1972 Summer Olympics

Games of the XX. Olympics

Venue:	Munich ( FR Germany )
Stadion:	Olympic Stadium Munich
Opening ceremony:	August 26, 1972
Closing ceremony:	September 11, 1972
Opened by:	Gustav Heinemann (Federal President)
Olympic oath :	Heidi Schüller (athlete) Heinz Pollay (referee)
Disciplines:	28 (21 sports)
Competitions:	195
Countries:	121
Athletes:	7170, of which 1095 women
← Mexico City 1968
Montréal 1976 →

Medal table
space	country	G	S.	B.	Ges.
1	Soviet Union	50	27	22nd	99
2	United States	33	31	30th	94
3	GDR	20th	23	23	66
4th	BR Germany	13	11	16	40
5	Japan	13	8th	8th	29
6th	Australia	8th	7th	2	17th
7th	Poland	7th	5	9	21st
8th	Hungary	6th	13	16	35
9	Bulgaria	6th	10	5	21st
10	Italy	5	3	10	18th
...	...	...	...	...	...
26th	Switzerland	-	3	-	3
31	Austria	-	1	2	3
Complete medal table

The 1972 Summer Olympics (officially called the XXth Olympiad Games ) took place in Munich from August 26th to September 11th, 1972 . The IOC awarded them to Munich on April 26, 1966, which prevailed against competitors Montreal , Madrid and Detroit .

Most of the competitions were held in the Munich Olympic Park , with the Olympic Stadium as the central arena. Kiel - Schilksee was the venue for the sailing competitions . The canoe slalom competitions were held in Augsburg . The soccer games also took place in Nuremberg , Augsburg, Ingolstadt , Regensburg and Passau .

The games were overshadowed by the Munich Olympic attack on September 5, 1972, in which 11 Israeli athletes were first taken hostage and then murdered. The games continued after a day of mourning.

With 122 participating teams and 7,170 athletes, the Munich Games set a new attendance record. The outstanding athlete of the Games was the American swimmer Mark Spitz , who won seven gold medals. The gymnast Karin Janz from the German Democratic Republic was the most successful German athlete with two gold, two silver and one bronze medals.

Choice of venue

	1st ballot	2nd ballot
Munich	21st	31
Montreal	16	15th
Madrid	16	13
Detroit	6th
Abstentions	2

The idea of ​​making Munich the venue for the Summer Olympics came from Willi Daume , President of the National Olympic Committee . On October 28, 1965, he informed the Mayor of Munich, Hans-Jochen Vogel, of his plans. Many members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are ready to stand up for the Federal Republic of Germany after the GDR's own Olympic team has been recognized. The prospects of bringing the games into their own country are therefore good, but only Munich would be considered. Hans-Jochen Vogel's objection that Munich had practically no facilities for the Olympic Games, countered Willi Daume, stating that this was more of an advantage because the IOC would rather see new stadiums than old ones. The Lord Mayor quickly realized that this offered Munich a great opportunity.

The then Mayor of Munich, Hans-Jochen Vogel, in 1973

In the event of success, the city would face a six-year phase of enormous burdens and high financial costs. On the other hand, many new systems, which the city has long needed, would be created in a short period of time and with a fixed completion date. Since the hosting of the Olympic Games in Munich would mean an additional boost for the development of the city, the Lord Mayor approved the application. The approval of the federal government, the state, the National Olympic Committee and also the city council followed within a few weeks. The application was submitted on December 31, 1965, although the IOC had extended the deadline to January 20, 1966 at the request of Vienna , Amsterdam and Detroit . However, since the Dutch government refused the funding, the Amsterdam application was withdrawn (with the announcement that it would reapply for 1976).

The decision was made at the 65th IOC meeting in Rome on April 26, 1966. The choices were Detroit, Madrid , Montreal and Munich. 61 voting IOC members were in attendance; In order to achieve a final result, at least 31 members had to vote for a candidate city. Before the decision was made, the applicant cities each presented a short film and a speech. Hans-Jochen Vogel spoke freely in English for six minutes, and Willi Daume in French for three minutes. Both were able to prevail against the read speeches of their competitors. One complication was IOC President Avery Brundage's request not to discriminate against the GDR team. The federal government did not want to commit itself in writing because of the Hallstein Doctrine , but Vogel and Daume found an older English-language text by the Federal Minister of the Interior and presented it to Brundage, who was satisfied with it.

organization

The National Olympic Committee for Germany decided on May 19, 1966 in Kassel to found the “Organizing Committee of the XX. Olympic Games Munich 1972 e. V. ”, which was constituted on July 3, 1966 in Munich City Hall . The 17 founding members included, among others, Federal Minister of the Interior Paul Lücke , the Bavarian Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs Ludwig Huber and Hans-Jochen Vogel as Lord Mayor of Munich. In 1968 the organizing committee grew to 38 members through the appointment of representatives of the Olympic professional associations. In 1972, the year of the Olympic Games, Willi Daume was President of the Organizing Committee, Hans-Dietrich Genscher , Ludwig Huber and Hans-Jochen Vogel acted as Vice-Presidents. The patron was Gustav Heinemann , Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany. After only one office existed temporarily, the General Secretariat began its work on January 1, 1967. This had 13 departments, each of which was divided into sections. Several hundred people were employed here.

traffic

Olympiazentrum stop (2005)

The most important task of the "Transport" department was the construction of the U3 line in the Munich subway network . After the games had been awarded to the Bavarian capital, the task was to build an efficient transport network. With its resolution of June 16, 1966, the city council changed the previous plans and decided to give priority to the feeder to the Olympic site. The opening of the first network section, which was actually planned for 1974, had to be brought forward significantly. On May 8, 1972, operations on the Munich subway line U3 between Münchner Freiheit and Olympiazentrum finally started , after the S-Bahn had also started operations ten days earlier . This led to the specially built, but now abandoned Munich Olympiastadion train station . In order to cope with the operation with the increased demands during the Olympic Games, four trains were loaned from VAG from Nuremberg , which were largely identical to the Munich cars. During the games, the U3 always ran every five minutes, and at important events even every two and a half minutes. Around four million visitors were transported in 17 days.

"Blue Route"

Road signs on the B 20 in Tittmoning with reference to the "Blue Route"

Since a motorway ring around Munich did not yet exist, long-distance road traffic was guided past Munich with extensive bypasses . Along these routes, the signs and signposts on federal highways were marked with colored dots and rings. For example, federal road 20 between Straubing and Piding (near Bad Reichenhall ) was clearly marked southwards with a blue point and northwards with a blue ring, which has given the route the nickname “Blue Route”.

financing

When it came to financing the Olympic Games, the Organizing Committee made a distinction between “Olympic-related burdens” and “ investments ”. Even before the application, it was agreed that the federal government, the state and the city would each bear a third of the investments, while the organizing committee would cover its expenses entirely from its own income. In 1969 the federal government decided to increase its share to 50%, as a result of which the quotas for the state and the city fell to 25% each. That meant a considerable relief for Munich. The self-financing took place mainly through the Olympic coin program that the German Bundestag had decided on February 5, 1969. The law stipulated the issuance of five silver coins with a face value of DM 10 each . They were enthusiastically received by the collectors, so that the coin profit amounted to more than 731 million DM. 8 million DM of this went to the organizing committee, 640 million DM were used to finance the competition facilities. The second major source of income was the Olympic lottery and the Glücksspirale , which were a money and material lottery . With a participation fee of 10 Pfennig, the Olympic lottery revenue was around 250 million DM up to 1974. The lucky spiral brought in around 187 million DM from 1970 to 1972 with a ticket price of 5 DM. Other sources of income were the issue of a total of 29 stamps in seven series and various commemorative medals. They and the normal income of the organizing committee brought in the sum of around 1.28 billion DM. Because almost 2 billion DM were needed, only around a third of the total costs had to be borne by the taxpayers.

Torch relay

The Olympic flame in Kiel-Schilksee

The Olympic torch relay , which goes back to an idea of ​​the sports official Carl Diem (1882–1962), was first carried out in 1936 at the Olympic Games in Berlin . In 1972 an Olympic torch was lit in Greece and carried to the opening event in Munich by 5,917 torch-bearers. The run led through eight countries over a distance of 5532 kilometers. Hans von der Planitz , Reich trainer for German marathon runners in the 1930s, was responsible for organizing the run . One of his collaborators was Fritz Schilgen , the last runner in the 1936 torch relay.

The run began on July 28th at 12 noon during a ceremony in the sacred grove of the ancient stadium of Olympia . The fire was lit with the help of a concave mirror. Then 5976 athletes carried the Olympic torch a total of 5538 kilometers - in 29 days and 7 hours. The first torchbearer was the Greek basketball player Ioannis Kirkilessis . Afterwards, the run went to Athens (July 29), Delphi (July 30), Istanbul (August 7), Belgrade (August 17 ), among others . On August 21, it came to Austria, where it was taken over by the double Olympic champion Ellen Müller-Preis on the Hungarian border in Nickelsdorf (in heavy rain and cool temperatures) according to plan at 10:10 am . At 3:20 p.m., the flame reached the city limits of Vienna, where it was received by Sissy Schwarz and then brought to Rathausplatz by Herma Bauma , where Federal President Franz Jonas said goodbye to the Olympic team. After that, other prominent Austrian athletes (such as Emmerich Danzer and Rudolf Flögel ) brought the flame to St. Pölten , where it "spent the night". The next stop on August 22nd was Vöcklabruck , on August 23rd she came via the city of Salzburg and the "German corner" (where a German runner was deployed) on August 24th at 2pm to Kufstein and then to Innsbruck , and The final arrival on the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany was shortly before midnight. On August 26th at 16:20 the torch reached the Olympic Stadium in Munich . The last runner of the torch relay was the athlete Günter Zahn , he lit the Olympic flame during the opening event. After Augsburg to the competitions in canoeing the flame was brought on 27 August, the last torchbearer was Karlheinz Englet , world champion in slalom canoeing. The fire reached Kiel-Schilksee on August 28th , the last porter here was the student Philipp Lubinus . The torch crossed Greece , Turkey , Bulgaria , Romania , Yugoslavia , Hungary and Austria during the run before it finally reached Germany .

The stainless steel torch manufactured by the Hagri company in Kettwig on behalf of Krupp GmbH consisted of a handle, plate and burner tube. The spiral emblem was engraved in the upper cover of the plate, the Olympic rings with the text “Munich 1972 Games of the XX. Olympiad ”on the hand tube as well as the symbol and the name of the donor company Krupp on the bottom of the cap. The torch was 75 centimeters tall and weighed 1350 grams, a total of 6700 copies were made. The Geretsried company Georg Tyczka , together with Gloria-Gas from Munich as "Olympiagas GmbH", ensured that the liquid gas, which was electronically monitored for the first time, was flaring smoothly during the games.

