Lee Kemp video “I’m Still Standing” shares his 1980 U.S. Olympic team boycott story 40 years later

Wrestling legend Lee Kemp has posted a short video on all of the major social media platforms entitled “I’m Still Standing,” which gives his personal perspective of the U.S. government boycott of the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow.


Kemp had won the 1978 and 1979 Senior World Championships and qualified to compete on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Along with all of his U.S. Olympic teammates, Kemp could not compete in Moscow due to a decision by the United States government under President Jimmy Carter.


Kemp, who won a third World title in 1982, did not make the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team, falling to eventual champion Dave Schultz in the Olympic Trials. He would not participate in the Olympics until 2008, when he was an official volunteer coach in men’s freestyle for the U.S. Olympic Team in Beijing, China.


On July 24, which marks the day which would have been the start of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, Kemp posted this compelling video which he wants to share with the wrestling community and the rest of the world.


The “I’m Still Standing” video is posted on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. We have embedded the YouTube video above. Links to the other platforms are below.

Lee Kemp: I'm Still Standing video on Facebook

Lee Kemp: I'm Still Standing video on Instagram

Lee Kemp: I'm Still Standing video on Twitter


The video was directed by Riley Hanlon, who also served as the director of a documentary about Lee Kemp entitled “Wrestled Away: The Lee Kemp Story,” which is available on numerous streaming platforms. For more information on Riley Hanlon, visit:
https://www.facebook.com/rileyjhanlon


For more information on “Wrestled Away: The Lee Kemp Story,” visit:
http://www.leekemp.com/2019/03/lee-kemp-documentary-wrestled-away-the-lee-kemp-story/