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Olympic Games

XXI (21st) OLYMPIAD
Montreal, Canada | Jul 17th - Aug 1st, 1976


Montreal, CAN

Montreal 1976

MONTREAL, CANADA
GAMES OF THE XXIst OLYMPIAD

July 17 - August 1, 1976

Mascot - Amik the beaver

92 countries, 6028 athletes (1247women)

21 sports, 198 events

Opening - Queen Elizabeth II (UK)

Torch lit by - Sandra Henderson & Stephane Prifonteine

Candidates: Moscow, Los Angeles

Romania's Nadia Comaneci arrived in Canada determined to unhinge the Soviet stranglehold on the gymnastics events. However, the "fairy of Montreal" went one better, achieving the first ever perfect ten score during an Olympiad which furnished her with three golds, a silver and a bronze.

Politics gatecrashes the Montreal Games

After surviving a boycott and the terror that engulfed Munich, the IOC hoped by awarding the Games to Montreal that all the sporting elements of the Olympic movement would be restored. This, in effect, was wishful thinking. The stadium and all other accompanying facilities were still under construction at the opening ceremony and the costs involved in staging the event provided ammunition for a hostile public and certain Canadian politicians. Delays, an increase in petrol prices due to the oil crisis, and other difficulties proved relevant stumbling blocks for Montreal.

A new IOC president, Ireland's Lord Killanin, was in place when a new cycle of boycotts kicked off. In total, 22 African delegations pulled out in protest at New Zealand's rugby tour of South Africa. Three days earlier, Taiwan pulled out because the Canadian government, who had been carrying out important negotiations with China, refused to recognize it as an independent nation.

Tight police and army security was put in place to guard against a second disaster when the 6,028 athletes from 92 countries gathered between July 17 and August 1. The Games had already started when four countries - Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia - announced their plan to boycott Montreal after having already competed. This brought the final number of competing nations to 88. As a mark of respect for the hostages killed in Munich four years earlier, the Israeli competitors wore a green feather.

Doping controls were reinforced with 1,500 tests conducted. On the field of play, there were certain defining moments, but in all it was not regarded as an extraordinary Olympiad. There were triumphs for Cuba's Alberto Juantorena (400m and 800m), Finland's Lasse Viren, who repeated his Munich wins in the 5,000 and 10,000m, and America's Bruce Jenner in the decathlon. Sensational 14-year-old Romanian gymnast, Nadia Comaneci, also made a lasting impression.

At the end, it was widely considered that the 21st Olympiad had been a relative success. However, disorganization and corruption led to the city of Montreal footing a somewhat unanticipated bill.

Canada's Summer Olympic experience in 1976 showed what a badly run Games can do to a city. The dream of hosting the sporting spectacle came true for Montreal, but that old saying, "Be careful what you wish for," still rings true for Montrealers.

Mayor Jean Drapeau promised Quebecers that the Olympics would not cost taxpayers a cent; however, the financial catastrophe of the 1976 Games is still costing Quebec. The debt incurred is scheduled to be paid off in 2002 - 26 years after the Games. The price tag for hosting the Games was originally estimated at $310 million, but the actual figure ballooned to $1.5 billion. The Olympic Stadium - which has spent much of the past decade crumbling into disrepair - was to cost only $200 million, but the final bill skyrocketed to $1 billion - hence the nickname "The Big Owe." 

The rising costs can be attributed somewhat to a global economy that struggled with inflation during the mid-1970s. The escalating costs of building supplies meant budgets were vastly underestimated. Labour disputes left many venues unfinished at the beginning of the Games, and construction contracts were awarded through a shoddy bid process. All this mismanagement resulted in a whopping $1-billion deficit, a staggering contrast to Drapeau's infamous 1973 statement: "The Olympics can no more have a deficit than a man can have a baby."

The financial woes of the Montreal Games left many nations wary of hosting the Olympics - so much so that Los Angeles's bid for the 1984 Summer Olympics went uncontested. But despite the fiscal pitfalls, future host cities, including L.A., proved that the Olympics can indeed leave a positive legacy.