Visual appearance

Porcelain thaler as a gift to the employees of the companies involved

Logo of the ZHS Munich

Under the direction of Otl Aicher , a visual appearance was developed, from which the sports pictograms, the posters and the logo became the benchmark for all later games and many other appearances. The corporate font was Univers 55 ; The color red was not used in the color scheme, as this is the color of the dictators.

The logo

For the logo, 2332 designs were submitted from the population, but the organizing committee was unable to satisfy them. The committee then commissioned the group, headed by Otl Aicher . A jury then decided on a design by Coordt von Mannstein with a halo and superimposed spiral, which was intended to express the term "Radiant Munich". Today a similar logo is still used by the Glücksspirale , but with a different color. On the other hand, the logo will continue to be used in almost unchanged form by the Central University Sports Munich (ZHS), which operates the central university sports facility in Munich.

The mascot

The mascot Waldi

Willi Daume had the idea to use a dachshund as a mascot because he himself owned a dachshund. This is how “Olympia- Waldi ” came about . The Dachshund was chosen because these dogs have toughness, agility and resilience. In addition, the dachshund was considered a typical domestic animal for Munich's citizens. Otl Aicher took on the task of giving the mascot shape and form before the souvenir kitsch could grow wild. The popular figure, which was subsequently protected by trademark law, was also to become another important pillar for financing the games. Waldi was extensively marketed according to all the rules of advertising strategy, advertised some well-known products and could be purchased on paper bags, as stickers , posters , badges , in wood, fabric, terrycloth and plush, as cuddly toys, pillows and puzzles. The mascot was also available as a figure with a wagging tail to be pulled behind in toy stores, departments and official Olympic sales stands.

Olympic locations

Competition venues

Most of the competition venues were in the greater Munich area . The central area, the " Olympiapark " on the northern part of the Oberwiesenfeld , united the largest sports facilities. The concept of the “Olympic Games in the Green” meant that the architecture of the Olympic buildings was determined by the location of the green spaces. The architectural office around Günter Behnisch and Partner developed the overall design for the sports and recreation area, the construction of which lasted from 1968 to 1972. A total of more than two billion DM was invested in the construction of new sports facilities and the Olympic village for the Olympic Games.

Olympiastadion Munich, the central event location, essentially unchanged in 2006: the bicycle stadium in the back left, the roof of the Olympic hall in the front right

Construction phase of the Olympic Hall in Munich, 1970

The Olympiapark in Munich on a stamp pad of the Deutsche Bundespost

The center of the sports facilities is the Olympic Stadium , which at that time offered around 77,000 spectators and has a 400-meter long running track. All competitions in athletics were held there. There were also horse riding competitions and some football matches . It was also the venue for the opening, mourning and closing ceremonies. The architects around Günter Behnisch also designed the swimming pool in the Olympic Park with a 50-meter pool and 9,182 spectator seats. All swimming and diving competitions as well as some water polo games were held here, as well as 300-meter freestyle swimming in modern pentathlon . The boxing competitions took place in today's ice sports center with 7,360 spectators . From 1970 to 1972, the bike stadium with a 285.714 meter long wooden oval was built according to plans by Herbert Schürmann , the venue for the track bike competitions , which were attended by 4,157 spectators. In the Olympiahalle , a sports and multi-purpose hall northeast of the Olympiastadion, the gymnastics competitions and some handball matches took place; the capacity was 10,563 places. The modern pentathlon 4000 meter cross-country run was also held in the Olympic Park. Other competition venues on this site were the hockey stadium with 21,900 seats and the volleyball hall with 3,680 seats.

Bike stadium in the Olympic Park in Munich

Numerous sports facilities also received Olympic honors outside of the Olympic Park. On the old Munich Trade Fair Center on the Schwanthalerhöhe one were weightlifting hall with 3297, a wrestler - Judo -Halle with 5,750 and two fencing halls with 3,198 and 978 spectators set. A shooting range with 4,500 places for shooting competitions and pistol shooting in modern pentathlon was built in Hochbrück . The archery competitions took place in the English Garden in Munich in front of up to 1,100 spectators . In the equestrian stadium in Trudering-Riem before 23,000 in Poing over 38,000 set against the backdrop of the Nymphenburg Palace before 8,000 spectators who were riding competitions held. A modern pentathlon discipline was held on the terrain course of the equestrian stadium in Riem, while the military competitions took place on a track near Poing. The basketball competitions were held in the Rudi Sedlmayer Hall with 6,635 seats. Some water polo matches took place in the uncovered Dante swimming pool , with up to 3,200 spectators.

In Oberschleißheim a regatta course for the rowing and canoe racing competitions was laid out. This stretch was 2000 meters long and offered space for 41,000 people. The 660 meter long Augsburg ice canal with space for 25,000 spectators was the venue for the canoe slalom competitions . The sailing competitions and the demonstration sport of water skiing were held in Kiel - in the newly built Schilksee Olympic Center . The road cycling competitions took place outside of Munich, the road race took place on the Grünwald circuit , which led from Grünwald via Straßlach , Baierbrunn , Schäftlarn and Höllriegelskreuth back to Grünwald. The team time trial, on the other hand, took place on Autobahn 95 . In various stadiums and halls in Augsburg , Göppingen , Ingolstadt , Nuremberg , Passau , Regensburg , Ulm and the Böblingen sports hall , preliminary round matches in soccer and handball took place.

Accommodations

Olympic village under construction (1971)

View of the Olympic Village

Two Olympic villages were built north of the Olympic Stadium . These extended along Connollystrasse , Nadistrasse, Straßbergerstrasse and Helene-Mayer-Ring . There was space for 11,715 athletes and supervisors in the men's village and 1,772 in the women's village. The Olympic Villages were open from August 1, 1972 to September 18, 1972. The highest occupancy was on August 30, when there were 10,562 athletes and supervisors in the village, 9,104 men and 1,458 women. The German lawyer Walther Tröger was the mayor and the corresponding head of department in the organizing committee .

The village should be a place of calm to which the athletes could retreat. At the same time, it enabled inexpensive accommodation and meals for the athletes and offered them training opportunities and an entertainment program. The men's Olympic village had 2,995 apartments in which, depending on the type, between two and seven athletes lived. The women's Olympic village had 1718 apartments for one female athlete and only nine apartments for six female athletes each.

In addition to the residential buildings and numerous different training grounds, the villages also included a kindergarten , a church , a school , various retail stores as well as medical practices, restaurants , cafes and a cafeteria that could accommodate 2500 athletes. The athletes were also able to eat there. There were also various cultural facilities, such as a TV room , table tennis, a pool table, a theater with 350 seats and a cinema with 200 seats.

After the end of the Olympic Games, the grounds of the men's village were converted into a normal residential area, the residential value of this area is considered to be very high today. The former women's village was subsequently used as a student residence. At the end of 2007, the demolition and rebuilding of the women's village ( Olydorf ) began, as the structural damage had increased over the course of time.

Attendees

Participating nations 1972 in Munich. The nations that have already participated in the Olympic Games are marked in green, those that have taken part for the first time are blue.

Number of athletes

With 121 participating teams, a new record was set in Munich. Albania , Saudi Arabia and North Korea celebrated their premieres at the Olympic Games. Most of the first time participants came from Africa. Gabon , Lesotho , Malawi , Somalia , Swaziland , Togo , Dahomey (today's Benin ) and Upper Volta (today's Burkina Faso ) took part for the first time with athletes in this major sporting event.

At its 70th session in Amsterdam in 1970 , the IOC suspended the National Olympic Committee for South Africa , which had already been excluded from the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo and 1968 in Mexico City because it had not met the condition of discrimination against black athletes to prevent and to set up a team with white and black athletes.

Following a resolution from September 1971, the IOC allowed the former British colony of Rhodesia to send an Olympic team with athletes of different skin colors to Munich. However, the 46 participants had to leave again when the IOC gave in to boycott pressure from 27 black African states, which in turn threatened to leave. After six days of negotiations, the IOC decided on August 22, 1972 with 36:34 votes for the exclusion of Rhodesia.

Europe (4,243 athletes from 33 nations)
Albania *  (5)  Belgium  (88)  Bulgaria  (130)  Denmark  (126)  GDR  (297)  Federal Republic of Germany  (424)  Finland  (96)  France  (227)  Greece  (60)  Great Britain  (284)  Ireland  (59)	Iceland  (25)  Israel  (14)  Italy  (224)  Yugoslavia  (124)  Liechtenstein  (6)  Luxembourg  (11)  Malta  (5)  Monaco  (5)  Netherlands  (119)  Norway  (112)  Austria  (111)	Poland  (290)  Portugal  (29)  Romania  (159)  San Marino  (7)  Sweden  (132)  Switzerland  (151)  Soviet Union  (371)  Spain  (124)  Czechoslovakia  (181)  Turkey  (43)  Hungary  (232)
America (1,453 athletes from 32 nations)
US Virgin Islands  (16)  Argentina  (92)  Bahamas  (20)  Barbados  (13)  Bermuda  (9)  Bolivia  (11)  Brazil  (81)  British Honduras  (1)  Chile  (11)  Costa Rica  (3)  Dominican Republic  (5)	Ecuador  (2)  El Salvador  (11)  Guatemala  (8)  Guyana  (3)  Haiti  (7)  Jamaica  (33)  Canada  (208)  Colombia  (59)  Cuba  (136)  Mexico  (174)  Nicaragua  (7)	Netherlands Antilles  (2)  Panama  (7)  Paraguay  (3)  Peru  (20)  Puerto Rico  (53)  Dutch Guiana  (2)  Trinidad and Tobago  (19)  Uruguay  (13)  United States  (401)  Venezuela  (23)
Asia (672 athletes from 24 nations)
Afghanistan  (8)  Burma  (18)  Ceylon  (4)  China, Republic of  (21)  Hong Kong  (10)  India  (41)  Indonesia  (6)  Iran  (48)	Japan  (184)  Khmer Republic  (9)  Korea, DPR  (37)  Korea, Republic of  (42)  Kuwait  (4)  Lebanon  (19)  Malaysia  (45)  Mongolia  (39)	Nepal  (1)  Pakistan  (25)  Philippines  (53)  Saudi Arabia  (11)  Singapore  (7)  Syria  (5)  Thailand  (33)  Vietnam, Republic  (2)
Africa (458 athletes from 29 nations)
Egypt  (23)  Algeria  (5)  Ethiopia  (31)  Dahomey *  (3)  Ivory Coast  (11)  Gabon *  (1)  Ghana  (35)  Cameroon  (11)  Kenya  (57)  Congo, People's Republic  (6)	Lesotho *  (1)  Liberia  (5)  Madagascar  (11)  Malawi *  (16)  Mali  (3)  Morocco  (35)  Niger  (4)  Nigeria  (25)  Upper Volta *  (1)  Zambia  (11)	Senegal  (37)  Somalia *  (3)  Sudan  (26)  Swaziland *  (2)  Tanzania  (15)  Togo *  (7)  Chad  (4)  Tunisia  (35)  Uganda  (33)
Oceania (259 athletes from 3 nations)
Australia  (168)	Fiji  (2)	New Zealand  (89)
(Number of athletes) * Participation in summer games for the first time

