I haven't seen this since the original airing and the recently concluded 2008 olympics reminded me of it. I recall it being a cut above the typical made-for-TV fare. David Keith was a football player who's injured just before beginning his pro career so he decides to become an Olympic decathalete instead. The decathalon was big back then because of Bruce Jenner.
Ironically enough, the film is set during the 1980 Moscow games which the US wound up boycotting. So instead of being a tie-in to the games, it would up being broadcast as a "tribute" to the athletes who couldn't compete.