Only eighty National Olympic Committees took part in the Moscow Summer Games, due to a boycott initiated by the United States in view of the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan. But the Russian hosts rose to the challenge, devoting enormous care to the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The American athletes were conspicuous by their absence (notably in the sprints), although nobody could have stopped the Cuban Teófilo Stevenson from winning the heavyweight boxing for a third successive gold medal. The sports most revered in the Soviet Union receive detailed coverage here: wrestling, weight-lifting, and gymnastics.