Medals

Winners medal

For the Olympic Games in Munich a total of 1,109 medals were produced for the top three winners. These are divided into 364 gold, 364 silver and 381 bronze medals. The fact that there were 17 more bronze medals than the others resulted from the fact that two bronze medal winners emerged in two competitions (boxing with plus 11 and judo with plus 6). There were more Olympic champions than ever before. The medal was designed by Giuseppe Cassioli and Gerhard Marcks and produced by the Bavarian Main Mint in Munich. While the design by the Italian professor Giuseppe Cassioli was retained from 1928 to 1968, the organizing committee in Munich was allowed to design the reverse of the medal itself. The sculptor Gerhard Marcks chose the ancient half-brothers Kastor and Polydeukes , who were the patrons of fighting games and friendship among the Greeks , as the illustration for the back . On the front the goddess of victory is depicted, who holds a palm in her left hand and a crown in her right hand. The inscription “XX. Olympiad Munich 1972 ".

In addition, the medals with a diameter of 60 millimeters were attached to chains made of gold, silver or bronze. For the first time, the name of the athlete and the discipline in which the medal was won were engraved on the edge of the medal. The thickness was three millimeters, a gold plating of six grams is required for gold medals, the silver content was 92.5 percent. In total, medals were awarded in 195 competitions in 21 sports.

Competition program

A total of 195 competitions (132 for men, 43 for women and 20 open competitions) in 21 sports / 28 disciplines were held. That was 23 competitions and 3 sports / 4 disciplines more than in Mexico City in 1968 . The German graphic artist Otl Aicher was the design representative for the Olympic Games. Among other things, he designed the pictograms of the individual sports, which served to guide an international and multilingual audience to the venues of the various sports. The changes to the previous summer games are detailed below:

• Reintroduction of archery into the Olympic program (individual for men and women). Archery was Olympic four times by 1920.
• In weightlifting , two weight classes (flyweight and super heavyweight) have been added for men.
• Reintroduction of the team sport handball into the Olympic program. In Berlin in 1936 field handball had already been an Olympic event.
• Reintroduction of judo with the weight classes light, medium, medium, light, heavy and open class after it had its Olympic debut in 1964 and was missing in Mexico in 1968.
• In canoeing , the canoe slalom discipline (C1, C2 and K1 for men and K1 for women) has been added.
• In athletics , the program was expanded to include the 1500 m and the 4 × 400 m relay for women - in addition, the 100 m hurdles replaced the 80 m hurdles for women.
• In wrestling , paper weight was reintroduced in freestyle - paper weight was added in the Greco-Roman style . In the two disciplines Freestyle and Greco-Roman, the super heavyweight for men was added.
• In shooting , the small bore rifle running target, 50 m was added as an open class.
• The open boat classes Soling and Tempest were introduced in sailing .

Olympic sports / disciplines

• Basketball total (1) = men (1)
• Archery total (2) = men (1) / women (1)
• Boxing total (11) = men (11)
• Fencing total (8) = men (6) / women (2)
• Football total (1) = men (1)
• Weightlifting total (9) = men (9)
• Handball total (1) = men (1)
• Hockey total (1) = men (1)
• Judo total (6) = men (6)
• Canoeing
  • Canoe racing total (7) = men (5) / women (2)
  • Canoe slalom total (4) = men (3) / women (1)
• Athletics total (38) = men (24) / women (14)
• Modern pentathlon total (2) = men (2)
• Cycling
  • Track total (5) = men (5)
  • Road total (2) = men (2)
• horse riding
  • Dressage total (2) = open (2)
  • Jump total (2) = open (2)
  • Versatility Overall (2) = Open (2)
• Wrestling
  • Freestyle total (10) = men (10)
  • Greco-Roman total (10) = men (10)
• Rowing total (7) = men (7)
• Shoot total (8) = open (8)
• Swimming
  • Swimming total (29) = men (15) / women (14)
  • Water polo total (1) = men (1)
  • Diving total (4) = men (2) / women (2)
• Sailing total (6) = Open (6)
• Gymnastics total (14) = men (8) / women (6)
• Volleyball total (2) = men (1) / women (1)

Number of competitions in brackets

Time schedule

Time schedule
discipline		Sat. 26.	Sun. 27.	Mon. 28.	Tuesday 29	Wed. 30.	Thursday 31	Fr. 1.	Sat. 2.	So. 3.	Mon. 4.	Tuesday 5th *	Wed. 6. *	Thursday 7.	Fri. 8.	Sat. 9.	Sun 10.	Mon. 11.	Decision- disk- applications	spectator
		Aug						September
Opening ceremony																				62,592
basketball																1			1	139.125
Archery																	2		2	8,469
Boxing																	11		11	145.246
fencing						1	1		1	1	1		1		1	1			8th	26,181
Soccer																	1		1	556,582
Weightlifting			1	1	1	1	1		1	1	1		1						9	33,623
Handball																	1		1	123.204
hockey																	1		1	78.020
Judo							1	1	1	1	1					1			6th	51,813
Canoeing	Canoe racing															7th			7th	72.272
	Canoe slalom			2		2													4th
athletics							2	2	5	5	3			7th	2	3	9		38	1,081,834
Modern pentathlon							2												2	25,353
Cycling	train						1	1	1		2								5	39,609
	Street				1									1					2
Equestrian sport	dressage													1		1			2	202,517
	Leap									1								1	2
	versatility							2											2
Wrestling	Freestyle						10												10	72,821
	Giech.-Roman.																10		10
rowing									7th										7th	109.914
shoot			1	1	1	1		2	2										8th	20,600
Swimming	swim			3	4th	4th	3	3	4th	4th	4th								29	161,089
	Water polo										1								1
	Diving			1		1			1		1								4th
sailing															6th				6th	32,655
do gymnastics				1	1	2	4th	6th											14th	99.268
volleyball														1		1			2	103,346
Funeral service																				80,000
Closing ceremony																				62,712
Demonstration competitions
badminton											4th									3,970
Water-skiing									2	4th										450
decisions			2	9	8th	12	25th	17th	23	13	14th		2	10	9	15th	35	1	195
		Sat. 26.	Sun. 27.	Mon. 28.	Tuesday 29	Wed. 30.	Thursday 31	Fr. 1.	Sat. 2.	So. 3.	Mon. 4.	Tuesday 5th *	Wed. 6. *	Thursday 7.	Fri. 8.	Sat. 9.	Sun 10.	Mon. 11.
		Aug						September

^*On September 5th, all competitions were canceled because of the attack on the Israeli team. After the funeral on September 6th, the competitions were resumed.

Color legend

Opening ceremony

Competition day (no decisions)

Competition day (x decisions)

Funeral service

Closing ceremony

Terrorist attack

→ Main article : Munich Olympic assassination attempt

Memorial in Israel for the deaths by during the Olympic Games Palestinian terrorists perpetrated Israeli athletes hostage-taking

On the morning of September 5, 1972, there was a momentous attack in which eight members of the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September climbed over the fence of the Olympic village and broke into the apartment of the Israeli Olympic team at 31 Connolly Street. The hostage-takers, armed with assault rifles , had no trouble overpowering the Israeli athletes, as the doors to their apartments were unlocked and security conditions were deliberately kept relaxed during the Olympic Games to reflect the change that Germany had made since the 1936 Summer Olympics , showcase.

The terrorists took the eleven Israeli delegation members David Mark Berger , Eliezer Halfin , Zeev Friedman , Yossef Gutfreund , Josef Romano , Amitzur Schapira , Kehat Shorr , Mark Slavin , André Spitzer , Yakov Springer and Mosche Weinberg hostage. The wrestling trainer Mosche Weinberg and the weightlifter Josef Romano were wounded right at the beginning of the action, both died of their injuries in the Olympic village.

The Palestinian terrorists demanded the release of 232 Palestinians from Israeli prisons, as well as the release of the German terrorists Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof and the Japanese terrorist Kōzō Okamoto . The Israeli government responded immediately and announced that there were no negotiations. When the German authorities failed to free themselves, all the other hostages, five terrorists and one German police officer were killed in Fürstenfeldbruck . At the beginning of the hostage-taking, the games were initially continued and only interrupted after protests by numerous participants and visitors. After the death of the Israeli athletes, the games were interrupted for a day and after a memorial service in the Olympic Stadium , IOC President Avery Brundage let them continue with the sentence “The games must go on!”.

Ceremonies

Opening ceremony

The GDR team marched into the Olympic Stadium

The opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium began on Saturday, August 26, 1972 at 15 o'clock, stadium announcer was Joachim Fuchsberger . A few minutes before the entry of the nations, Federal President Gustav Heinemann arrived at the stadium and the German national anthem was played. Afterwards the entry of the nations began in front of around 62,000 spectators. This about 90 minutes lasting part sounded European, Chinese, Arab, African and South American music, played by the Big Band of Kurt Edelhagen that this medley , which is one of the longest in the history of music, along with Dieter Reith , Jerry van Rooyen and Peter Herbolzheimer had composed and put together. The flag bearer for the team of the Federal Republic of Germany was the canoeist Detlef Lewe , for the team of the German Democratic Republic the boxer Manfred Wolke .

The traditional greeting of the youth, performed by 3500 Munich schoolchildren with self-tied bows and bouquets of flowers, accompanied by the singing of the Tölzer Knabenchor with the piece Rota , an Old English canon from the 13th century newly arranged by Carl Orff , was received very positively internationally, such as the edition of the US daily newspaper "Daily News" stated:

The Munich children proclaimed “Flower Power” - they are the spirit of the Munich Games, the spirit of a new Germany.

