1976 Summer Olympics

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Games of the XXI. Olympics
1976 Summer Olympics logo
Venue: Montreal ( Québec , Canada )
Stadion: Montreal Olympic Stadium
Opening ceremony: 17th July 1976
Closing ceremony: August 1, 1976
Opened by: Queen Elizabeth II of Canada
Olympic oath : Pierre Saint-Jean (athlete)
Maurice Fauget ( referee )
Disciplines: 27 (21 sports)
Competitions: 198
Countries: 92
Athletes: 6084, including 1260 women
← Munich 1972
Moscow 1980 →
Medal table
place country G S. B. Ges.
1 Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union 49 41 35 125
2 Germany Democratic Republic 1949GDR GDR 40 25th 25th 90
3 United StatesUnited States United States 34 35 25th 94
4th Germany BRBR Germany BR Germany 10 12th 17th 39
5 Japan 1870Japan Japan 9 6th 10 25th
6th Poland 1944People's Republic of Poland Poland 7th 6th 13th 26th
7th Bulgaria 1971People's Republic of Bulgaria Bulgaria 6th 9 7th 22nd
8th CubaCuba Cuba 6th 4th 3 13th
9 Romania 1965Romania Romania 4th 9 14th 27
10 Hungary 1957People's Republic of Hungary Hungary 4th 5 13th 22nd
... ... ... ... ... ...
20th SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland 1 1 2 4th
40 AustriaAustria Austria - - 1 1
Complete medal table

The 1976 Summer Olympics (officially called the XXI  Olympiad Games ) took place from July 17 to August 1, 1976 in the Canadian city ​​of Montreal . Montreal is the second French-speaking city ​​to host the Summer Games after Paris . 16 African countries decided not to participate because New Zealand had previously broken the international sports ban against the apartheid state of South Africa by playing against the national rugby union team there. In the course of the games, seven other African countries and Guyana withdrew their athletes. In the run-up to these summer games , there were major delays in the construction of the sports facilities, as technical problems and strikes by construction workers significantly mixed up the schedule; the games had to open in an unfinished stadium. After the terrorist attack at the previous games in Munich , the organizers in Montreal put the safety of the athletes at the center of all efforts. Security controls determined the picture at all competition venues.

Outstanding athletes at the Montreal Summer Games were the Soviet gymnast Nikolai Andrianow with four gold, two silver and one bronze medals and the US swimmer John Naber , who was four times Olympic champion and one silver medalist. In the women's category, the GDR swimmer Kornelia Ender stood out with four gold and one silver medals and the 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci with three gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal. As the only host of the Summer Olympics so far, Canada was without an Olympic victory.

canditature

Result of the choice of the venue in 1976
place country Round 1 round 2
Montreal CanadaCanada Canada 25th 41
Moscow Soviet Union 1955Soviet Union Soviet Union 28 28
los Angeles United StatesUnited States United States 17th -

In 1844 the Montreal Olympic Games had already been held, in which disciplines such as the sprint over 108 yards, hammer throw, walking a mile, high swing from a standing position and a three-mile run were on the program. Over a century later, after Montreal had already unsuccessfully applied to host the Winter Olympics in 1932 and 1944, another attempt was made for 1956. This time they tried to get the Summer Games awarded. But even here, which drew IOC with Melbourne to another town.

During the preparations for the world exhibition Expo 67 in Montreal, Mayor Jean Drapeau made a trip to Lausanne . He also visited the Olympic Museum and was inspired to start another application to host the 1972 Summer Games. However, this provoked discussions in the Canadian Olympic Committee , which favored a candidacy from Calgary for the Winter Games of the same year and saw its chances dwindle through a simultaneous candidacy from Montreal. Nevertheless, Drapeau was able to convince the NOK to support the applications of both cities. Both Canadian applicants were defeated in the choice of host cities, the Winter Games were awarded to the Japanese Sapporo and the Summer Games to Munich .

Montreal again applied to host the 1976 Summer Games and was able to prevail against Moscow in the second ballot for the Summer Games in Amsterdam in May 1970 with 41:28 votes , with Drapeau's convincing performance at the presentation of the candidate cities being the decisive factor.

organization

The organization of the XXI. The Summer Olympics in Montreal were not a lucky star from the start. The Canadian federal government did not want to provide any tax funds to compensate for a possible financial deficit; these had to come solely from the city of Montreal itself or the province of Québec . To finance the games, a coin program consisting of 28 silver coins for 5 and 10 Canadian dollars and one gold coin for 100 Canadian dollars was launched. However, the coin program did not bring the hoped-for success and instead of the budgeted $ 310 million, the COJO organizing committee only earned $ 115 million. However, the main source of income for the Games unexpectedly became the Olympic lottery. Instead of the planned 32 million dollars, 235 million Canadian dollars were brought in here.

