Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics

In this article, we are going to delve into the fascinating universe of Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics, exploring its many facets and its impact on our daily lives. From its origins to its current evolution, through its relevance in popular culture and its influence in various fields, Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics has managed to capture the attention of millions of people around the world. Through a detailed and exhaustive analysis, we will discover the reasons that make Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics a topic of inexhaustible interest, as well as the implications it has on modern society. Get ready to immerse yourself in an exciting journey that will lead you to better understand the impact that Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics has on our environment and on our way of perceiving the world around us.

Athletics
at the Games of the XX Olympiad
No. of events38
Competitors1,324 from 104 nations
← 1968
1976 →

At the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, 38 events in athletics were contested, 24 for men and 14 for women. There were a total number of 1324 participating athletes from 104 countries.

Medal summary

Men

Event Gold Silver Bronze
100 metres
Valeriy Borzov
 Soviet Union
10.14 Robert Taylor
 United States
10.24 Lennox Miller
 Jamaica
10.33
200 metres
Valeriy Borzov
 Soviet Union
20.00 Larry Black
 United States
20.19 Pietro Mennea
 Italy
20.30
400 metres
Vincent Matthews
 United States
44.66 Wayne Collett
 United States
44.80 Julius Sang
 Kenya
44.92
800 metres
Dave Wottle
 United States
1:45.86 Yevhen Arzhanov
 Soviet Union
1:45.89 Mike Boit
 Kenya
1:46.01
1500 metres
Pekka Vasala
 Finland
3:36.33 Kipchoge Keino
 Kenya
3:36.81 Rod Dixon
 New Zealand
3:37.46
5000 metres
Lasse Virén
 Finland
13:26.42
(OR)
Mohammed Gammoudi
 Tunisia
13:27.33 Ian Stewart
 Great Britain
13:27.61
10,000 metres
Lasse Virén
 Finland
27:38.35
(WR)
Emiel Puttemans
 Belgium
27:39.58 Miruts Yifter
 Ethiopia
27:40.96
110 metres hurdles
Rod Milburn
 United States
13.24
(WR)
Guy Drut
 France
13.34 Thomas Hill
 United States
13.48
400 metres hurdles
John Akii-Bua
 Uganda
47.82
(WR)
Ralph Mann
 United States
48.51 David Hemery
 Great Britain
48.52
3000 metres steeplechase
Kipchoge Keino
 Kenya
8:23.64
(OR)
Ben Jipcho
 Kenya
8:24.62 Tapio Kantanen
 Finland
8:24.66
4 × 100 metres relay
 United States (USA)
Larry Black
Robert Taylor
Gerald Tinker
Eddie Hart
38.19
(WR)
 Soviet Union (URS)
Aleksandr Kornelyuk
Vladimir Lovetskiy
Yuris Silovs
Valeriy Borzov
38.50  West Germany (FRG)
Jobst Hirscht
Karlheinz Klotz
Gerhard Wucherer
Klaus Ehl
38.79
4 × 400 metres relay
 Kenya (KEN)
Charles Asati
Munyoro Nyamau
Robert Ouko
Julius Sang
2:59.83  Great Britain (GBR)
Martin Reynolds
Alan Pascoe
David Hemery
David Jenkins
3:00.46  France (FRA)
Gilles Bertould
Daniel Velasques
Francis Kerbiriou
Jacques Carette
3:00.65
Marathon
Frank Shorter
 United States
2:12:19.8 Karel Lismont
 Belgium
2:14:31.8 Mamo Wolde
 Ethiopia
2:15:08.4
20 kilometres walk
Peter Frenkel
 East Germany
1:26:42.4
(OR)
Volodymyr Holubnychy
 Soviet Union
1:26:55.2 Hans-Georg Reimann
 East Germany
1:27:16.6
50 kilometres walk
Bernd Kannenberg
 West Germany
3:56:11.6 Veniamin Soldatenko
 Soviet Union
3:58:24.0 Larry Young
 United States
4:00:46.0
High jump
Jüri Tarmak
 Soviet Union
2.23 m Stefan Junge
 East Germany
2.21 m Dwight Stones
 United States
2.21 m
Pole vault
Wolfgang Nordwig
 East Germany
5.50 m
(OR)
Robert Seagren
 United States
5.40 m Jan Johnson
 United States
5.35 m
Long jump
Randy Williams
 United States
8.24 m Hans Baumgartner
 West Germany
8.18 m Arnie Robinson
 United States
8.03 m
Triple jump
Viktor Saneyev
 Soviet Union
17.35 m Jörg Drehmel
 East Germany
17.31 m Nelson Prudêncio
 Brazil
17.05 m
Shot put
Władysław Komar
 Poland
21.18 m
(OR)
George Woods
 United States
21.17 m Hartmut Briesenick
 East Germany
21.14 m
Discus throw
Ludvík Daněk
 Czechoslovakia
64.40 m Jay Silvester
 United States
63.50 m Ricky Bruch
 Sweden
63.40 m
Hammer throw
Anatoliy Bondarchuk
 Soviet Union
75.50 m
(OR)
Jochen Sachse
 East Germany
74.96 m Vasili Khmelevski
 Soviet Union
74.04 m
Javelin throw
Klaus Wolfermann
 West Germany
90.48 m
(OR)
Jānis Lūsis
 Soviet Union
90.46 m Bill Schmidt
 United States
84.42 m
Decathlon
Mykola Avilov
 Soviet Union
8454 pts
(WR)
Leonid Lytvynenko
 Soviet Union
8035 pts Ryszard Katus
 Poland
7984 pts