This was followed by the Olympic anthem in a variant by Alfred Goodman, which was played live by the Bundeswehr Music Corps under the direction of Captain Ronald Lindner . A choir was deliberately omitted here. Then followed the speeches by the President of the Organizing Committee Willi Daume , the President of the IOC Avery Brundage and finally the official opening by the Federal President Gustav Heinemann .

This official part of the event was continued with the carrying and hoisting of the Olympic flag by Horst Meyer , Rüdiger Henning , Dirk Schreyer , Egbert Hirschfelder , Jörg Siebert , Niko Ott , Roland Böse and Gunther Tiersch . They had won the gold medal in eighth rowing at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City . The traditional flag was then handed over to Lord Mayor Georg Kronawitter , and various groups and bands showed mariachi and Schuhplattler , among others . 5,000 white carrier pigeons then rose into the sky as ambassadors of peace .

Another highlight was the announcement of the last torch-bearer, the final runner Günter Zahn then lit the Olympic flame. He was followed by an athlete from each continent: Kipchoge Keino from Africa, Jim Ryun from America, Kenji Kimihara from Asia and Derek Clayton from Oceania. Then the athlete Heidi Schüller and the referee Heinz Pollay spoke the Olympic oath . The exodus of the nations then acted as a happy conclusion, after about two and a half hours the program was over. The program was well received internationally, the French daily "L 'Aurore" said in its edition as follows:

The first gold medal for the Germans! Yes, they would deserve it because on Saturday they showed us the most wonderful spectacle one can dream of for the opening of the Olympic Games. President Gustav Heinemann and Chancellor Willy Brandt had every reason to express their satisfaction and to taste this success with pleasure.

Funeral service

Federal President Heinemann speaks at the memorial service

After the hostage-taking of Israeli athletes on September 5, the Olympic Games were suspended for a full day and a memorial service was held on September 6 in the Olympic Stadium. The beginning of the event was musically arranged with the funeral march from the " Eroica " by Ludwig van Beethoven . Rudolf Kempe was conducting , and the work was played by the Munich Philharmonic .

This was followed by speeches by Willi Daume (President of the Organizing Committee), Shmuel Lalkin (Chairman of the Israeli Olympic Team ), Gustav Heinemann (Federal President) and also by Avery Brundage (President of the IOC):

“All civilized people condemn the criminal attack by terrorists in the peaceful Olympic area. We lament our Israeli friends who have been victims of this brutal attack. It is a sad fact that in our imperfect world, the bigger and more important the Olympic Games get, the more they are under economic, political and now criminal pressures. The games of the XX. The Olympics have been the target of two gruesome attacks because we lost the fight against political blackmail in the case of Rhodesia. We only have the power of a great ideal. I am convinced that the world community agrees with me that we cannot allow a handful of terrorists to destroy this core of international cooperation and goodwill that the Olympic Games represent.

The games must go on, we must continue in our efforts to keep them pure and honest, and try to carry the athletes' athletic attitude to other areas. We hereby declare this day to be the day of mourning and will continue all events one day later than originally planned. "

- Avery Brundage during the funeral service

The end of the funeral service was accompanied by the Egmont overture by Ludwig van Beethoven. Fritz Rieger was the conductor here , and the Munich Philharmonic also played this work.

Closing ceremony

The closing ceremony in the Olympiastadion, originally planned for Sunday, September 10, 1972, began on Monday, September 11, 1972 at 7:30 p.m., the announcer was Joachim Fuchsberger , as was the case at the opening ceremony . In the run-up to the stadium, various equestrian performances, such as vaulting and quadrille riding, took place in the interior of the stadium . After the hostage-taking on September 5, 1972, the planned course of the celebration was slightly modified.

At the beginning of this event, the athletes and supervisors entered the stadium with their national flags and positioned themselves behind the flags in an informal sequence. Before Avery Brundage stepped onto the podium, the flags of Greece, West Germany and Canada were hoisted and the national anthems played. Then followed the last appearance of the IOC President, who has been in office since 1952, who would hand over his office to the Irish Lord Killanin on September 30, 1972 . As the last official act, Avery Brundage declared the games of the XX. Olympics for ended and called on the world's youth to gather in Montreal in four years to celebrate the XXI. Celebrating Olympic Games. He addressed the following personal words to the audience in German:

Dear Munich residents, we were deeply moved by your warm and gracious hospitality. We celebrated the days of radiant joy together, and we endured the difficult hours of deepest darkness together with you. The time to say goodbye has come. We return to our homeland and call out to all of you: Goodbye!

This was followed by minutes of applause from the audience. When the 85-year-old American went back to the gallery, the stadium scoreboard read in large letters - misspelled - "Thank you Avery Brandage". The Olympic Stadium was in the dark, only the Olympic flame was still burning. At 8:02 p.m. the flame went out to the sound of a trumpet and eight timpani. The audience then rose to commemorate the victims of the attack.

In poor lighting, the Olympic flag was brought down and carried out of the stadium. Then there was complete darkness. Five 700-meter-long, helium-filled, 130-meter-high, floodlit polyethylene tubes then suddenly shone as a huge rainbow over the Olympic lake , where it could be seen from the stadium (“Olympic Rainbow” by Otto Piene ). And when the stadium lighting was switched on again shortly afterwards, 40 groups of Bavarian costumes had lined up inside the stadium. Originally they should have danced, but they stood still with a serious expression.

Torchbearers formed a chain of lights around the stadium to the marathon gate. To the sounds of the “Munich Fanfare March” played by the Big Band of the German Armed Forces under the direction of Günter Noris , the team marched out of the Olympic Stadium by athletes, supervisors and groups in traditional costumes. Each of the approximately 62,000 visitors to the stadium was given a small lamp to wave to the participants.

During the closing ceremony, a Finnish passenger plane headed straight for the Bavarian capital without official approval, so that a terror warning was issued. However, it soon became clear that the aircraft posed no threat and the situation eased again. Before that, the difficult decision whether the stadium should be cleared or not was placed in the hands of the stadium announcer Fuchsberger. He feared a mass panic and therefore decided against an eviction.

At 8:05 p.m. on September 11, 1972, then Defense Minister Georg Leber received a report from an adjutant. The Olympic security chief had sounded the alarm that terrorists had stolen a small plane a few minutes ago in Stuttgart. They have found out that attempts should be made to drop bombs from the stolen plane over the Olympic Stadium during the closing ceremony. In the Süddeutsche Zeitung , Fuchsberger described that August Everding, the director of the graduation ceremony, brought him the news that there was likely to be an attack on the Olympic Stadium. The message read: "Unidentified flying objects approaching the Olympic Stadium - possibly bombing - say what you think is right." Fuchsberger had noticed the interceptors, but Fuchsberger did not know how to save the situation. "I was the loneliest and shitty person you can imagine," he later told the SZ.

Competitions

basketball

Rudi-Sedlmayer-Halle in Sendling-Westpark - place of competitions in basketball

A total of 191 athletes from 16 countries took part in the men's only Olympic basketball tournament. The World Cup , which took place in Yugoslavia from May 10 to 25, 1970, served as qualification for this tournament . In addition, there were the best continental representatives as well as the host and the United States as the reigning Olympic champion. In the run-up to the meeting, the IOC caused a sensational discussion , which at the 72nd session seriously thought about limiting the maximum height of the players to 1.75 to 1.80 meters. Eventually, however, the opinion prevailed that this was not the IOC's business.

Following the preliminary round match between Puerto Rico and Yugoslavia, the Puerto Rican player Miguel Coll was convicted of doping , but the result - 79:74 for Puerto Rico - was not revised. The Fédération Internationale de Basketball only threatened to suspend the team in case of recurrence. After the Palestinian attack, the Egyptian team left Munich. Their intermediate round match against the Philippines and their final round match against Senegal were therefore rated 2-0 to their disadvantage. In the game for third place, Cuba and Italy separated 66:65. On September 9th at 9 pm the Soviet Union and the United States faced each other in the final. The former won after a dramatic game 51:50 and thus won the gold medal. Silver went to the United States and bronze to Cuba. A protest by the United States that the winning roll was not made in regular time has been dismissed. The American players did not show up for the award ceremony and refused to accept the silver medals. 72 games were played throughout the tournament.

Archery

The English Garden - venue for archery competitions

The Archery , 1920 in Antwerp last time played, was in Munich after 52 years again olympic. There was a competition for men and women; one participant per country was allowed in both. A maximum of two other shooters were allowed to start if they had reached the limit of 1,100 rings (for men) or 1,050 rings (for women) in the qualification period.

55 athletes from 24 countries took part in the men's competition. A double FITA round of 144 arrows each was held from distances of 90, 70, 50 and 30 meters. 40 athletes from 21 countries took part in the women's competition. A double FITA round of 144 arrows each was held, but from distances of 70, 60, 50 and 30 meters. The two Americans John Williams with 2528 rings and Doreen Wilber with 2424 rings set new world records and thus won the gold medal for men and women.

Boxing

A total of 360 athletes in eleven weight classes took part in boxing . Each country was allowed to start with only one athlete per weight class. Boxing gloves with a white hit area were used for the first time in Munich, so hits should be easier to spot. The competitions were overshadowed by numerous misjudgments and fights.

The Puerto Rican flyweight Wilfredo Gómez was reported with an incorrect date of birth so that he could reach the required minimum age of 17, in fact he was only 16 years old. However, he was eliminated in the second round. Teófilo Stevenson , the heavyweight winner, was awarded the Val Barker Cup for the technically best boxer of the games. Romanian Ion Alexe was unable to compete in the final of his weight class due to a hand injury. The most successful boxers came from Cuba; they won a total of three gold, one silver and one bronze medal.

fencing

In fencing there were eight competitions, six for men and two for women. Foils , rapiers and sabers were used as weapons . Numerous medal ranks were only decided in the jump-off, and there were often manipulations: In the individual saber fencing competition, Wiktor Sidjak gave the French Regis Bonissent the missing victory to participate in the final, the French reciprocated with a defeat in the final round. In addition, Viktor Sidjak led his Soviet compatriot Vladimir Naslymow to the bronze medal with a free victory. The most successful fencers came from Hungary, they won a total of two gold, four silver and two bronze medals. The fencers from the Soviet Union were also very successful with two gold, two silver and three bronze medals.

