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1972 Summer Olympics medal table

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1972 Summer Olympics medals
LocationMunich,  West Germany
Highlights
Most gold medals Soviet Union (50)
Most total medals Soviet Union (99)
Medalling NOCs48
← 1968 · Olympics medal tables · 1976 →
aerial view of stadium and surrounding lake and parking lots
The Munich Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion) with the Radstadion, site of the cycling events, in the background

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August through 11 September 1972.[1] 7,134 athletes representing 121 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated.[2] The games featured 195 events in 21 sports across 28 disciplines.[2]

Men's indoor handball, slalom canoeing and kayaking all made their Olympic debuts, while archery returned to the Olympic program after a 52-year hiatus.[2] Rhodesia, like South Africa, was still segregated in 1972 and yet the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to invite Rhodesia to the 1972 Games. Eventually, African nations protested this invitation and threatened to boycott the Games. Four days before the opening ceremonies the IOC voted to rescind their invitation and exclude the Rhodesian athletes.[3]

Athletes representing 48 NOCs received at least one medal, with 25 NOCs winning at least one gold medal. The Soviet Union won the most gold medals, with 50, and the most overall medals, with 99.[4] North Korea and Uganda won their nations' first Summer Olympic gold medals. Colombia Niger, and North Korea won their nations' first Olympic medals of any kind.

American swimmer Mark Spitz won the most medals at the game with seven, all of which were gold.[5] Spitz also became became the record holder for most gold medals at a single Olympic Games, a record that stood for 36 years until swimmer Michael Phelps surpassed that mark with 8 gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics.[6]

Medal table

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People march behind a large flag surrounded by spectators
The East German delegation marching in the opening ceremonies of the 1972 Summer Olympics
One girl in a track suit with a medal around her neck looks on as two girls congratulate each other
Olga Korbut receiving her silver medal after tying Erika Zuchold in the uneven bars
woman above a bar holding onto it during a gymnastics routine
East German Karin Janz during her gold medal-winning uneven bars routine
close up shot of a man with grey hair
Mark Spitz in 2008; he won seven gold medals in swimming at the 1972 Games

The medal table is based on information provided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is consistent with IOC conventional sorting in its published medal tables. The table uses the Olympic medal table sorting method. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won, where a nation is an entity represented by a NOC. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals.[7][8] If teams are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically by their IOC country code.[9]

Key

 ‡  Changes in medal standings (see below)

  *   Host nation (West Germany)

1972 Summer Olympics medal table
RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Soviet Union50272299
2 United States33313094
3 East Germany20232366
4 West Germany*13111640
5 Japan138829
6 Australia87217
7 Poland75921
8 Hungary6131635
9 Bulgaria610521
10 Italy531018
11 Sweden46616
12 Great Britain45918
13 Romania36716
14 Cuba3148
 Finland3148
16 Netherlands3115
17 France24713
18 Czechoslovakia2428
19 Kenya2349
20 Yugoslavia2125
21 Norway2114
22 North Korea1135
23 New Zealand1113
24 Uganda1102
25 Denmark1001
26 Switzerland0303
27 Canada0235
28 Iran0213
29 Belgium0202
 Greece0202
31 Austria0123
 Colombia0123
33 Argentina0101
 Lebanon0101
 Mexico0101
 Mongolia0101
 Pakistan0101
 South Korea0101
 Tunisia0101
 Turkey0101
41 Brazil0022
 Ethiopia0022
43 Ghana0011
 India0011
 Jamaica0011
 Niger0011
 Nigeria0011
 Spain0011
Totals (48 entries)195195210600

Changes in medal standings

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List of official changes in medal standings
Event Athlete (NOC) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Net change Comment
Cycling, men's individual road race  Jaime Huélamo (ESP) DSQ –1 –1 The medal was declared vacant and not reallocated.
Cycling, men's team time trial  Aad van den Hoek (NED) DSQ –1 –1 The medal was declared vacant and not reallocated.
Judo, men's 63 kg  Bakhvain Buyadaa (MGL) DSQ –1 –1 The medal was declared vacant and not reallocated.[10]
Swimming, men's 400 metre freestyle  Rick DeMont (USA) DSQ –1 –1 Rick DeMont originally won the gold medal in the 400m freestyle swimming, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped him of his gold medal[11] after his post-race urinalysis tested positive for traces of the banned substance ephedrine contained in his prescription asthma medication, Marax. The positive test also deprived him of a chance at multiple medals, as he was not permitted to swim in any other events at the 1972 Olympics, including the 1,500-meter freestyle for which he was the then-current world record-holder. Before the Olympics, DeMont had properly declared his asthma medications on his medical disclosure forms, but the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) had not cleared them with the IOC's medical committee.[12] The USOC recognized his gold medal performance in the 1972 Summer Olympics in 2001,[13] but only the IOC has the power to restore his medal, and it has, as of 2023, refused to do so.
 Brad Cooper (AUS) +1 –1 0
 Steve Genter (USA) +1 –1 0
 Tom McBreen (USA) +1 +1
List of official changes by country
NOC Gold Silver Bronze Net change
 Australia (AUS) +1 –1 0
 Mongolia (MGL) –1 –1
 Netherlands (NED) –1 –1
 Spain (ESP) –1 –1
 United States (USA) –1 +1 0

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Munich 1972 Olympic Games | Athletes, Massacre, Facts, & Summer Olympics". Encyclopædia Britannica. 11 December 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Munich 1972 Summer Olympics – Athletes, Medals & Results". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Rhodesia Out of Olympics After a Dispute on Racism". New York Times. August 23, 1972. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  4. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "1972 München Summer Games". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 28 August 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-08.
  5. ^ "1972 Munich Summer Games". Olympedia. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  6. ^ Venkat, Rahul (September 5, 2020). "Michael Phelps: The man who dominated the Olympic pool like no other". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  7. ^ Ostlere, Lawrence (11 August 2024). "Olympic medal table: USA beat China to top spot at Paris 2024". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 August 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
  8. ^ Araton, Harvey (18 August 2008). "A Medal Count That Adds Up To Little". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  9. ^ Cons, Roddy (10 August 2024). "What happens if two countries are tied in the Olympic medal table? Tiebreaker rules explained". Diario AS. Archived from the original on 11 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Judo at the 1972 Munich Summer Games: Men's Lightweight". Olympedia. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  11. ^ Amdur, Neil (1972-09-04). "Of Gold and Drugs". New York Times. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  12. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "1972 Summer Olympics medal table". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 20 January 2011.
  13. ^ "Better late than never". sportsillustrated.cnn.com. Associated Press. January 30, 2001. Archived from the original on May 7, 2001.
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