Soon after the construction of the Olympic sports facilities began, it became clear that the originally estimated costs were getting completely out of hand. Within just a few years, the inflation rate in Canada rose to 40% and with it the construction costs from the originally estimated 250 million to 700 million dollars. This also led to the fact that the construction workers in Montreal demanded higher wages, which escalated into strikes lasting several weeks and also had a massive impact on the progress of construction at the Olympic sports facilities. When the timely completion was in question, the workers had to be forced to work by a court of law. In order to be finished at all and to reduce costs somewhat, the completion of the tower at the Olympic Stadium and the construction of the press center were dispensed with. In addition, the organizing committee suggested removing the swimming competitions from the program and holding them in autumn, which the IOC refused. In the meantime, there has been speculation that the IOC could withdraw the hosting of the Games from Montreal and instead award it again to Munich. The Ruhr area also came into play as a substitute host at the beginning of 1975. However, the IOC rejected all of these requests.

The COJO organizing committee also had to cope with serious setbacks in terms of personnel. The two Vice Presidents Pierre Charbonneau and Simon St. Pierre died within a few months after a serious illness or a riding accident.

The appearance of the games was based on the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich and adopted the pictograms designed by Otl Aicher and the Univers font . The main color of the games was red, which Munich had deliberately avoided. The logo of the games shows a stylized M over the Olympic rings. As has been customary since 1972, a mascot was also designed. This is a black beaver named Amik .

Torch relay

Torch of the XXI. 1976 Summer Games in Montreal

The Montreal Olympic torch was very simple in design. It consisted of an aluminum tube painted in red with a white engraved emblem of the XXI. Summer Olympics and as a head made of a black cylinder with several holes in which the flame should burn. Olive oil was used as fuel for the flame . A total of 1250 copies of the torch were made. To be on the safe side, the organizing committee had spare flames in six pit lamps ready for the duration of the games.

The Olympic flame was lit on July 13, 1976 in the grove of Olympia by the Greek actress Maria Moscholiou using a concave mirror and passed on to the Greek high jumper Tassos Psilidis as the first torch- bearer . Two days later, on the evening of July 15, the flame reached the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens . From Athens, the fire was transmitted by satellite to Ottawa , where it was ignited by a laser beam in front of the parliament building. In a relay in which each runner covered a kilometer, the flame was brought to Montreal, where it arrived on the evening of July 16, the day before the opening, and was lit on Montreal's local mountain, Mont Royal .

At the opening ceremony, the last two torch-bearers carried the flame into the stadium. These were Sandra Henderson from Toronto and Stéphane Préfontaine from Montreal, both 15 years old. It was the first time that the Olympic flame was lit by a couple. Two people who are native English and French were chosen to symbolize the bilingualism of Canada. In another torch relay, the flame was carried from Montreal to the sailing port in Kingston on Lake Ontario .

Ceremonies

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony began on July 17, 1976 at 3:02 pm in front of 67,000 spectators at the Olympic Stadium with the arrival of Elizabeth II , Queen of the United Kingdom and Head of State of Canada. After playing the Canadian national anthem, the invasion of the 92 participating nations began. The flag bearer for the team of the Federal Republic of Germany was the show jumper Hans Günter Winkler , who took part in the Olympic Games for the sixth time. For the GDR team, the flag was carried by the athlete Hans-Georg Reimann . The team from Austria was led by canoeist Günther Pfaff as the flag bearer, the Swiss team by fencer Christian Kauter .

This was followed by speeches by the President of the Organizing Committee, Roger Rousseau , and the President of the IOC, Lord Killanin , and the opening of the Games by Queen Elizabeth, who was the first head of state to give the opening speech in two languages, namely English and French. After the official elements prescribed by the IOC for every opening ceremony, such as the hoisting of the Olympic flag, the small Olympic flag was officially presented to the mayor of Montreal, Jean Drapeau , by a delegation from Munich , led by Mayor Georg Kronawitter, to the sounds of the Bavarian parade march . The Olympic anthem was sung in Greek again (after an instrumental version in Munich).