Soccer

A total of 270 athletes from 16 countries took part in the Olympic football tournament , which was only held for men. The host and Hungary as the reigning Olympic champion were set, the remaining fourteen participants were determined in separate qualifying rounds of the individual continental associations. All squads consisted of 19 players each. Two substitutes were allowed to come on for each game, for which five candidates had to be named before the game started. For the first time there was a second group phase after the preliminary round. The respective group winners played for the gold medal in the final, the two runners-up for bronze. In addition to the Munich Olympic Stadium, the football games were played in the Rosenaustadion in Augsburg, the ESV Stadium in Ingolstadt, the Städtisches Stadion in Nuremberg, the Dreiflüssestadion in Passau and the Jahnstadion in Regensburg.

In the Burmese team, which could not reach the intermediate round with two defeats in the preliminary round, there were two players named "Maung Aye" who had to be provided with numbers to distinguish them. During the second round, the two German teams met for the first time; the GDR won this 3-2 and secured entry into the game for the bronze medal. With around 80,000 spectators, this game was the most popular of the tournament.

The game for third place between the GDR and the Soviet Union turned into a "farce of German-Soviet friendship" when it was 2-2 after regular playing time. In extra time, both teams bet on a tactical draw because a penalty shoot-out was not planned and thus both teams received the bronze medal. This behavior earned them a whistle concert of 70,000 spectators. On September 10th at 8:15 p.m. Poland and Hungary faced each other in the final. After Hungary took the lead in the first half, Poland celebrated victory with two goals from Kazimierz Deyna in the second half. The game ended 2-1 and Poland won the gold medal, while the silver went to Hungary. The top scorer with nine goals was Kazimierz Deyna ahead of the Hungarian player Antal Dunai with seven goals. 38 games were played and 135 goals scored throughout the tournament.

Weightlifting

Soviet postage stamp pad 1972

A total of 188 athletes in nine weight classes took part in weightlifting . Flyweight and heavyweight competitions were newly added to the program, with nine and no longer seven decisions being held for the first time. The last time the competition was held in a three-way fight (tear, push, push). The first two official doping cases overshadowed the competitions: the Iranian Arjomand Mohammad Nasehi and the Austrian Walter Legel were disqualified for the unauthorized use of ephedrine . The majority of the peak consumed anabolic steroids that were undetectable at this point, but led to an unexpected increase in performance. New world records were set in four competitions in the Olympic three-way battle:

• Bantamweight, Imre Földi (HUN): 377.50 kilograms
• Featherweight, Norair Nurikjan (BUL): 402.50 kilograms
• Lightweight, Mucharbi Kirschinow (URS): 460.00 kilograms
• Middleweight, Jordan Bikow (BUL): 485.00 kilograms

The most successful weightlifters came from Bulgaria; they won a total of three gold and three silver medals. The Soviet athletes were also very successful with three gold, one silver and one bronze medals.

Handball

243 athletes from 16 countries took part in the men's only Olympic handball tournament. The World Cup served as tournament qualification. The remaining teams were determined in continental championships and a qualifying tournament. For the first time since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , handball was included again in the program. A second referee was introduced, the playing area had a size of 40 meters × 20 meters and the games were also played in the hall for the first time. In the game for third place, Romania and the GDR separated with 19:16. On September 10th at 9 p.m. Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia faced each other in the final. Yugoslavia won 21:16 and thus achieved the gold medal. Silver went to Czechoslovakia, bronze to Romania. 44 games were played throughout the tournament.

hockey

Michael Krause scored the winning goal in the final

A total of 272 athletes from 16 countries took part in the men's only Olympic hockey tournament . The 1st World Field Hockey Championship , which took place in Barcelona in 1971, served as qualification . All ten participating teams at the time were also eligible to start the Olympic tournament. The remaining six teams were determined in continental championships. In the game for third place, India and the Netherlands drew 2-1. On September 10th at 12 noon the Federal Republic of Germany and Pakistan faced each other in the final. The former won 1-0 and thus won the gold medal. The goal in the final was scored by Michael Krause in the 60th minute by transforming a penalty corner. The Germans were the first European hockey Olympic champions since 1920.

The Pakistani players refused to pay homage to the German flag at the awards ceremony and stepped on their medals. In addition, the Pakistani team management accused the Argentine referee Horacio Servetto and his Australian colleague Richard Jewell of bribery. After the Pakistani players damaged the dressing rooms, they were initially banned for life and excluded from the Olympic Games. After President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto apologized to the German government, the team was pardoned in 1976.

Since the IOC only awarded gold medals to the 13 players who played in the final, Federal Foreign Minister Walter Scheel ordered five replicas for the reserve players on his account.

Judo

A total of 141 athletes in five weight classes took part in judo . In addition, a competition with 26 participants in the "open class" was held. The fighting time in the preliminary round was six, in the semifinals eight and in the final ten minutes. An Ippon was enough to win . In the lightweight category, the Mongolian Bachaawaagiin Bujadaa took second place, but was the first judoka in sports history to be disqualified because he was doped with caffeine . Toyokazu Nomura , the Japanese Olympic welterweight champion, only needed 10:49 minutes for his five fights. The most successful judoka came from Japan; they won a total of three gold and one bronze medal. The Dutch athletes were also very successful with two gold medals, both of which Willem Ruska won.

canoe

The Augsburg Eiskanal - place of competitions in canoe slalom

In canoeing , seven competitions were held in canoe racing and four in canoe slalom. The five decisions in men's racing were over a distance of 1000 meters, the two decisions of the women over 500 meters. 17 of the 21 medals were won by athletes from the Eastern Bloc , six gold medals went to athletes from the Soviet Union. During the award ceremony of the competition in a single kayak, the runner-up Rolf Peterson suffered a weakness and had to sit on the podium to rest. The Romanian Ivan Patzaichin ensured the only non-Soviet victory in the Canadians . The final run in the two-man Canadian ended with the closest result of an Olympic canoe race. A 300 meter final sprint brought the Romanian defending champions Ivan Patzaichin and Serghei Covaliov only three hundredths of a second to the victorious Soviets, but this only became apparent on the finish photo.

Already proposed in 1966, canoe slalom was included in the IOC's Olympic program in 1970. For the Olympic Games in Munich it was planned that the four competitions (three times men; once women) should take place on a specially constructed artificial competition track on the Lech in Augsburg . With the completion of this 660 meter long course with 36 obstacles in mid-1971, a new era in white water sports began, which allowed training regardless of the previous imponderables of a natural body of water (different water levels, flow fluctuations). In order to cancel out the resulting advantage of the host German canoeists, a shortened version of the Olympic route on the Zwickauer Mulde was built on the initiative of the GDR sports tour. This investment seemed to pay off when the GDR team dominated the Olympic competitions and provided all four Olympic champions. This superiority sparked rumors about custom-made GDR boats, but these were not confirmed.

Canoe slalom was removed from the program after the Olympic Games in Munich and only became Olympic again after the 1992 Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona .

athletics

German postage stamp 1969 with the motif "Athletics"

In athletics , 24 competitions for men and 14 competitions for women were held. Participation was regulated by the International Athletics Federation ( IAAF ), which condemned blood doping . However, there was still no way of carrying out such controls. For the first time, the time was measured fully automatically to hundredths of a second, the Junghans company was responsible for the time measurement . For the first time, a tape measure was no longer used when measuring the distance in the throwing disciplines . Now the point of impact was marked with a prism reflector at which a geodetic measuring device, an electronic total station from Carl Zeiss in Oberkochen, was aimed. The distance was then measured by means of infrared rays .

The Soviet athlete Valery Borsov won the gold medals in the 100-meter run and in the 200-meter run , thus ensuring the first non-American sprint double victory. Because the US coach Stan Wright did not know the schedule published months earlier, the runners Rey Robinson and Eddie Hart missed the intermediate run. Only Robert Taylor made it to the stadium in time and had to complete his run without any warm-up. In the final run he won the silver medal. During the award ceremony of the 400-meter run , the two Americans Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett caused a scandal when they were demonstratively casual. They appeared barefoot for this ceremony, and while the national anthem was playing, they played with their medals, danced, laughed, talked and greeted the audience with raised fists. This reminded many of the Black Power demonstration at the 1968 Olympics . The US team management then banned the two athletes. Since Lee Evans was also excluded because of his threatened boycott in a Rhodesian Olympic participation and John Smith had sustained a thigh injury, the United States had to withdraw their team in the 4-by-400-meter relay . Of the six nominated runners, only Maurice Peoples and Tommy Turner remained.

The Ethiopian Miruts Yifter was also supposed to start in a 5000-meter run, but tried to enter the Olympic Stadium through a wrong entrance. Since the steward had no inspection, Yifter was unable to be there in time for the start. The Finn Lasse Virén won the 5000 meter run , but in the final of the 10,000 meter run he stepped on the inside edge of the track during the fifth kilometer and fell. Then the Tunisian Mohamed Gammoudi fell over him. He then continued the race, but soon gave up when he noticed that he could no longer get to the top. After this faux pas, Lasse Virén was also able to win this run and became a double Olympic champion.

At the marathon run , the 16-year-old high school student Norbert Südhaus from Wiedenbrück stole the show from the winner Frank Shorter by overcoming the barricade at the end of the race shortly before the stadium and with sportswear and the wrong registration number 72 to the cheers of tens of thousands of spectators as the first to enter the Olympic Stadium ran The unsuspecting audience celebrated him instead of the actual winner with a big ovation, but only noticed it some time later. Norbert Südhaus was arrested and taken to Willi Daume . At some point he was sorry and wrote the American a letter of apology to which he never received an answer. Last of the marathon was Maurice Charlotin , who was accompanied by an electric vehicle. When this broke down in the last few meters, the Haitian stopped because he had gotten used to this vehicle. Christian Rudolph suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon at the last hurdle during the 400-meter hurdles in the middle and fell, Dieter Büttner falling over him. The protest lodged by the German Athletics Association against this was rejected by the jury. In a 3000 meter obstacle run , Australian Kerry O'Brien lost a shoe in a jostle 250 meters from the finish, whereupon he gave up the race before the last moat.

Peter Frenkel won the 20-kilometer walk , which he then celebrated with his masseur in Schwabing . When he did not return to the Olympic village until the next morning, he was already considered a renegade by the GDR team management. Team leader Manfred Ewald had therefore already asked the Bavarian police for administrative assistance. Shortly before the start of the 50-kilometer walk, Christoph Höhne was accused by an anonymous report to the GDR team management of wanting to flee to the Federal Republic during the competition. Although this denunciation was not believed, the Leipziger was so psychologically battered that he did not find his normal form and only took 14th place.

