Gerald R. Ford photo

Letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee on the 1980 Winter Olympics.

October 15, 1976

Dear Lord Killanin:

The Olympic Games are a major symbol of international goodwill and universal hopes for world peace. Throughout their modern history, however, the Olympics have been periodically threatened by narrow political interests. Recent events portend another era of peril for the Olympic movement.

I assure you that the United States does not condone this abuse of the Olympic ideal. In a recent ceremony with American athletes who participated in the Summer Games, I pledged that every team recognized by the International Olympic Committee will be welcomed at Lake Placid in 1980. I repeat that pledge to you.

I would hope that the IOC will continue to urge all nations to refrain from political interference in the Games.

Sincerely,

GERALD R. FORD

[Lord Michael Killanin, President, International Olympic Committee, Hotel Princess Sofia, Place Pio #12, Barcelona, Spain]

Gerald R. Ford, Letter to the President of the International Olympic Committee on the 1980 Winter Olympics. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/241974

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