Afterwards, groups from Bavaria and the province of Quebec performed various folklore dances, pigeons were released and the Olympic flame was lit by Sandra Henderson and Stéphane Préfontaine. After another dance performance by groups of girls, the weightlifter Pierre Saint-Jean took the Olympic oath for the athletes and Maurice Forget the oath for the judges and officials, both also in English and French. The departure of the nations concluded the opening ceremony.

Closing ceremony

At the closing ceremony, which began on August 1st at 9 p.m., the Governor General of Canada, Jules Léger , was present instead of the Queen . After the demonstrations by 500 school children, five Indian tents in the colors of the Olympic rings were set up to Indian music. Other Indians accompanied the athletes, who marched into the stadium in loose succession. According to the protocol of the IOC, the flags of Greece , Canada and the USSR were hoisted and their national anthems were played. Lord Killanin declared the games over and invited "The youth of the world" to the games of the XXII. Olympics to Moscow . The Olympic flag was lowered to the sound of the Olympic anthem. Then the Canadian jazz musician Maynard Ferguson blew a trumpet solo while the Olympic flame went out. Pictures from Moscow were shown on the display board and Russian songs were played. The games of the XXI. The Olympics were over.

Competition venues

Parc Olympique

The Montreal Olympic Stadium

Center of the XXI. For the Summer Olympics, the Parc Olympique , located in the northeast of Montreal, was the main venue for athletics and the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies with the Olympic Stadium . In addition, the team competition for show jumpers and the final of the football tournament took place in the Olympic Stadium.

The Olympic Stadium with a capacity of 70,000 spectators has the shape of a huge concrete shell and was designed by the French architect Roger Taillibert . The stadium is dominated by a 175 meter high 45 ° leaning tower, on which a tent roof should be lowered in rainy weather. At the time of the Games, however, the tower was not yet completed, this only happened in 1987. During the construction of the stadium, several strikes by construction workers and difficulties with the soil quality in Parc Olympique led to long delays, which did not allow the tower to be completed. During the games, a construction crane could be seen over the stadium at the point where the tower was to be built.

On the right the velodrome for the cycling and judo competitions and on the left the Maurice Richard Arena

At the foot of the tower is the indoor swimming pool with a capacity of 10,000 seats, in which the swimming competitions and tower and art jumping took place. The turtle-like Velodrome, which holds 7,500 spectators and where the track cycling and judo competitions were held, is also attached to the Olympic Stadium.

Another part of Parc Olympique is the Aréna Maurice-Richard , which is named after the Canadian professional ice hockey player Maurice Richard and has a capacity of 5,660 spectators. Boxing and wrestling competitions took place in the round dome. Next to it is the Pierre-Charbonneau Center , where wrestling competitions were also held. This sports facility with 2,000 seats is named after the Vice President of the Organizing Committee, who died a few months before the Olympic Games.

Other competition venues in the Montreal metropolitan area

The Forum de Montréal

The Olympic regatta pool for rowing and canoeing competitions was built on the Île Notre-Dame in the Saint Lawrence River. The Complexe sportif Claude-Robillard in the north of the city consists of a sports hall and a swimming pool in which the handball and water polo games took place. The Center Étienne-Desmarteau , which holds 5,000 spectators, was built for the basketball competitions, while the existing Aréna Saint-Michel was used for weightlifting. The volleyball games could take place in the Center Paul-Sauvé, which was built in 1960. All three halls are located in the northern part of Montreal.

The Stade Percival-Molson, venue of the hockey tournament

One of the most famous sports venues in Montreal was the Forum de Montréal , built in 1924 with a capacity of 18,000 spectators. At that time it was the ice hockey stadium of the NHL team Montreal Canadiens and was used during the games for gymnastics, individual volleyball and handball games, as well as for boxing matches. In the Winter Stadium, on the grounds of the Université de Montreál , the fencing competitions took place, while the hockey games were played in the Stade Percival-Molson on the grounds of McGill University .

Sports venues outside of Montreal

46 kilometers south of Montreal, in the village of L'Acadie , a makeshift shooting range has been set up on the site of a rifle club. This is where the rifle and pistol shooting competitions as well as the throwing disc disciplines took place. The shooting ranges for rifles and pistols were demolished after the games, only the clay target tracks exist. The area of ​​a rifle club was also used for archery. In Joliette , 63 kilometers north-east of Montreal, the existing site was expanded and provisional stands for 2,000 spectators were provided for the games.

