gold medal, in a shocking upset against East Germans in the 4x100 freestyle relay. The event was held on the last day of the swimming program, and the American women were risking to get shut out of gold for the first time in the US Olympic history. The victory was somewhat overlooked at the time, but since the early 1990s, when the crimes of the Soviet Bloc started to unravel, their gold medal is often considered to be one of the most improbable and heroic upsets of all time. In track and field, both the US men's and women's team were overwhelmed by East Germans who, as their Soviet masters expected, stole away a bulk of medals from the US in its signature sports, thus allowing the Soviets to win the medal table virtually unchallenged. The US boxing team surprised everyone, advancing to six gold medal bouts and winning five of them, drawing parallels to a stellar 1952 team that also took 5 golds. The achievement was even more momentous due to the fact that the American boxers were significantly younger and less experienced than their Cuban and Soviet counterparts. In other sports, US divers won 5 medals, including two golds; the US equestrian team took home 4 medals; American shooters won three medals, including a historic silver by a woman in the mixed 50 meters rifle three positions; US freestyle wrestlers advanced to four gold medal bouts, yet won only one of them (all four were against the Soviets), concluding the meet with 6 medals overall. The US men's basketball team reclaimed the gold medal, while the women's team won a surprising silver, being ranked no higher than sixth prior to the start of the tournament. The Soviets and East Germans were unstoppable in canoeing, gymnastics, rowing, weightlifting and wrestling, going 1–2 in the medal standings (49 gold and 125 total medals for the Soviets, and 40 gold and 90 total medals for East Germans). The US won medals in 14 sports, finishing third with 34 gold and 94 total medals. The most successful day for the Americans was July 31 when they won 8 gold and 18 total medals. The 1980 Summer Olympics marked another first for the United States, as the nation led by far the largest and most significant boycott in the Olympic history. The boycott was motivated by the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, as