarded for a shooting event at the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics. Bronze [tombac], 60 mm, 120 gm, by Ilya Postol, Moscow. The front, inscribed in Cyrillic, features a 'Seated Victory' with the Colosseum in the background; the reverse features the Moscow Olympic emblem and Olympic flame. The bottom edge is engraved "СТРЕЛКОВЫЙ СПОРТ" in Cyrillic to indicate the associated sport, shooting. Complete with its original colorful ribbon.
The United States led sixty-five countries in a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Games to protest the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Between the important historical events surrounding the 1980 Moscow Olympics and the scarcity of these winner's medals, they hold a special international appeal and are sought by collectors worldwide.