The equestrian competitions took place with the exception of the team jumping in Bromont , 70 kilometers east of Montreal. The natural amphitheater could seat 35,000 spectators. The Olympic sailing areas off Kingston in Lake Ontario were even further away . In the city, located 290 kilometers west of Montreal, a sailing port was built right next to the prison. The preliminary round matches in football were played in Toronto , Ottawa and Sherbrooke .

Accommodation

Montreal Olympic Village

The Olympic village was only separated from the Parc Olympique by a street . The two pyramid-shaped high-rise blocks, also designed by Roger Taillibert, housed 9,000 athletes, coaches and officials during the Games. Each of the two pyramids consisted of two towers, each with 23 floors. One of the four towers was reserved exclusively for female athletes and officials. However, this area could also be easily reached by male residents via the connection on the ground floor and via the balconies of the neighboring tower, so that the separation originally required by the IOC was in principle not given. The village administration, the athletes canteen, a cafeteria and rooms for medical facilities were located on the first floor of the towers. The upper floors had space for 980 apartments, each of which was occupied by 5 to 14 athletes and officials. The rather spartan furnishings made of maple wood consisted of a bed, a cupboard, a bedside table with a reading lamp and a chair for each resident. After the games, the apartments were converted, rented and sold to a private operating company in 1998.

Next to the tower for the women is a six-story building that is used as a girls' school. This building served as the International Center of the Olympic Village for the duration of the Games. This included cultural and recreational facilities such as a discotheque, a cinema, shops, prayer rooms for different religions, a library and various sports facilities. Two other small Olympic villages were established at Bromont and Kingston.

Attendees

1976 Summer olympics team numbers.gif
Participating nations (team strength)
1976 Olympic Games boycott.svg
Nations not participating

16 African countries decided not to take part in the games. The reason for this was a tour of the New Zealand national rugby union team through South Africa . The All Blacks had broken the international sports ban against the apartheid state. The IOC refused to exclude New Zealand from the Games, which was originally requested by the Africans. After the Games began, seven other African countries joined the boycott and withdrew their athletes. The South American Guyana also decided to take this step out of solidarity . The Republic of China (Taiwan) was - in contrast to the People's Republic of China - officially invited. Since the Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau hoped for an improved relationship with the People's Republic of China, the team should not participate under the name "Republic of China", but rather as "Taiwan". Because of this, the country withdrew from the Games until 1984.

Europe (3,571 athletes from 32 nations)
America (1,575 athletes from 33 nations)
Asia (616 athletes from 17 nations)
Oceania (273 athletes from 4 nations)
Africa (86 athletes from 6 nations)
(Number of athletes)
* first participation in summer games
BT joined the boycott after a few days of competition
BE joined the boycott after the opening ceremony

Medals

For the XXI. For the Summer Olympics, a total of 1,277 medals were commissioned from the Royal Canadian Mint in Ottawa . The 420 gold, 420 silver and 437 bronze medals had a diameter of 60 and a thickness of 6 millimeters. As with all summer games since 1928, the obverse shows the goddess of victory designed by Giuseppe Cassioli . The back has been redesigned to show an olive wreath and the Montreal Games emblem. The sport in which the medal was won was engraved on the edge of the medals. As with the Munich Games, the medals were attached to chains.

Competition program

In Montreal, 198 competitions (130 for men, 49 for women and 19 open competitions) were held in 21 sports / 27 disciplines. That was 3 more competitions but one less discipline - the number of sports remained the same - than in Munich 1972 . Below are the changes to in detail:

  • Women's debut in the team sports basketball and handball .
  • The canoe program has been expanded to include C1 500 m, C2 500 m, K1 500 m and K2 500 m for men.
  • The canoe slalom discipline (C1, C2 and K1 for men and K1 for women) was canceled.
  • In athletics , men did not walk 50 km.
  • In track cycling , the tandem for men has been withdrawn from the program.
  • Women's debut in rowing with single, double without helmsman, double sculls, four with helmsman, double sculls with helmsman and eight. In addition, the double quad for men has been added.
  • In the shooting , the open class free rifle - three-position fight 300 m was canceled.
  • When swimming , the 200 m individual medley for men and women was taken out of the program - and the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay for men was canceled.
  • In sailing , the open boat classes 470 and Tornado were introduced. The open boat classes Star and Dragon were dropped.

