21 March 1980 – US President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan.
Boxer Muhammad Ali was dispatched by the US administration to Tanzania, Nigeria, and Senegal to convince their leaders to join the boycott.
Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere, insulted that Carter had sent a mere athlete to discuss the boycott, refused to meet with the special envoy. Ali was hustled into a press conference that quickly became combative. The boxer was stunned when asked if he was a puppet of the White House. He said: "Nobody made me come here and I’m nobody’s Uncle Tom."
Tanzania competed at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, USSR. The nation won its first ever Olympic medals at these Games.
Medalists were Suleiman Nyambui — Athletics, Men's 5,000 metres and Filbert Bayi — Athletics, Men's 3,000 metres Steeplechase. Both won silver medals.
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