For the high jump, the games marked the generation change in techniques . While for the men the straddle for the Russian Jurij Tarmak with 2.23 m was enough for gold, this was no longer the case for the women. The surprise winner here was the only 16-year-old German youth champion Ulrike Meyfarth , who also set the world record with 1.92 m.

In the men's javelin throw , the German Klaus Wolfermann was able to secure the gold medal against the favorite Soviet Olympic champion from 1968 Jānis Lūsis with a width of 90.48 m. In his last attempt, Lusis was only 2 cm behind the result of the Nuremberg man. Wolfermann was awarded the title of Sportsman of the Year in the same year due to his popularity .

New and lighter vaulting poles , the model Cata-Pole, led to a controversy in pole vaulting . At the request of the GDR on July 25, 1972, the new staff was banned by the IAAF Technical Committee on the grounds that new equipment had to be available to all athletes one year before the competition. On August 27, this decision was repealed due to practical difficulties in implementation. Three days later, 24 hours before the qualifying competition, the IAAF revised itself again following an urgency request from Greece. The new staffs were banned and confiscated. Only wands were permitted that had been available in all countries of the world for at least one year. The IAAF President David Cecil , once Olympic champion himself, had previously tried in heated discussions to get the delegates to agree. Bob Seagren , runner-up in the competition, turned out to be a bad loser. With a demonstrative gesture, he gave the President of the European Athletics Federation , Adriaan Paulen , the baton, for which he only received whistles from the audience. During the winners' press conference that followed, he cursed Olympic champion Wolfgang Nordwig , believing that he recognized the main culprit for the protest. Nordwig was the first non-American to become Olympic champion in this technically difficult discipline.

The most successful athletes in the women's competitions were Heide Rosendahl , who won the gold medal for the Federal Republic of Germany in the long jump and in the 4 x 100 meter relay as well as the silver medal in the pentathlon. For the GDR, Renate Stecher won the 100-meter and 200-meter run and the silver medal in the 4-by-100-meter relay. The duel between the two German women's sprint relays was one of the highlights of the summer games. Athletes from the two German teams won 20 of the 42 medals in the women's competitions. Lyudmila Bragina from the Soviet Union set a world record in all three rounds in the 1,500 meter run and improved the previous record by more than five seconds.

The most successful athletes came from the Soviet Union, who won nine gold, seven silver and one bronze medal. The athletes of the GDR won eight gold, seven silver and five bronze medals. The United States could only reach third place this time in the medal table for this sport with six gold and eight silver and bronze medals each.

Modern pentathlon

A total of 59 athletes from 20 countries took part in two men's competitions in the Modern Pentathlon . On the first day, the 1000-meter cross-country ride was held. The other days were followed by epee fencing , pistol shooting and 300-meter freestyle swimming . On the last day of the competition, the 4,000-meter cross-country run was held. There were disagreements at the shooting competition when all participants were checked for drugs after a protest by the British team boss. It was found that 14 athletes had consumed tranquilizers , but these were not disqualified. The reason for this was that these agents were on the association's doping list, but not on that of the IOC's Medical Commission. Objections to this decision failed, as did a protest against the later Olympic champion because of alleged irregularities in shooting.

The Hungarian athlete András Balczó won the individual competition with 5,412 points, while the Soviet Union won the team competition with 15,968 points. This result was made up of the individual results of the participants. Hungary and the Soviet Union dominated the competitions and won five of the six medals.

Cycling

Seven competitions were held in cycling , five of them in track cycling and two in road cycling. The 2000 meter tandem race was on the program for the last time because this competition had lost its popularity. In this competition, the Soviet Union surprisingly became Olympic champion, but they only won the gold medal in a third run, in which the finish photo had to decide. In the semifinals of the 4000-meter team pursuit, the British team was overtaken by the German team. Also in the 4,000-meter individual pursuit, drivers were overtaken in the quarter and semi-finals. The gold medal went to the Norwegian Knut Knudsen on a racing bike borrowed from the Danish team.

The 100-kilometer team time trial was held on the former Munich-Lindau motorway section (today: A 95 Munich-Garmisch motorway ) with a maximum gradient of 3.7 percent. The start-finish area was between the Starnberg motorway triangle and the Schäftlarn exit . The distance between the teams at the start was two minutes, the starting order was drawn. Finally, at an interval of four minutes, the top ten teams of the 1971 World Cup took to the track. The doping problem overshadowed both the team time trial and the individual road race . The third-placed Dutch team was disqualified because Aad van den Hoek was doped, the same happened to the individual bronze medalist Jaime Huélamo . No bronze medals were awarded in either decision. In the individual race, four Northern Irish athletes also appeared at the start without being accredited to protest against the participation of the Irish athletes. The four members of the Irish Republican Army were then arrested, but later released.

horse riding

In riding six tournaments were held, each one individual and team competition in dressage, show jumping and the Military. In the dressage team competition , the Grand Prix was mandatory: the 38 lessons of the basic Olympic task were rated with points on a scale from zero to ten, with three particularly difficult lessons the maximum number of points was 20; For the overall impression, the five judges were able to award a maximum of 90 points, so that an ideal number of 2500 points was possible. The best twelve later rode the jump-off for the individual medals, whereby a maximum of 80 points could be awarded for the overall impression. Among the five judges was Heinz Pollay , double Olympic champion in 1936 and the judge's first speaker in Munich for the Olympic pledge. However, widely differing judges' judgments had a negative impact on these competitions.

The military competition , which was held in Poing near Munich, consisted of a dressage test with 19 lessons, cross-country riding, and jumping. Of the four riders on a team, the best three athletes were included in the team evaluation, but unlike before, the fourth was also awarded. The United Kingdom emerged victorious from both competitions. The individual show jumping competition took place on a 760 meter long course with 14 obstacles. The team competition was held on an 860 meter long course. The nomination of Hans Günter Winkler in the German team was highly controversial. Eleven other show jumpers declared that they would not participate with him in Munich. The reason for this was that Hans Günter Winkler obtained five horses that his competitors said were not suitable for the Olympics. In the end, however, he rode anyway and even won the gold medal in the team competition. All individual medals in show jumping were awarded in a playoff.

Wrestling

A total of 20 wrestling competitions were held; competitions were held in two styles in ten weight classes . 215 athletes competed in freestyle, 195 athletes fought for the title in Greco-Roman style. The light flyweight and the super heavyweight were newly introduced. The fight time was limited to three times three minutes, and the point allocation was again modified. A wrestler stayed in the tournament until he was burdened with six minus points, the tournament winner was the athlete with the lowest number of missing points.

In freestyle wrestling, Benjamin Peterson and John Peterson were the first brother couple to win gold and silver in wrestling. Iwan Jarygin , Olympic heavyweight champion, only needed 15 minutes and four seconds of the available fighting time of 54 minutes. As the only athlete in the competition, he defeated all his opponents on the shoulder, so that he emerged from the tournament without a minus point. With a weight of more than 180 kilograms, the American Chris Taylor was the heaviest athlete who ever competed in the Olympic Games and was even able to win the bronze medal.

When Georgi Markow won the Olympic featherweight contest in the Greco-Roman style, the weakness of the rating system at that time became apparent. The Bulgarian athlete did not meet a single wrestler who could place in the top six. The second-placed Heinz-Helmut Wehling , however, met three wrestlers who were able to place in the top six. The wrestling competitions were dominated by the Soviet Union, which won nine gold medals.

rowing

Rowing regatta course Oberschleißheim

Ruderreagatta plant grandstand ⊙

In rowing , seven competitions for men were held on the Oberschleißheim regatta course . The Soviet athletes in double sculls , Alexander Timoschinin and Gennady Korschikow , had only been in the same boat since 1972, but they were still able to become Olympic champions. Siegfried Brietzke and Wolfgang Mager from the GDR won the two without a helmsman . Both had only found their way to rowing through a 1967 Christmas program on the GDR television station, moderated by Heinz Quermann . To the disappointment of the hosts, only the four-man with helmsman, the so-called “Bullen-Vierer” or “Bodensee-Vierer”, could win the only gold medal for the Federal Republic.

In the eighth, the New Zealanders bluffed in the semi-finals when they let West Germany win. In the final run, however, they clearly prevailed, while the German athletes were only able to come in fifth. The blame for this failure, despite excellent equipment, was taken by Karl Adam , who claimed to have selected the wrong straps . The New Zealand team won the money for training and equipment in a lottery. The GDR rowers were even better than at the Olympic Summer Games in 1968 and were able to win medals in all boat classes. In addition to three bronze medals and one silver medal, they were also able to achieve three Olympic victories.

shoot

In shooting eight competitions were held. Compared to the Olympic Games in 1968 , the program was expanded to include the “ running disc ” discipline , which replaced the “running stag” discipline last held in 1956. The resumption of this competition was decided in 1968 and was temporarily called "Laufender Keiler". In response to protests from animal rights activists, however, it was renamed “Running Disc” and the wild boar silhouette has been replaced by a neutral image since the 1992 Barcelona games . Because of the high costs, the "Free Rifle Three-Position Battle" was held for the last time.

Ri Ho-jun , a soldier from Pyongyang , became the first North Korean Olympic champion in the " small bore lying " discipline . At the press conference he said that he had "followed the prime minister's advice and shot" as if he had to "hit an enemy with every shot". The intended disqualification for unolympic behavior was prevented by the assertion by the team management that Li Ho-Jun was just a simple soldier and was not very active. Afterwards, Li Ho-Jun apologized and the award ceremony was four hours late. Before that, there had already been an accident in the competition when he was classified in 14th place with 596 rings and only a further check resulted in 599 rings and thus a new world record.

Konrad Wirnhier , Olympic champion in the “ throwing pigeon shooting skeet ”, shot with his self-made shotgun. World champion Yuri Zuranow protested against the referee's decision that he should not have hit the 18th pigeon in the third series and left the shooting range. The jury then decided to withhold three hits from him, but otherwise leave him in the competition. Without these penalty points, he would have reached the playoff for the gold medal, so he only finished 13th. In the “ Trap Pigeon Shooting ”, the Frenchman Michel Carrega prevented an Italian double victory with an ancient rifle, but probably also his own Olympic victory. There was no superior shooting nation, medals went to 15 countries.

swim

The swimming pool in the Olympic Park

In swimming 29 competitions were held. The disciplines of water polo with one competition and water jumping with four competitions are also included in the sport of swimming. For the first time, the time was officially recorded to hundredths of a second, which was also announced. The outstanding swimmer was the American Mark Spitz , who in the disciplines 100 meter freestyle, 200 meter freestyle, 100 meter butterfly, 200 meter butterfly and in the relays over 4 x 100 meter freestyle, 4 x 200 meter freestyle and 4 -times 100 meters. In all seven competitions he was able to win the gold medal, where he always set a new world record. At the award ceremony of the 200-meter freestyle race, he caused a scandal when he held up his adidas brand sports shoes on the winners' podium . Mark Spitz was then summoned to appear before an IOC commission, where he stated that he had allowed himself to be carried away to this action only out of joy at its success and not out of commercial considerations, but nobody believed him.

