The 1972 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XX Olympiad and also known as Munich 1972) were an international multi-sport event held between 26 August and 11 September 1972 in Munich, West Germany. 121 nations competed in 23 sports, split amongst 195 events. The Games were opened by Federal President Gustav Heinemann of West Germany, and marked the second time Germany held the Games, the first being Berlin in 1936. It also marked the only Games to be held in West Germany.
Bidding[]
| Voting results for the 1972 Summer Olympic Games | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | Country | Round 1 | Round 2 | |||
| Munich | West Germany | 21 | 31 | |||
| Montreal | Canada | 16 | 15 | |||
| Madrid | Spain | 16 | 13 | |||
| Detroit | United States | 6 | ||||
Munich Massacre[]
During these Olympics, the Munich Massacre overshadowed the spirit of the Games. On September 5, a group of eight Palestinian terrorists from the group Black September broke into the athlete's village and took nine Israeli athletes hostage, killing two others right after the break-in. The standoff lasted 18 hours. That evening they were transferred by helicopter to a military base where they were to board a plane to an Arab nation. German police planned to ambush them there but underestimated the terrorists. All of the Israeli hostages were killed. Four of them were killed when a Palestinian detonated a grenade inside the helicopter in which the hostages were sitting. The five remaining hostages were then machine-gunned by another terrorist. Only three of the Palestinian terrorists survived the battle. They were imprisoned and awaiting trial before they were released in exchange for a highjacked jet and it's passengers.
The Games were suspended briefly, but then-IOC president Avery Brundage declared that the "Games must go on", and the events continued a day later.
Other Historical Events[]
- These were the final Olympic Games under the IOC presidency of Avery Brundage.
- Mark Spitz set a world record when he won seven gold medals (while on the way to setting a new world record for each of his seven gold medals) in a single Olympiad, bringing his lifetime total to nine (he had won two golds in Mexico City four years earlier). Born and raised as a Jewish, he was asked to leave Munich before the closing ceremonies for his own protection, after fears arose that he would be an additional target of those responsible for the Munich massacre. Spitz's record stood until Beijing 2008 when Michael Phelps won eight gold medals.
- Olga Korbut, a Soviet gymnast, became a media star after winning a gold medal in the team competition event, failing to win the individual all-around title after a fall, and adding two more in the balance beam and the floor exercise events.
- For the first time ever, the Olympic Oath was sworn by a referee.
- The United States lost to the Soviet Union in the final match of the men's basketball tournament. In a close-fought match, the U.S. team appeared to have won by a score of 50–49. However, the final three seconds of the game were replayed three times by judges until the Soviet team came out on top and claimed a 51–50 victory. Ultimately, the U.S. team refused to accept their silver medals, citing accusations on cheating and multiple deliberate timekeeping errors.
- Handball returned to the Olympics after a 36-year-absence.
- Archery also returned for the first time since Antwerp 1920.
- Canoeing slalom made its first Olympic appearance.
- U.S. track and field runners Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett, the gold and silver medalists in the 400 metres respectively, were banned for life from the Games when they were twirling their medals and joking with each other as the "Star Spangled Banner" played during the award ceremony.
- Frank Shorter became the first U.S. runner since London 1908 to win the Olympic marathon. As Shorter approached the finish line, German student Norbert Sudhaus entered the stadium wearing a track uniform, joined the race and ran the last kilometre. Assuming that he was the winner, the crowd began cheering him before officials realized the pretense and security escorted Sudhaus off the track. Arriving seconds later, Shorter was understandably perplexed to see someone ahead of him and to hear the boos meant for Sudhaus.
- Dave Wottle moved quickly from the back of the field at the 600-metre mark to win a gold medal in the 800 metres. He started to pass runner after runner up the final straightaway, finally grabbing the lead in the final 18 metres to finish first by 0.03 seconds ahead of the Soviet favorite Yevgeny Arzhanov. At the victory ceremony, he forgot to remove his golf cap. This was interpreted by some as a form of protest against the Vietnam War, but Wottle later apologized.
Sports[]
| ← Winter 1972 |  1972 Summer Olympic Games
|
Winter 1976 → |
|---|---|---|
| ← 1968 | 1976 → | |
| Archery | Athletics | Basketball |
| Boxing | Canoeing | Cycling |
| Diving | Equestrian | Fencing |
| Field Hockey | Football | Gymnastics |
| Handball | Judo | Modern Pentathlon |
| Rowing | Sailing | Shooting |
| Swimming | Volleyball | Water Polo |
| Weightlifting | Wrestling |
Medal table[]
| Rank | Country | 
|
|
|
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union | 50 | 27 | 22 | 99 |
| 2 | United States | 33 | 31 | 30 | 94 |
| 3 | East Germany | 20 | 23 | 23 | 66 |
| 4 | West Germany | 13 | 11 | 16 | 39 |
| 5 | Japan | 13 | 8 | 8 | 29 |
| 6 | Australia | 8 | 7 | 2 | 17 |
| 7 | Poland | 7 | 5 | 9 | 21 |
| 8 | Hungary | 6 | 13 | 16 | 35 |
| 9 | Bulgaria | 6 | 10 | 5 | 21 |
| 10 | Italy | 5 | 3 | 10 | 18 |
| 11 | Sweden | 4 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
| 12 | Great Britain | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 |
| 13 | Romania | 3 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| 14 | Cuba | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 14 | Finland | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| 16 | Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 17 | France | 2 | 4 | 7 | 13 |
| 18 | Czechoslovakia | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 19 | Kenya | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 20 | Yugoslavia | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 21 | Norway | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 22 | North Korea | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 23 | New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 24 | Uganda | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | Denmark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Switzerland | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 27 | Canada | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 28 | Iran | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 29 | Belgium | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Greece | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 31 | Austria | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 31 | Colombia | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 33 | Argentina | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Lebanon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Mexico | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Mongolia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Pakistan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | South Korea | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Tunisia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Turkey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 41 | Brazil | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 41 | Ethiopia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 43 | Ghana | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 43 | India | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 43 | Jamaica | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 43 | Niger | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 43 | Nigeria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 43 | Spain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Image Gallery[]
See also[]
- Logos - A collection of logos featuring this event.
- Torch - Information about this Olympics' torch.
| Preceded by Sapporo 1972 |
Olympics 1972 |
Succeeded by Innsbruck 1976 |
| Preceded by Mexico City 1968 |
Summer Olympics 1972 |
Succeeded by Montreal 1976 |