Olympic sports / disciplines

Number of competitions in brackets

Time schedule

Time schedule
discipline Sat.
17.		 Sun.
18.		 Mon.
19.		 Tuesday
20		 Wed.
21.		 Thursday
22.		 Fri.
23.		 Sat.
24.		 Sun.
25.		 Mon.
26.		 Tuesday,
27.		 Wed.
28.		 Thursday
29.		 Fr.
30.		 Sat.
31.		 Sun.
1.		 Decision-
disk-
applications		 spectator
July Aug
Olympic rings.svg Opening ceremony 067,050
Basketball pictogram.svg basketball 1 1 2 168,707
Archery pictogram.svg Archery 2 2 012,502
Boxing pictogram.svg Boxing 11 11 128,625
Fencing pictogram.svg fencing 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8th 024,517
Football pictogram.svg Soccer 1 1 581,469
Weightlifting pictogram.svg Weightlifting 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 9 033,275
Handball pictogram.svg Handball 2 2 060,483
Field hockey pictogram.svg hockey 1 1 098,427
Judo pictogram.svg Judo 1 1 1 1 1 1 6th 068.015
Canoeing (flatwater) pictogram.svg canoe 6th 5 11 035,175
Athletics pictogram.svg athletics 2 3 4th 6th 5 5 4th 8th 37 786.042
Modern pentathlon pictogram.svg Modern pentathlon 2 2 017,338
Cycling Cycling (track) pictogram.svg train 1 1 2 4th 035,917
Cycling (road) pictogram.svg road 1 1 2
Equestrian sport Equestrian Dressage pictogram.svg dressage 1 1 2 187,607
Equestrian Jumping pictogram.svg Leap 1 1 2
Equestrian Eventing pictogram.svg versatility 2 2
Wrestling Wrestling Freestyle pictogram.svg Freestyle 10 10 045,869
Wrestling pictogram.svg Greco-Roman 10 10
Rowing pictogram.svg rowing 6th 8th 14th 055.025
Shooting pictogram.svg shoot 1 1 1 1 2 1 7th 006.232
Swimming Swimming pictogram.svg swim 2 4th 3 4th 4th 4th 5 26th 193,344
Water polo pictogram.svg Water polo 1 1
Diving pictogram.svg Jumping in the water 1 1 1 1 4th
Sailing pictogram.svg sailing 6th 6th 002,078
Gymnastics (artistic) pictogram.svg do gymnastics 1 1 2 4th 6th 14th 172.359
Volleyball (indoor) pictogram.svg volleyball 2 2 139,348
Olympic rings.svg Closing ceremony 068.197
decisions 5 7th 8th 9 13th 12th 28 21 11 12th 10 8th 17th 36 1 198
Sat.
17.		 Sun.
18.		 Mon.
19.		 Tuesday
20		 Wed.
21.		 Thursday
22.		 Fri.
23.		 Sat.
24.		 Sun.
25.		 Mon.
26.		 Tuesday,
27.		 Wed.
28.		 Thursday
29.		 Fr.
30.		 Sat.
31.		 Sun.
1.
July Aug

Color legend

  • Opening ceremony
  • Competition day (no decisions)
  • Competition day (x decisions)
  • Closing ceremony

    • basketball

    As expected, the big favorite USA became the Olympic champion in basketball and defeated the team from Yugoslavia in the final . In the women's competition, which was held for the first time, the team from the Soviet Union won over the team from the USA.

    Archery

    The archery competitions held in Joliette were dominated by the American Darrell Pace . He won after four days of competition in which a total of 288 arrows had to be shot over distances of 30, 50, 70 and 90 meters, with a huge advantage of 69 rings over the Japanese Hiroshi Michinaga and the Italian Giancarlo Ferrari . The women's competition over distances of 30, 50, 60 and 70 meters saw a similar dominance of the Olympic champion. The compatriot von Pace, the American Luann Ryon won with a lead of 39 rings over the Soviet shooter Walentyna Kowpan , who in turn had 53 rings ahead of her compatriot Sebinisso Rustamowa .

    Boxing

    The Olympic boxing tournament , in which medals were fought in eleven weight classes, was primarily dominated by boxers from the USA and Cuba. Seven members of the American boxing relay returned home with medals. Among the Olympic champions were the Spinks brothers Leon and Michael , as well as Sugar Ray Leonard , who later switched to professional business and were able to become world champions. Although the Cuban boxers won three gold medals, they lost their dominance to the US fighters, who in turn made it onto the top podium five times. The Americans were successful in all three direct comparisons against the Cubans. Cuban Teófilo Stevenson was the first heavyweight boxer to defend his Olympic victory. In the welterweight division , Jochen Bachfeld from SC Traktor Schwerin won the gold medal for the GDR. He prevailed against his opponent Pedro Gamarro (Venezuela). Richard Nowakowski , who also trains at SC Traktor Schwerin, won the silver medal in the featherweight division.