The American Rick DeMont won the 400-meter freestyle final with a time of 4: 00.26 minutes. Three days after he was awarded the gold medal, he was informed that his doping test was positive. On the recommendation of the Medical Commission, Rick DeMont, who had used the ephedrine-containing compound Marax, was disqualified and excluded from the 1,500-meter freestyle final. When investigating the case a month later, it was found that the asthma athlete had indicated the drug he was using on his medical questionnaire, but the US team doctor had not disclosed this information. The Australian Brad Cooper was subsequently declared Olympic champion, the gold medal was confiscated from Rick DeMont and handed over to the Olympic Museum in Lausanne in 1996 .

Roland Matthes from the GDR gave away a possible medal in the 100-meter butterfly final because he missed the start. As usual, he wanted to be the last to get on the starting block in order to avoid excessive muscle tension. However, since there was a new starter in this run who did not wait until all swimmers were in the starting position, he missed the connection and jumped after the field. He still came in fourth anyway. In the 400 meter medley, Gunnar Larsson and Alexander McKee achieved a time of 4: 31.98 min, so that the scoreboard showed both of them first. The thousandths of a second were then used for a final decision. Since the time for Gunnar Larsson was 4: 31.981 min and for Alexander McKee 4: 31.983 min, the Swede received the gold medal. A follow-up measurement from 1973 revealed different track lengths, Alexander McKee's track was about three millimeters too long.

In the women's competitions, the Australian Shane Gould was the most successful athlete with three gold medals in a world record time, one silver and one bronze. The US-American Sandy Neilson confidently wore a T-shirt with the inscription “Not everything that glitters is Gould” at the start in Munich, just like her compatriot Melissa Belote , she also won three gold medals. The swimming competitions were dominated by the US team, which won 17 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze medals. In total, new world records were set in 24 of the 29 disciplines, the Olympic record was improved in all competitions.

Water polo

176 athletes from 16 countries took part in the men's only Olympic water polo tournament. In the preliminary round, three groups were played. The medal winners of the 1968 Olympic Games , Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union and Hungary, were seeded, the remaining teams drawn. The two best in each group made it to Final Round I, where everyone played against everyone, as in the preliminary round. The third and fourth placed in each group reached the final round II, in which the places seven to twelve were determined. The preliminary round results were counted. For the first time, the 45-second rule was applied, which states that the team in possession of the ball had to shoot a shot on goal within 45 seconds. Otherwise the other team received the ball.

The tournament took place on a very unfair level, in the preliminary round match between Yugoslavia and Cuba, which ended 7: 5, several players from both teams were bloodily beaten. In the final round meeting between Hungary and Italy with the result of 8: 7, eight players had to be identified within 38 seconds for gross fouls. The Soviet Union was able to win the gold medal due to the better goal difference against Hungary. The bronze medal went to the United States.

Diving

In water diving , a competition was held in artificial diving and high diving for men and women. The US diver experienced a disaster in that they could only win one gold, silver and bronze medal. In the men's jumping competition, the Americans were beaten by Wladimir Wassin from the Soviet Union and Giorgio Cagnotto from Italy after eleven wins in a row . Milena Duchková won silver for women in high diving . The competitions were dominated by European countries.

sailing

Place of the Olympic flame at the harbor master building in the Olympic center Schilksee

The results of the races (board at the harbor master building in the Olympic center Schilksee )

In sailing six tournaments were held. The 5.5 meter class , which has been replaced by the Tempest and Soling boat classes , was deleted from the program . Seven races were to be held in each class, but they could not be started in every case because of the poor wind and weather conditions. In the kite class and the Soling class, the sixth regatta was postponed several times, the seventh canceled. In the Soling class, the Danish boat was disqualified in the fifth race after a collision with the French yacht. Paul Elvstrøm then left angrily on September 8th without having taken part in the sixth race. In the Flying Dutchman repeated Rodney Pattison his Olympic victory of 1968. The Scot was so superior that he was not to take the gold medal after six races. Therefore, he decided not to take part in the seventh regatta. In the Finn dinghy , the later President of the IOC, the Belgian Jacques Rogge , took 14th place, the later King of Spain Juan Carlos I took 15th place in the kite.

→ Main article : 1972 Summer Olympics / Sailing

do gymnastics

Karin Janz on the uneven bars

The Olympic program consisted of 14 competitions - eight for men and six for women. For the first time at the Olympic Games, three independent, separate competitions were held. These were the individual all-around finals, device finals and team all-around finals. The winners of the team competition were determined in one compulsory and one freestyle round. This was followed by the individual all-around final, for which the best 36 athletes were qualified.

With 16 out of 24 possible medal wins, the men's competitions were clearly dominated by the Japanese gymnasts. In the individual all-around, on parallel bars and horizontal bar, all three medals went to Japanese athletes, who, however, were able to win “only” five of the eight gold medals they were aiming for. With three gold and two silver medals, Sawao Katō was the most successful gymnast and the second most successful athlete of these Olympic Games after the swimmer Mark Spitz .

In the women's competitions, the USSR team dominated the action by winning ten out of 18 possible medals. The 17-year-old Olga Korbut , who at that time weighed only 38 kilograms with a height of 1.55 meters, became the crowd favorite at these Olympic Games as the “Spatz von Grodno ”. In the individual all-around as the most prestigious competition, however, she failed when she got her feet caught on the mat at the end of her uneven bars freestyle, a floating dump on the lower bar. With the resulting score of 7.50 points, Korbut was only seventh in the final score. After her uneven bars freestyle in the individual competition, there was a commotion when she “only” achieved the silver medal with 19,450 points. The audience whistled for several minutes because they thought this exercise was undervalued. In total, Olga Korbut was able to win three gold medals and one silver medal, making her the most successful gymnast at these Olympic Games.

volleyball

140 men from twelve countries and 93 women from eight countries took part in the Olympic volleyball tournaments. A major change in the regulations was the specification of the ball weight at 250 to 280 grams, and flexible antennas were installed at the ends of the net to make the referees' work easier. The competition mode has also been changed. Instead of a tournament round, there were now preliminary rounds in groups of six or four and placement, semi-finals and finals.

In the men's tournament, in addition to the host, the two finalists of the 1968 Summer Olympics , the first three of the 1970 World Cup in Sofia , the continental champions from Africa and Asia and the two finalists of the Pan American Games were eligible to compete. The two remaining places were awarded at a tournament in Paris in 1972 . In the game for third place, the Soviet Union and Bulgaria parted 3-0. On September 9th at 9 p.m. Japan and the GDR faced each other in the final. Japan won 3-1 and thus achieved the gold medal. 40 games were played throughout the tournament.

In addition to the host, the last Olympic champion, the four winners of the 1970 World Cup, the representatives from Asia and the winner of the Pan-American Games were eligible to participate in the women's tournament. In the game for third place, North Korea and South Korea separated 3-0. After the defeat, the South Korean team filed a protest claiming that Kim Jung-bok , whose performance had benefited the North Korean team most, would be a man. However, the protest was dismissed because the medical commission had issued the player with a femininity certificate. The South Koreans then claimed that the player Han Jong-suk , who had not been used in the Olympic selection, had shown up for the sex test. On September 7th at 9 pm the Soviet Union and Japan faced each other in the final. The Soviet Union won 3-2 and thus won the gold medal. 20 games were played throughout the tournament.

Demonstration sports

The IOC allowed the organizing committee to hold two demonstration sports as part of the Summer Olympics. At the beginning of 1971 they decided in favor of badminton and water skiing , but in both cases the audience did not get the hopes for. Four competitions were held in badminton. The finalists of the "All England Championships", which the International Badminton Federation viewed as unofficial world championships, were invited . The medal winners of the European Championships were also eligible to participate. The Indonesian badminton players were the most successful with two first places and a second and third place. The German players were able to achieve three third places.

Three competitions for men and three women were held for water skiing. 17 men and eight women from 20 countries were allowed in the slalom, figure running and jumping disciplines. Due to unfavorable weather conditions, some competitions had to be relocated to the Passader See . The US athletes were the most successful in these demonstration competitions with three first, two second and one third place.

Outstanding athletes and achievements

The most successful participants
rank	athlete	country	sport				total
1	Mark Spitz	United States	swim	7th	0	0	7th
2	Sawao Kato	Japan	do gymnastics	3	2	0	5
3	Shane Gould	Australia	swim	3	1	1	5
4th	Olga Korbut	Soviet Union	do gymnastics	3	1	0	4th
5	Melissa Belote	United States	swim	3	0	0	3
	Sandy Neilson	United States	swim	3	0	0	3

A total of 52 world records and 96 Olympic records were set at the Summer Olympics in Munich . The British equestrian Hilda Lorna Johnstone was the oldest female Olympian of all time at the age of 70 and five days.

At 13 years and 308 days, swimmer Kornelia Ender ( GDR ) was the youngest medalist at this tournament. The youngest Olympic champion was Deena Deardurff ( USA ) at the age of 15 and 114 days in swimming (4 × 100 m medley). The equestrian Josef Neckermann ( FRG ) was the oldest medal winner of these games at 60 years and 96 days. The oldest Olympic champion was Hans Günter Winkler (FRG) at the age of 46 and 50 days in show jumping.

reporting

Journalist and director: Horst Seifart

In May 1968, ARD and ZDF founded the German Olympic Center (DOZ), based in Munich , the journalist and television presenter Robert Lembke was appointed as managing director , and it was also determined that the NDR sports editor Horst Seifart should be the world director. The DOZ developed a schedule for the Olympic Games together with representatives from the Organizing Committee and the City of Munich. The journalist, diplomat and later politician Hans Klein acted as press officer . At the suggestion of these organizers, the start of the opening ceremony was set at 3:00 p.m. so that it could be broadcast live around the globe at a convenient time. In Germany, the opening was broadcast on the radio by the ARD Olympiawelle, reporters were Oskar Klose , Eberhard Stanjek and Peter Langer . This event was broadcast on television by ZDF with reporters Werner Schneider and Walther Schmieding . Even the most exciting decisions were timed so that they could be transferred cheaply to as many countries as possible.

