Games of the XXII Olympiad
Canada joined the United States and 35 other countries boycotting the Games in protest of the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan. Canadian athletes had already been chosen when the boycott decision was announced. Some governments, like those of Great Britain and Australia, supported the boycott but allowed the athletes to decide for themselves whether to go to Moscow. The U.S.-led boycott reduced the number of participating nations to 80, the lowest number since 1956.