    fencing

    The fencing was mostly by athletes from the Soviet Union dominated and the Federal Republic. The Soviet fencers achieved a triple victory in the saber competition, they also won the gold medal in the team competition with the saber and in the women's foil . The German fencers achieved a double victory in the epee singles through Alexander Pusch and Jürgen Hehn , as well as silver with the team, ahead of the Swiss team, which won bronze. Among the Olympic champions was the current President of the IOC, Thomas Bach , who won the gold medal with the German foil team.

    Soccer

    In football , with the GDR national team, a German men's team won a gold medal for the first and only time in front of the third place in the World Cup in 1974, Poland.

    Weightlifting

    The weightlifting competitions in the St. Michel Arena were completely dominated by the Eastern European athletes. In the nine weight classes alone seven gold medals went to Heber from the Soviet Union , two athletes from Bulgaria were the Olympic champions. Two world and five Olympic records were set. Compared to the 1972 Munich Games , where a three-way fight of tearing, pushing and pushing was still required, the program was reduced to a duel of tearing and pushing. The Olympic champion from Munich , Vasily Alexejew from the Soviet Union, was able to successfully defend his super heavyweight title with a load of 440 kg.

    The two Bulgarian weightlifters Valentin Christow and Blagoj Blagoew originally won gold and silver medals, but they were convicted of doping and their medals revoked .

    Handball

    For the first time, a handball tournament for women was included in the Olympic program. A simple round was played with six teams. The winners were the Soviet Union, ahead of the German Democratic Republic and Hungary. The Soviet Union also won gold among men, silver went to Romania and bronze to Poland. The team from the Federal Republic of Germany finished fourth.

    hockey

    The twelve teams qualified for the Olympic hockey tournament had to play their games on artificial turf for the first time in Olympic history. As Kenya joined the boycott of the Games and its team withdrew, the tournament was played in two groups of six and five teams. In the run-up to the games, experts saw the teams from Pakistan , India and defending champions West Germany as clear favorites, but after the preliminary round the Indians and the Germans were already eliminated. Pakistan alone reached the semi-finals against Australia as the first in group B with 7: 1 points. Group A was won without loss points by the Dutch team, who met New Zealand in the semi-finals, which had previously won a play-off against Spain 1-0 after extra time. The final finally reached New Zealand and Australia, which the New Zealanders won 1-0. In the end, the bronze medal went to Pakistan.

    Judo

    The Japanese martial art Judo was dominated by its mother country. Three Olympic victories out of a possible six were achieved by athletes from Japan .

    canoe

    The athletes from the GDR were very successful in the canoe competitions , which were held on the regatta course next to the Sankt Lorenz Strom as well as the rowing. Three Olympic victories alone could be achieved here.

    athletics

    Waldemar Cierpinski during his Olympic victory in Montreal

    In athletics , 37 competitions were held, one less than in Munich in 1972. The 50 km walk did not take place, but it was back on the program in Moscow in 1980.

    As in Munich, the US sprinters could not achieve an Olympic victory in the individual competitions, the winners all got along with Hasely Crawford from Trinidad and Tobago over 100 meters, Donald Quarrie from Jamaica over 200 meters and Alberto Juantorena from Cuba over 400 and 800 meters the Caribbean . The Finn Lasse Virén dominated the long distances . He won the 5000 and 10,000 meters. A German won the marathon for the first time. Waldemar Cierpinski from the GDR won ahead of the Olympic champion from Munich, Frank Shorter . In the decathlon there was an exciting duel between the American Bruce Jenner and the German Guido Kratschmer , which the US athlete won. Viktor Saneyev from the Soviet Union won gold in the triple jump in Montreal for the third time in a row .

    In the women's semifinals , Annegret Richter from Dortmund set a new world record over 100 meters with 11.01 seconds. In the final she was able to refer the Olympic champion from Munich, Renate Stecher from the GDR, to the silver rank. In the other disciplines, athletes from the GDR were very successful and won nine gold medals, including the triple victory in the pentathlon by Siegrun Siegl , Christine Laser and Burglinde Pollak .

    Modern pentathlon

    In the modern pentathlon the team from Great Britain and in the individual the Pole Janusz Pyciak-Peciak were successful. The Ukrainian Borys Onyshchenko from Kiev, who is starting for the Soviet Union, was disqualified for fraud. The former world champion had prepared his rapier with a contact button in order to display hits on the electronic hit display for the opponent, even though the opponent was not hit.

