The 1976 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXI Olympiad and also known as Montréal 1976) were an international multi-sport event held between July 17 and August 1, 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. These Games were the first to be held in the country, which would later host the 1988 and 2010 Winter Games. They were also the first Olympics where the Cauldron was lit by two people; two teenagers were chosen to symbolize the youth and the two founding groups of Canada.
Although this was a big event for Canada, it came at a major cost to the city of Montreal. It was a financial disaster because the original estimated $310 million cost was pushed to $1.5 billion after labor problems, financial mismanagement, the addition of an extravagant stadium, added security (needed after the Munich massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympic Games) and other expenses. Ultimately, the Montreal Olympic Stadium cost almost C$2 billion.
Bidding[]
| Voting results for the 1976 Summer Olympic Games | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Country | Round 1 | Round 2 | |||
| Montreal | Canada | 25 | 41 | |||
| Moscow | Soviet Union | 28 | 28 | |||
| Los Angeles | United States | 17 | ||||
Boycotts and Politics[]
Although 92 Nations competed there were many who boycotted these Games
The IOC refused to ban New Zealand, after their rugby union team toured the racially segregated South Africa. Because of this, 28 countries, mainly in Africa, boycotted the Montreal Games.
Another dispute was between the Peoples Republic of China and the Republic of China (also known as Taiwan), over issues concerning the legitimacy of each other. Canada originally barred the Republic of China, but later allowed them to compete if they wouldn't refer to themselves as the Republic of China. They became outraged and withdrew from the Olympics.
Other Historical Events[]
- Montreal 1976 was the first of two Summer Olympic Games to be organized under the IOC presidency of Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin.
- Women's events were introduced in basketball, handball, and rowing.
- Nadia Comaneci a 14-year-old Romanian gymnast, became the first person to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics, recording seven 10.00 scores and winning three gold medals, including the all-around title. The scoreboard could hold only 3 digits and the score was shown as 1.00.
- Alberto Juantorena became the first man to win both the 400 and 800 metres at the same Olympic Games.
- Lasse Viren repeated his 1972 double win in the 5000 and 10000 metres and became the first runner to successfully defend the Olympic title in the 5000 metres. Virén finished fifth in the marathon, thereby failing to match Emil Zátopek's 1952 achievements.
- Viktor Saneev won his third consecutive triple jump gold medal, while Klaus Dibiasi attained such feat in platform diving.
- Japanese gymnast Shun Fujimoto performed on a broken right knee, and helped the Japanese team win the gold medal for the team all-around event. Fujimoto broke his leg on the floor exercise, and due to the closeness in the overall standings with the Soviet Union, he hid the extent of the injury. With a broken knee, he managed to complete his event on the rings, performing a perfect triple somersault dismount and maintaining perfect posture. He scored a 9.7 thus securing gold for Japan.
- For the first time ever, a woman won an Olympic medal in shooting. Margaret Murdock received the silver in the rifle three positions event. Lanny Bassham and Murdock tied for the first place, but Murdock was placed second after review of the targets. Bassham suggested that two gold medals be given, and after this request was declined, asked Murdock to share the top step with him at the award ceremony. At that time, all the shooting sport events were mixed. Murdock became the first woman to win an Olympic medal in shooting.
Sports[]
Medal table[]
| Rank | Country | 
|
|
|
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 49 | 41 | 35 | 125 |
| 2 | East Germany | 40 | 25 | 25 | 90 |
| 3 | United States | 34 | 35 | 25 | 94 |
| 4 | West Germany | 10 | 12 | 17 | 39 |
| 5 | Japan | 9 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| 6 | Poland | 7 | 6 | 13 | 26 |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 6 | 9 | 7 | 22 |
| 8 | Cuba | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| 9 | Romania | 4 | 9 | 14 | 27 |
| 10 | Hungary | 4 | 5 | 13 | 22 |
| 11 | Finland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 12 | Sweden | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Great Britain | 3 | 5 | 5 | 13 |
| 14 | Italy | 2 | 7 | 4 | 13 |
| 15 | France | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 16 | Yugoslavia | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 17 | Czechoslovakia | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 18 | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 19 | South Korea | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 20 | Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 | Jamaica | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | North Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 21 | Norway | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 24 | Denmark | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 25 | Mexico | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | Canada | 0 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 28 | Belgium | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 29 | Netherlands | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 30 | Portugal | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 30 | Spain | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 32 | Australia | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 33 | Iran | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Mongolia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 34 | Venezuela | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 36 | Brazil | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Bermuda | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 37 | Thailand | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Image Gallery[]
See Also[]
- Logos - A collection of logos featuring this event.
- Mascots - The official mascots of this Olympics'.
- Torch - Information about this Olympics' torch.
| Preceded by Innsbruck 1976 |
Olympics 1976 |
Succeeded by Lake Placid 1980 |
| Preceded by Munich 1972 |
Summer Olympics 1976 |
Succeeded by Moscow 1980 |