WORLD SPORTS SCENE : In a Decade of Change, They Performed at a Higher Level

The four men who had the most impact on international sports in the 1980s:

1. Peter Ueberroth, United States--He can claim this on behalf of the L.A. Olympic Organizing Committee. Before 1984, the Olympic Games were on the verge of collapse. Few cities were interested in organizing them after the massacre at Munich in 1972, Montreal’s $1-billion loss in 1976 and the U.S.-led boycott of Moscow in 1980. But the LAOOC made it safe to bid again in a language that cities everywhere could understand--a $222.7-million profit.

2. Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spain--He is widely recognized as the International Olympic Committee’s best president since its founder, Pierre de Coubertin. After boycotts in 1980 and ‘84, Samaranch put the political pieces back together and welcomed 160 of the IOC’s 167 countries to Seoul.

3. Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Union--Sports has not been exempt from the momentous changes in the Eastern Bloc. As part of the Soviet leader’s economic reform campaign, sports in his country were told to become self-supporting. Consequently, professional hockey, basketball and soccer players were allowed to join teams in other countries in exchange for fees. East Germany is experimenting with a similar plan, which probably will become widespread throughout the Eastern Bloc. The structure of sports in those countries will be unalterably changed.

4. Dr. Manfred Donike, West Germany--The one-man war that he began against performance-enhancing drugs in a Cologone laboratory became worldwide after he proved at the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas, Venezuela, that his technology could work. Now, the doctors, such as Donike and Don Catlin of UCLA, have the sports politicians on their side and have begun to close the gap between themselves and drug users.

The dozen outstanding performers in international sports during the ‘80s:

1. Carl Lewis, United States--In 1984, he became the first track and field athlete since Jesse Owens to win four gold medals in an Olympics. Four years later, he became the first man ever to repeat as Olympic champion in the 100 meters and the long jump.

2. Martina Navratilova, United States via Czechoslovakia--She’s not the latest--that’s Steffi Graf--but Navratilova was the greatest tennis player of the ‘80s. Since 1981, she has won 15 Grand Slam tournaments, including six consecutive Wimbledons from 1982 through ’87. Graf has won eight Grand Slam tournaments since 1987, including all four and the Olympic gold medal in 1988.

3. Diego Maradona, Argentina--The dominant player in the world’s most popular sport, he led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup soccer championship and his club team, Naples of the Italian League, to the 1989 UEFA Cup championship.

4. Steffi Graf, West Germany--See above.

5. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, United States--She broke the Eastern Bloc’s hold on the heptathlon, becoming the first to score more than 7,000 points and winning gold medals in the 1987 World Championships and the 1988 Olympics. She also won the long jump in both of those competitions.

6. Seve Ballesteros, Spain--Not only did he win four of his five major golf championships in the ‘80s, he also led Europe to two victories and a tie against the United States in the Ryder Cup.

7. Edwin Moses, United States--His record during the ‘80s in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles was 101-3. He did not lose any races between 1980 and ’87. He won an Olympic gold and bronze and two world championships.

8. Greg Louganis, United States--No person had won gold medals in springboard and platform diving in consecutive Olympics until he did it in 1984 and ’88.

9. Katarina Witt, East Germany--With her championship in 1988 at Calgary, she became the first female figure skater since Norway’s Sonja Henie to win gold medals in successive Winter Olympics. She also was a four-time world champion.

10. Rosa Mota, Portugal--She was the dominant marathon runner of the ‘80s, winning gold medals in the 1987 World Championships and 1988 Olympics. She also won the Boston Marathon twice.

11. KLM, Soviet Union--The Soviet team was embarrassed by the United States in ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics, but its No. 1 line of Vladimir Krutov, Igor Larionov and Sergei Makarov made sure that they won gold medals in 1984 and ’88. All three are NHL rookies.

12. Karch Kiraly, United States--The Babe Ruth of volleyball, he led the United States to a championship in every major competition, including two Olympics. The international volleyball federation invented an award for him, naming him the greatest player of his time.

The dozen outstanding performances during the ‘80s:

1. Greg LeMond, United States, 1989 Tour de France--Overcoming shotgun wounds, injuries, illness and contract disputes, he returned to the race he first won in 1986 and provided it with its most dramatic finish. On the final day of the 2,023-mile race, he erased a seemingly insurmountable 50-second lead by Frenchman Laurent Fignon and won by eight seconds.

2. Eric Heiden, United States, 1980 Winter Olympics--He won gold medals in all five speedskating events at distances ranging from 500 to 10,000 meters.

3. Jack Nicklaus, United States, 1986 Masters--Playing the final 10 holes in seven under par, he won the last of his 20 major golf championships at 46.

4. Kristin Otto, East Germany, 1988 Olympics--She was voted the outstanding athlete at Seoul after winning six swimming gold medals.

5. Matt Biondi, United States, 1988 Olympics--He was the most-decorated athlete in Seoul with seven medals, including five golds.

6. Ingemar Stenmark, Sweden, 1980 Winter Olympics--Five months after suffering a concussion in a violent fall, he won the slalom and the giant slalom, coming from behind on the second run of both races, at Lake Placid, N.Y.

7. Joan Benoit, United States, 1984 Olympics--She had knee surgery only 17 days before she won the U.S. marathon trials. Then she won the first Olympic women’s marathon.

8. Bjorn Borg, Sweden--Winning the last of his five consecutive Wimbledon titles, he outlasted precocious John McEnroe, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 8-6, in 1980.

9. Mary Lou Retton, United States, 1984 Olympics--Earning perfect 10s in the last two disciplines, the floor exercise and the vault, she became the first American to win a gymnastics all-around gold medal.

10. Brian Boitano, United States, 1988 Winter Olympics--Canada’s Brian Orser, the 1987 world champion was the favorite to win the figure skating gold medal in Calgary, Canada. But Boitano skated the performance of his life in the long program to win.

11. Florence Griffith Joyner, United States, 1988 Olympic trials--Her time of 10.49 seconds in the women’s 100 meters obliterated the world record of 10.76.

12. Tiina Lillak, Finland, 1983 World Championships of track and field--On her final throw in the last event at Helsinki, Finland, she gave the host country its only gold.

Best stories of the ‘80s:

1. Three upsets--The United States over the Soviet Union in ice hockey at the 1980 Winter Olympics, the Soviet Union over the United States in basketball at the 1988 Olympics, and Alan Bond and Australia over Dennis Connor and the United States in the 1983 America’s Cup.

2. The Seoul Olympics--The Eastern Bloc meets the Western Bloc again.

3. 1994 World Cup of soccer awarded to the United States--The world’s favorite sport attempts to conquer its last frontier.

Worst stories of the ‘80s:

1. Soccer violence--Death in the stands at Heysel and Hillsborough.

2. Olympic boycotts--The United States doesn’t go to Moscow in 1980; the Soviet Union doesn’t come to Los Angeles in 1984.

3. Drugs--Steroids prove to be more popular than Wheaties among many, including the world’s fastest man, Ben Johnson.