    Cycling

    In cycling , the competition in tandem was canceled. The German Gregor Braun was the most successful participant in the Olympic Velodrome in Montreal . He won the gold medal in the individual pursuit and with the four-way scull. In the 1000-meter time trial, GDR driver Klaus-Jürgen Grünke won with a clear lead of almost two seconds over Belgian Michel Vaarten . For one of the co-favorites, the race was over after just three meters. The Soviet driver Eduard Rapp believed he had caused a false start and turned back on the track. It was not shot back, however, and time kept ticking.

    A scandal broke out during the 175-kilometer road race on the rain-soaked streets of Montreal. Behind Bernt Johansson from Sweden who was the first to cross the finish line after a breakaway attempt , the German driver Klaus-Peter Thaler won the sprint of the chasing group. However, since he had left the straight line and allegedly obstructed other drivers, the jury distanced him and placed him in ninth place. This benefited the Italian Giuseppe Martinelli and the Pole Mieczysław Nowicki , who won silver and bronze as a result, even though the two had committed the same offense as Thaler. As later became known, the jury consisted of an Italian, a Pole and a referee from the GDR.

    Wrestling

    In wrestling twenty competitions were held, each ten in Greco-Roman wrestling and freestyle. 1973 began to fundamentally revise the rules in order to make the competitions faster and more attractive. Among other things, the round mat was introduced and the tie abolished.

    horse riding

    Alwin Schockemöhle won the individual show jumping competition on his horse Warwick Rex . He finished the competition just in time, with no faults, before a heavy thunderstorm approached. In dressage, the team from the Federal Republic of Germany won the gold medal and Christine Stückelberger won the individual gold medal for Switzerland , while the military competitions in the individual and the team were dominated by riders from the USA.

    rowing

    In Montreal, women's rowing was included in the Olympic program for the first time . It is worth mentioning that all athletes who started for the GDR could go home with medals, nine of which were made of gold. The men of the GDR rowing team won gold in two with and without a helmsman, in a four without a helmsman, in a double quad and in an eight, the GDR women won with Christine Scheiblich in a single, in a double with a helmsman, in a fours with a helmswoman and in an eight.

    shoot

    In terms of shooting , the program was reduced by one competition compared to the Munich Games. Because of the high expenditure, the free rifle discipline was dispensed with . Otherwise, the shooting competitions on the makeshift shooting ranges from L'Acadie were very successful, especially for the German participants. Three competitions alone ended with German one-two victories. In the free pistol discipline , Uwe Potteck and Harald Vollmar , and in the rapid-fire pistol, Norbert Klaar and Jürgen Wiefel , two athletes from the GDR took gold and silver. With Karlheinz Smieszek and Ulrich Lind, two athletes from the Federal Republic of Germany won the competition lying in the small bore rifle . The only medal for Austria was won in shooting. Rudolf Dollinger from Innsbruck won bronze with the free pistol, as he did four years earlier in Munich.

    swim

    The swimming in the men's was distinct from the United States dominates. All gold medals, except for the 200 meter chest, won by Briton David Wilkie , went to swimmers from the US team under head coach Counsilman . The most successful athlete was John Naber with four Olympic victories. The Americans won a total of 27 medals and achieved four triple and five double victories. In addition to the 100 meter butterfly, a new world record was set each time.

    The GDR team had almost the same dominance among the women as the men . She was able to take home eleven gold medals, four of them from Kornelia Ender alone . Only the Soviet swimmer Marina Koschewaja over the 200 meter chest and the 4 x 100 meter relay of the USA made the jump to the top podium. There was also an inflation of records for the women, with the female swimmers setting ten world and three Olympic records.

    Water polo

    At the water polo tournament 12 teams participated, initially played a preliminary round in three groups. The two best in each group played again each against each other for the medals in a final round. Hungary won gold ahead of Italy and the Netherlands.

