The Olympics are held every two years and allow athletes from around the world to compete against other Olympians. These individuals advance to the world stage as major television and radio stations broadcast the matches around the world and have the opportunity to demonstrate their world-class skills by competing against others with sportsmanship and respect. The Jimmy Carter boycott deprived many athletes of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform at the highest level of competition. Renaldo Nehemiah is an example of an athlete whose opportunity to compete in the Olympics was stolen by the boycott. Before the 1980 Olympics, Nehemiah was expected to win the gold medal in hurdles. Nehemiah declares: “Our boycott in 1980 achieved nothing.” He said: “It was very discouraging to use sport as a means to achieve political goals. . . It was difficult for me personally. I was 21 years old and I was the best in the world, but I never competed in an Olympic stadium as an athlete, and it's still difficult, it took me many years before I even be able to talk about it. The athletes' strong reactions to Jimmy Carter's decision to boycott the games show that he did not have the support of the people most important to the games, the athletes. Another reason for the United States' boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics