1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics took place in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972. This was the second time Germany hosted the Summer Olympics, after the 1936 Games in Berlin. The West German government wanted to show the world a peaceful and happy Germany. They used the motto "the cheerful Games." The Games had a special logo, a blue sun, and a mascot named Waldi, a dachshund. This was the first time an Olympic mascot was used.

Many countries joined in the events, and the Soviet Union won the most gold medals. The Olympic Park in Munich was designed by architect Frei Otto. It became a famous place. The park had many special buildings, like the Olympic Stadium and a swimming hall. These buildings had unique designs that were new at the time.

Sadly, during the Games, a terrible event happened. Members of a group called Black September took some Israeli athletes and coaches as hostages. This led to many people losing their lives.

Host city selection

Munich was chosen to host the 1972 Summer Olympics on April 26, 1966. The decision was made during the 64th IOC Session in Rome, Italy. Munich beat out bids from Detroit, Madrid, and Montréal. Montréal later hosted the Olympic Games in 1976. Some other cities, including Paris, showed interest but did not officially bid.

Munich massacre

Main article: Munich massacre

The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich were deeply affected by a sad event called the Munich massacre. On September 5, a group from the Palestinian Black September organization entered the Olympic Village and took eleven Israeli athletes and officials as hostages.

Later that evening, the group and their hostages were moved to a military airport. There, a rescue attempt by German authorities did not work. Sadly, all the hostages lost their lives during this attempt. The Olympic Games were paused for a short time, but then continued after a memorial service. This event led to changes in security for future Olympics and had a lasting impact on international relations.

The story of these events was told in several films and documentaries, including One Day in September and Munich.

Highlights

These were the final Olympic Games led by Avery Brundage.

American Mark Spitz set a world record by winning seven gold medals in a single Olympics. Olga Korbut, a Soviet gymnast, became very popular after winning several medals.

In the men's basketball final, the United States lost to the Soviet Union. Lasse Virén of Finland won gold in the 5,000 and 10,000 m races. Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union won both the 100 m and 200 m in track and field.

The 100 metres had some surprises when some top runners missed their races. Dave Wottle won the men's 800 m. Australian swimmer Shane Gould won three gold medals at just 15 years old.

Handball and Archery returned as Olympic sports after many years. Slalom canoeing was held for the first time. Dan Gable won the gold medal in wrestling. Wim Ruska became the first judoka to win two gold medals.

American Frank Shorter, born in Munich, won the Olympic marathon.

Venues

Main article: Venues of the 1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich had many places for athletes to compete. Most events were in Munich Olympic Park. This large area had buildings for sports like running, football, and swimming.

Some events happened in other cities near Munich. For example, sailing was in Kiel, and football games were in Nuremberg and Augsburg. There were also places for archery, shooting, and cycling outside the main park.

Cost

The Munich 1972 Summer Olympics cost about US$1.0 billion. This money was used for technology, transportation, and building places for the Games. It does not include extra costs like improving roads or airports. Munich’s cost was lower than Rio 2016, London 2012, and Sochi 2014.

Sports

The 1972 Summer Olympics had many sports where athletes competed. There were 195 events in 21 sports, such as diving, swimming, water polo, archery, athletics, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, equestrian, fencing, field hockey, football, gymnastics, handball, judo, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, shooting, volleyball, weightlifting, and wrestling.

There were also two demonstration sports: badminton and water skiing. These were special sports shown for the audience to enjoy.

Participating National Olympic Committees

Eleven nations joined the Olympics for the first time in Munich: Albania, Dahomey (now Benin), Gabon, North Korea, Lesotho, Malawi, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Swaziland, Togo, and Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).

Rhodesia was not allowed to join the 1972 Summer Games because some African countries, like Ethiopia and Kenya, protested. However, Rhodesia still joined the 1972 Summer Paralympics earlier in Heidelberg. The People's Republic of China did not compete because they had left the Olympic group years before.

Number of athletes by National Olympic Committees

Calendar

All times are in Central European Time (UTC+1)

‡ No medals were awarded on 5 September because all Olympic competitions stopped that day. Events that were already happening could finish, though.

Note: A memorial service took place in the Olympic Stadium on 6 September. After this, the Olympic competitions started again after a break.

Medal count

These are the top ten nations that won medals at the 1972 Games.

Key

  *   Host nation (West Germany)

Doping

A report shows that the West German government gave special substances to athletes to help them perform better. The East German government also gave similar substances to its athletes during the 1972 Munich Games.