After World War II the Soviet Union was left as
the sole military and political force capable of matching
the United States. A forty-six year Cold War then ensued
between the United States and the Soviet Union in the
battle for global power and ideological supremacy. The
Cold War was fought on many fronts, including the
sporting arena. The former Soviet Union was highly
successful in its pursuit of sporting dominance. During
the Cold War era, in fact, the Soviet Union was by far the
most successful nation in the Olympic “team” competition.
The success of the “Big Red Machine” has been
attributed to a number of factors, but the most significant
was the allocation of enormous financial and scientific
resources for sports development
