By this point in the year, President Jimmy Carter had already announced the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and its flagrant human rights violations.

Some athletes did not compete or did not persevere through illness or injury as they might have if Olympic bids were on the line.

Subsequently, some athletes, notably Tom Hintnaus[1] and Gary Fanelli, chose to compete for other countries.

Many of the top 3 from this meet ran in the alternative to the Olympics, the Liberty Bell Classic, a few weeks later.

The trials for the men's and women's marathon were held May 24 in Buffalo, New York, and the trials for the men's 50 km race walk were held May 10 in Niagara Falls, New York.