This time, as expected, the boycott came from the Eastern Bloc, in response to what had happened four years earlier. The Soviets and the countries within their political orbit also organized alternative competitions, under the general title Friendship Games, in which a good number of results surpassed those that were enough to reach the podium in Los Angeles. In other words, in this case, the boycott was active and exemplary.
That stance by the major socialist sporting powers favored what must, in any case, be regarded as the best Basque Olympic performance since the football exploits of Antwerp, 64 years earlier. Two silver medals stood out in a splendid overall harvest of results. Those medals returned hanging on the chests of rower Luis Mari Lasurtegui and basketball player Juan Manuel López Iturriaga, who, as we have just seen, had already been close to the podium in Moscow.
López Iturriaga was part of Spain’s basketball team — a sport in which, undoubtedly, the absence of the Soviet Union eliminated a potential rival. But it should not be forgotten that, to reach the final, Díaz-Miguel’s men had to eliminate, among others, Yugoslavia — always a strong contender for the title. Canada, Uruguay, France, China, and Australia were other milestones on Spain’s path to the final. There, they fell by a wide and predictable 96–65 against the team, the United States, who had already beaten them in the preliminary group stage by a similar 101–68.
That Spanish team also included another player with a Basque surname and Biscayan origin, though Catalan in every sporting sense: Nacho Solozábal. For Spain as a whole, this was undoubtedly the most celebrated medal, since basketball is the main team sport contested at the Olympics — where football does not have the prominence of a World Cup. But in the Basque Country, it was certainly the success of Luis Mari Lasurtegui that was received with far greater joy.
Rowing, a sport so deeply rooted in the Basque Country but slow to embrace the modern Olympic sliding seat, thus earned the reward for nearly a decade of hard work that had so far yielded only lightweight world titles. Already in Moscow, as we have mentioned, Lasurtegui had narrowly missed the podium in the coxed four. Two years later, in the coxless pair, Lasurtegui, together with his clubmate José Ramón Oyarzábal — who, we recall, finished seventh in the same event in 1980 alongside Korta — again reached fourth place at the World Championships in Lucerne (1982), though a year later in Duisburg (West Germany), they slipped to sixth.
Everything suggested that the two rowers from the Kostape Club of Pasajes San Juan would face the Olympic test together. But a few months before the Games, the coaches noticed that their boat was not performing well. Patxi Sarasúa, then in charge, decided — with little time to spare — to replace José Ramón Oyarzábal with Fernando Climent, a rower from Seville, lightweight in build but of exceptional technical skill. Incidentally, Climent had also rowed in the trainera of Orio.
The change came so late that the pair’s first race together was actually the first Olympic qualifying heat. Nevertheless, they reached the final without major trouble. Their main rivals a priori were Norway — who, barely a month earlier, had defeated in Lucerne two of the absent great powers, the USSR and East Germany — and Romania, who had beaten the Basque-Andalusian pair in the semifinals. They also could not forget West Germany, who had beaten them in the first qualifying round. Under those circumstances, even a bronze would have been considered an excellent outcome in advance.
Over the 2,000-meter course, the Romanians launched a fast start to break the race open. The Norwegians tried to keep pace. Lasurtegui and Climent were third at the first quarter mark, but the Scandinavians began to fade, unable to sustain Romania’s pace — the only Eastern European country that did not join the boycott. At the halfway point, the San Juan and Seville duo were already in second place. And with 500 meters remaining, the result was beyond doubt.
The final classification was:
1st Romania (Yosub and Toma), 6:45.39 — Gold Medal
2nd Spain (Lasurtegui and Climent), 6:48.47 — Silver Medal
3rd Norway (Grepperud and Loken), 6:51.81 — Bronze Medal
The Olympic diplomas went, in order, to West Germany, Italy, and the United States. José Ramón Oyarzábal, rowing solo in the single sculls, placed eleventh after reaching the small or consolation final.
Among other Basque athletes’ performances in these Games, notable were the sixth places achieved by Navarrese weightlifter Dionisio Muñoz (in the 26 kg category) and Gipuzkoan canoeist Pedro Alegre (in the K-1 1000 m event). Both received the Olympic diploma, which, starting with these Games, was also extended to seventh and eighth places. Ricardo Aldabe, a Navarrese swimmer, benefited from this, finishing seventh in the 200 m backstroke. His teammate Harri Garmendia, from Gipuzkoa, competed in three events, maintaining steady but modest performances: 15th in the 200 m butterfly, 19th in the 200 m medley, and 20th in the 100 m butterfly.
In handball, Spain finished eighth, once again with Juanjo Uría and Nacho Novoa on the team. Another weightlifter, Alavese Fernando Mariaca, placed twelfth in the 65.5 kg category, while Joaquín Valle was eliminated in the second round.
Within the poor overall cycling performance, it is worth noting the participation — and withdrawal — of Navarrese Miguel Indurain in the road race, especially considering the prominence he would later achieve in professional cycling.
Finally, in athletics, the outcome could not have been more unfortunate. Only one athlete, Donostian Juan José Prado, was selected for the 4×400 meters relay. Believing the first round would be easy to qualify from, the coaches reserved Prado for the semifinals, scheduled for later that same day. Unfortunately, the quartet’s time was far worse than expected. Spain was eliminated, and thus Juan José Prado became an involuntary spectator of the event.