Women

Games Gold Silver Bronze
100 metres
Renate Stecher
 East Germany
11.07
(WR)
Raelene Boyle
 Australia
11.23 Silvia Chivás
 Cuba
11.24
200 metres
Renate Stecher
 East Germany
22.40
(=WR)
Raelene Boyle
 Australia
22.45 Irena Szewińska
 Poland
22.74
400 metres
Monika Zehrt
 East Germany
51.08 Rita Wilden
 West Germany
51.21 Kathy Hammond
 United States
51.64
800 metres
Hildegard Falck
 West Germany
1:58.55
(OR)
Nijolė Sabaitė
 Soviet Union
1:58.65 Gunhild Hoffmeister
 East Germany
1:59.19
1500 metres
Ludmila Bragina
 Soviet Union
4:01.38
(WR)
Gunhild Hoffmeister
 East Germany
4:02.83 Paola Pigni
 Italy
4:02.85
100 metres hurdles
Annelie Ehrhardt
 East Germany
12.59
(WR)
Valeria Bufanu
 Romania
12.84 Karin Balzer
 East Germany
12.90
4 × 100 metres relay
 West Germany (FRG)
Christiane Krause
Ingrid Becker
Annegret Richter
Heide Rosendahl
42.81  East Germany (GDR)
Evelin Kaufer
Christina Heinich
Bärbel Struppert
Renate Stecher
42.95  Cuba (CUB)
Marlene Elejarde
Carmen Valdés
Fulgencia Romay
Silvia Chibás
43.36
4 × 400 metres relay
 East Germany (GDR)
Dagmar Käsling
Rita Kühne
Helga Seidler
Monika Zehrt
3:22.95  United States (USA)
Mable Fergerson
Madeline Manning
Cheryl Toussaint
Kathy Hammond
3:25.15  West Germany (FRG)
Anette Rückes
Inge Bödding
Hildegard Falck
Rita Wilden
3:26.51
High jump
Ulrike Meyfarth
 West Germany
1.92 m
(=WR)
Yordanka Blagoeva
 Bulgaria
1.88 m Ilona Gusenbauer
 Austria
1.88 m
Long jump
Heide Rosendahl
 West Germany
6.78 m Diana Yorgova
 Bulgaria
6.77 m Eva Šuranová
 Czechoslovakia
6.67 m
Shot put
Nadezhda Chizhova
 Soviet Union
21.03 m
(WR)
Margitta Gummel
 East Germany
20.22 m Ivanka Khristova
 Bulgaria
19.35 m
Discus throw
Faina Melnik
 Soviet Union
66.62 m
(OR)
Argentina Menis
 Romania
65.06 m Vasilka Stoeva
 Bulgaria
64.34 m
Javelin throw
Ruth Fuchs
 East Germany
63.88 m
(OR)
Jacqueline Todten
 East Germany
62.54 m Kate Schmidt
 United States
59.94 m
Pentathlon
Mary Peters
 Great Britain
4801 pts
(WR)
Heide Rosendahl
 West Germany
4791 pts Burglinde Pollak
 East Germany
4768 pts

Medal table

RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1 Soviet Union (URS)97117
2 East Germany (GDR)87520
3 United States (USA)68822
4 West Germany (FRG)63211
5 Finland (FIN)3014
6 Kenya (KEN)2226
7 Great Britain (GBR)1124
8 Poland (POL)1023
9 Czechoslovakia (TCH)1012
10 Uganda (UGA)1001
11 Bulgaria (BUL)0224
12 Australia (AUS)0202
 Belgium (BEL)0202
 Romania (ROU)0202
15 France (FRA)0112
16 Tunisia (TUN)0101
17 Cuba (CUB)0022
 Ethiopia (ETH)0022
 Italy (ITA)0022
20 Austria (AUT)0011
 Brazil (BRA)0011
 Jamaica (JAM)0011
 New Zealand (NZL)0011
 Sweden (SWE)0011
Totals (24 entries)383838114

References

48°10′23″N 11°32′48″E / 48.1731°N 11.5467°E / 48.1731; 11.5467