In total, more than 4500 journalists were accredited . In Munich 1896 journalists from the writing press, 358 photographers, 502 news agencies, 182 broadcasting companies and 1400 TV technicians were recorded. 256 photographers and 80 technicians were registered in Kiel. The organizing committee administered the television rights and collected the license fees for the broadcast rights, a quarter of these license fees went to the IOC. A total of 25 contracts were signed in which television stations from 95 countries were involved. The highest single license, at $ 13.5 million, was paid for by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), a commercial American television company . The 78 radio stations from all over the world that reported live during the Olympic Games remained free of license costs. ARD and ZDF broadcast a total of 230 hours alternating daily during the competitions, while Bayerischer Rundfunk had set up an Olympic wave that broadcasted daily from 6 a.m. to midnight.

32 issues of the "Olympia Press" appeared in print and in nine languages. These press bulletins had a circulation of around 20,000 copies. In 1974 the Organizing Committee issued a three-part official report. All information on the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich was published in German, English and French on almost 1200 pages.

music

In 1970 all German composers were appointed by the “Organizing Committee for the Games of the XX. Olympics Munich 1972 ”invited to create an Olympic fanfare . The piece of music could be orchestrated as desired, should not last longer than two minutes and be in three parts: a characteristic motif of around ten seconds, a middle section and an “acoustically dynamic and musically enhanced recapitulation”. The closing date for entries for the competition, in which amateurs were also allowed to participate, was December 31, 1970. The jury included composers, musicologists, music academy directors, radio and television professionals and ten active athletes.

On Saturday, April 24, 1971, the final round of the Olympic fanfare election took place live in the ZDF's “Current Sports Studio”. Six composers were selected for the final from 719 entries. Moderator Harry Valérien announced the result: The piece by the Hamburg composer Herbert Rehbein , a companion of the famous band leader Bert Kaempfert , had received the most votes and thus won. The studio version of the Olympic Fanfare was recorded by the Bavarian Radio Orchestra and members of the Air Force Music Corps Neubiberg under the direction of Willy Mattes and was used as a theme tune at the beginning of the television broadcasts of the German Olympic Center (DOZ). The award ceremonies after the competitions were also announced by the Olympic fanfare.

Kurt Edelhagen , the head of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk big band, immediately agreed to Willi Daumes request whether he would like to play the music for the opening ceremony. As the person responsible for the idea, design and production, he selected folk music pieces from all over the world and had them pepped up by the three arrangers Peter Herbolzheimer, Dieter Reith and Jerry van Rooyen to create an original mixture of folklore and swing. Kapellmeister Edelhagen and his team put one and a half years of work into the 90-minute festival music.

Half a year before the games, the decision was made to use the playback variant, as the arrangements with old instruments, some of which were borrowed from museums, were not suitable for a live performance with the best will in the world. Only the drummers could be heard live: four drummers sat with highly sensitive headphones in the narrow interview studio of the Olympic Stadium and beat the marching rhythm when the sound changed from one arrangement to the other in order to conceal transitions.

In addition to the music by Kurt Edelhagen, a single by Bert Kaempfert was also released, the titles of which were composed by Herbert Rehbein: Olympia 1972 - Munich Fanfare (2:45) and Olympia 1972 - Under The Olympic Sign (2:50), published in Stereo on Polydor 2001 247.

For the first time in the history of the Olympic Games, the Olympic anthem was only performed instrumentally; a choir was common up until then.

Others

With John Akii-Bua , a track and field athlete from Uganda won the gold medal for the first time. After crossing the finish line in the 400 meter hurdles, he also ran a lap of honor for the first time .

literature

• Matthias Dahlke: The attack on Olympia '72. The political reactions to international terrorism in Germany. Martin Meidenbauer Verlag, Munich 2006, ISBN 3-89975-583-9 .
• Eva Maria Gajek: Image politics in the Olympic competition. The games of Rome 1960 and Munich 1972, Göttingen 2013, Wallstein Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8353-1196-1
• Bodo Harenberg: Munich 1972. Data on the 1972 Olympic Games. Habel Verlag, Königswinter 1982, ISBN 3-87179-033-8 .
• Matthias Hell: Munich ´72. Olympic architecture then and now. MünchenVerlag, Munich 2012, ISBN 978-3-937090-63-4 , pp. 108–111. (Conversations with participants and chapter "The Olympic Nightmare")
• Rupert Kaiser: Olympia Almanach from Athens 1896 to Athens 2004. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 2004, ISBN 3-89784-246-7 .
• Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle III. Mexico City 1968 - Los Angeles 1984. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-328-00741-5 .
• Karl H. Krämer: Architecture and Competitions, Olympic Buildings Munich 1972. Krämer Verlag, Stuttgart 1970, ISBN 3-7828-0207-1 .
• David Clay Large: Munich 1972. Tragedy, Terror and Triumph at the Olympic Games. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, Maryland, USA 2011, ISBN 978-0-520-26215-7 .
• Eva Maria Modrey: The audience and the media: The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games 1972. In: Frank Bösch, Patrick Schmidt (Hrsg.): Medialized events. Performance, staging and media since the 18th century. Frankfurt am Main 2010, ISBN 978-3-593-39198-4 , pp. 243-275.
• Werner Pietsch: Olympia in your pocket - meeting point Munich '72. Ullstein Verlag, Berlin 1971, ISBN 3-550-06441-1 .
• Kay Schiller , Christopher Young: The 1972 Munich Olympics and the Making of Modern Germany. University of California Press, Berkeley / Los Angeles / London 2010, ISBN 978-0-520-26213-3 (German translation from English by Sonja Hogl: Munich 1972. Olympic Games under the sign of modern Germany , Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-8353-1010-0 ).
• Werner Schneider: The Olympic Games 1972. Munich, Kiel, Sapporo. Bertelsmann Verlag, Gütersloh 1989, ISBN 3-570-04559-5 .
• Harry Valérien : Olympia Munich 1972. Munich, Kiel, Sapporo. Südwest-Verlag, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-517-00930-X .

Web links

Commons : 1972 Summer Olympics  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Site of the German Historical Museum
• Side of the IOC (English)
• Official report, Volume 1 "The organization", Part 1 (English, PDF file, 20 MB)
• Official report, Volume 1 "The organization", Part 2 (English, PDF file, 22 MB)
• Official report, Volume 2 "The constructions", Part 1 (English, PDF file, 21 MB)
• Official report, Volume 2 "The constructions", Part 2 (English, PDF file, 15 MB)
• Official report, Volume 3 "The competitions" (English, French, German, PDF file, 28 MB)
• Film library in the Federal Archives :
  • UFA-besides 840/1972 August 29th, 1972: recordings from the XX. Olympic Games
  • UFA-besides 841/1972 09/06/1972: photos from the XX. Olympic Games
  • Deutschlandspiegel 217/1972 09/27/1972: Photos from XX. Olympic Games

Individual evidence

1. ^ "Olympia: Amsterdam is a candidate for 1976" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna January 16, 1966, p. 1 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
2. ↑ Hans von Herwarth: From Adenauer to Brandt. Memories. Propylaeen, Berlin / Frankfurt am Main 1990, ISBN 3-549-07403-4 , here p. 318 f.
3. ↑ «Large underground construction site» . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna September 21, 1968, p. 22 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized version).
4. ^ "Olympic financing through lottery" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna May 20, 1967, p. 12 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
5. ↑ Otto Haas, Wolfgang Kösler (Red.): Official Olympic Guide of the Games of the XX. Olympiad Munich 1972. Organizing committee for the games of the XX. Olympics Munich 1972. Atlas Verlag, Munich 1972, ISBN 3-920053-00-1 , p. 3.
6. ^ "Three medals and three grandchildren" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna August 20, 1972, p. 16 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
7. ↑ «In the Olympic snail shell» and «We appreciate your achievements» . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna August 22, 1972, p. 14 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
8. ↑ bottom right: "TEE had priority over Olympia" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna 23 August 1972, p. 12 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
9. ↑ bottom right: "Mexicans brought the flag", from the middle of the text . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna August 24, 1972, p. 14 ( Arbeiter-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
10. ↑ In conversation with Coordt von Mannstein , published in the design diary.
11. ↑ Otto Haas, Wolfgang Kösler (Red.): Official Olympic Guide of the Games of the XX. Olympiad Munich 1972. Organizing committee for the games of the XX. Olympics Munich 1972. Atlas Verlag, Munich 1972, ISBN 3-920053-00-1 , p. 148.
12. ↑ OK (Ed.): Official Report . tape 1 , p. 330 .
13. ^ South African History Online : August 22, 1972: Rhodesia withdraws from Summer Olympic Games
14. ↑ “More Olympic champions than ever before” . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna July 20, 1972, p. 11 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
15. ↑ Daily News on the opening ceremony of the XX. Olympic Games
16. ^ L 'Aurore at the opening ceremony of the XX. Olympic Games
17. ↑ "The Games Must Go On" - The Funeral Service ( Memento of February 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). In: olympia72.de .
18. ↑ Avery Brundage during the closing ceremony on September 11, 1972 (MP3; 1.9 MB)
19. ↑ Val Grimm: Otto Piene, leading figure in kinetic and technology-based art, dies at 86 , MIT News, July 21, 2014, retrieved from the newsoffice.mit.edu portal on August 9, 2014.
20. ↑ Olympia-Regenbogen, Munich 1972 , photo documentation (lot 4882) in the portal liveauctioneers.com , accessed on August 9, 2014.
21. ↑ The collaboration with Otto Piene (2005–2009) , website in the ethecon.org portal , accessed on August 9, 2014.
22. ↑ Otto Piene ( Memento from August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), biography in the fiftyfifty-galerie.de portal , accessed on August 9, 2014.
23. ↑ Bruce Weber: Otto Piene, German Artist of New Modes, Dies at 85 . Article from July 18, 2014 in the nytimes.com portal , accessed on August 9, 2014.
24. ^ Article in the SZ on Fuchsberger and Lebers decision
25. ↑ How does a raging mountain river get into the open pit? Forays into the history of white water sports in Germany ( Memento from October 16, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
26. ↑ Column 1: "Seagran's super staff banned" . In: Arbeiter-Zeitung . Vienna August 31, 1972, p. 12 ( berufer-zeitung.at - the open online archive - digitized).
27. ↑ http://vimeo.com/253064764/b9571a52d1 (link not available)

This article was added to the list of excellent articles on November 11, 2006 in this version .

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