    Jumping in the water

    As in the previous year, four water diving competitions were held, artificial diving and high diving for men and women. The Italian Klaus Dibiasi won the gold medal in high diving for the third time in a row. He was the only jumper at these games to receive the top mark of ten for a three and a half forward somersault.

    sailing

    The Olympic sailing competitions on Lake Ontario off Kingston were the first in Olympic history to be held on inland water. The medals were awarded in six boat classes. The regatta was particularly successful for the German boat crews. In the 470 class dinghy won Harro Bode and Frank Hübner from the Federal Republic, as well as in the Flying Dutchman , the brothers Eckart and Jörg DieSchwester , although they managed not a single victory. Jochen Schümann from the GDR won the gold medal in the Finn dinghy . His compatriots in Soling achieved third place, as did the German tornado crew Jörg Spengler / Jörg Schmall . In the Tempest class , the Swedish boat won by a large margin over the duo from the USSR with Valentin Mankin , who won his third Olympic medal, and the US boat with Dennis Conner on board, who was best known as the winner of the America's Cup . A curiosity arose in this boat class when the British sailors Warren and Hunt simply set fire to it in the middle of the lake out of frustration over their 14th place and the damage to their boat. This action also saved them the expensive transport costs back to the UK. The later President of the IOC, the Belgian Jacques Rogge , competed in the Finn dinghy and finished in 22nd place.

    do gymnastics

    The star of these Olympic Games was the 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci . She was the first to achieve a 10.0 for her performance on the uneven bars. Over the course of the games, she managed to do this seven more times. As a result, she was able to achieve three Olympic victories in the individual all-around, on the uneven bars and on the balance beam. In men's gymnastics , Nikolai Andrianov from the USSR won four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze.

    volleyball

    When volleyball tournament of the men was Poland Olympic champion for the first time. They prevailed in the Eastern European final after five sets against the Soviet Union . Cuba defeated Japan 3-0 in a duel for bronze. As in the first three tournaments, the women again saw the final between Japan and the Soviet Union. After two defeats, the Asians triumphed again this time. South Korea won the bronze medal against Hungary.

    doping

    At the Montreal Games it was possible for the first time to test athletes on the use of anabolic steroids . Eight of the athletes who tested positive took part in the weightlifting competitions, including two Olympic champions and one silver medalist. The following athletes tested positive:

    aftermath

    No other host city suffered as long from the financial burdens of the Olympic Games as Montreal. The construction costs of the Parc Olympique alone amounted to 1.4 billion Canadian dollars. The provincial government of Quebec therefore imposed a special tobacco tax. Even so, it took 30 years to pay off the debt. Economic growth in the city has slowed, and Montreal’s poverty and stagnation are a reflection of the financial disaster of 1976. In the end, the city is said to have faced a debt of 1.6 billion Canadian dollars .

    literature

    • Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle III. Mexico City 1968 - Los Angeles 1984. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-328-00741-5 .
    • Games of the XXI. Olympiad Montreál 1976, Official Report, Volume I, Organization.
    • Heide Rosendahl : Montreal 1976, XXI. Olympic Games Corvus Verlag, Berlin, 1976.
    • Innsbruck Montreal 76, adventure book of our Olympic team, licensed edition of the NOK of Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.
    • Magnificent disaster . In: Der Spiegel . No. 29 , 1976 ( online ).

    Web links

    Commons : 1976 Summer Olympics  - collection of images, videos and audio files

    Individual evidence

    1. ↑ Kluge, p. 443
    2. ↑ Kluge, p. 443 f.
    3. ^ Kluge, p. 444
    4. ↑ Kluge, p. 448
    5. ↑ Kluge, p. 447 f.
    6. ^ Kluge, p. 447
    7. ↑ Official Report, Volume 1, p. 50
    8. ↑ Official Report, Volume 1, p. 293
    9. ↑ Official Report, Volume 2, pp. 94 ff.
    10. ↑ Official Report, Volume 2, p. 106
    11. ^ Kluge, pp. 453, 454
    12. ↑ Rosendahl: page 185f
    13. ↑ Adventure book of our Olympic team, p. 167
    14. ↑ German Olympic Champions, Part I: From Runge to Fink | Boxing - All news, tickets, dates and results from boxing. In: www.boxen.de. Retrieved November 10, 2016 .
    15. ↑ Kluge, p. 656, note 570
    16. ↑ Rosendahl, pp. 188ff
    17. ↑ Adventure book of our Olympic team, p. 28
    18. ↑ Adventure book of our Olympic team, p. 100
    19. ↑ Kluge, p. 616, note 210
    20. ↑ Kluge, p. 646, note 470
    21. ↑ Kluge, p. 653, note 546
    22. ^ Kluge, p. 614
    23. ^ Doping Irregularities at the Olympics sports-reference.com
    24. ↑ The 40-year hangover: how the 1976 Olympics nearly broke Montreal , accessed January 7, 2019