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MONTREAL 1976 GOLD MEDAL WINNERS
139 Men, 49 Women, 10 Open
14 new Events; Women's Basketball/Handball/Rowing introduced
11 Events dropped (50km Walk, 4 Slalom, 1 Cycling, 1 Sailing, 1 Shooting, 3 Swimming)

ARCHERY
M\Individual: Darrell Pace, USA
W\Individual: Luann Ryon, USA

ATHLETICS, Men
100m: Hasely Crawford, Trinidad & Tobago
200m: Don Quarrie, Jamaica
400m: Alberto Juantorena, Cuba
800m: Alberto Juantorena, Cuba
1500m: John Walker, New Zealand
5000m: Lasse Viren, Finland
10000m: Lasse Viren, Finland
4x100m: United States
4x400m: United States
110m Hurdles: Guy Drut, France
400m Hurdles: Edwin Moses, USA
3000m Steeplechase: Anders Garderud, Sweden
20km Walk: Daniel Bautista, Mexico
Marathon: Waldemar Cierpinski, East Germany
Discus Throw: Mac Wilkins, USA
Hammer Throw: Yuriy Sedykh, USSR
High Jump: Jacek Wszola, Poland
Javelin Throw: Miklos Nemeth, Hungary
Long Jump: Arnie Robinson, USA
Pole Vault: Tadeusz Slusarski, Poland
Shot Put: Udo Beyer, East Germany
Triple Jump: Viktor Saneyev, USSR
Decathlon: Bruce Jenner, USA

ATHLETICS, Women
100m: Annegret Richter, West Germany
200m: Barbel Eckert, East Germany
400m: Irena Kirszenstein, Poland
800m: Tatyana Kazankina, USSR
1500m: Tatyana Kazankina, USSR
4x100m: East Germany
4x400m: East Germany
100m Hurdles: Johanna Schaller, East Germany
Discus Throw: Evelin Schlaak, East Germany
High Jump: Rosemarie Ackermann, East Germany
Javelin Throw: Ruth Fuchs, East Germany
Long Jump: Angela Voigt, East Germany
Shot Put: Ivanka Khristova, Bulgaria
Heptathlon: Sigrun Siegl, East Germany

BASKETBALL
Team, men: United States
Team, women: Soviet Union

BOXING
48kg: Jorge Hernandez Padron, Cuba
51kg: Leo Randolph, USA
54kg: Gu Yong-Jo, North Korea
57kg: Angel Herrera Vera, Cuba
60kg: Howard Davis, USA
63.5kg: Ray Leonard, USA
67kg: Jochen Bachfeld, East Germany
71kg: Jerzy Rybicki, Poland
75kg: Michael Spinks, USA
81kg: Leon Spinks, USA
81+kg: Teofilo Stevenson Lorenzo, Cuba

CANOE/KAYAK
M\C1 500m: Alexander Rogov, USSR
M\C1 1000m: Matija Ljubek, Yugoslavia
M\C2 500m: Alexander Vinogradov/Serghei Petrenko, USSR
M\C2 1000m: Alexander Vinogradov/Serghei Petrenko, USSR
M\K1 500m: Vasile Diba, Romania
M\K1 1000m: Rudiger Helm, East Germany
M\K2 500m: Bernd Olbricht/Joachim Mattern, East Germany
M\K2 1000m: Sergei Nagorny/Vladimir Romanovski, USSR
M\K4 1000m: Soviet Union
W\K1 500m: Carola Zirzow, East Germany
W\K2 500m: Galina Kreft/Nina Gopova, USSR

CYCLING, Men
Road Race: Bernt Johansson, Sweden
Team 100km Time Trial: Soviet Union
Sprint: Anton Tkac, Czechoslovakia
1km Time Trial: Klaus-Jurgen Grunke, East Germany
Individual Pursuit: Gregor Braun, West Germany
Team Pursuit: West Germany

EQUESTRIAN, Open
Individual Dressage: Christine Stuckelberger, Switzerland
Individual Jumping: Alwin Schockemohle, West Germany
Individual 3-day event: Edmund Coffin, USA
Team Dressage: West Germany
Team Jumping: France
Team 3-day event: United States

FENCING
M\Individual Epee: Alexander Pusch, West Germany
M\Individual Foil: Fabio Dal Zotto, Italy
M\Individual Sabre: Viktor Krovopuskov, USSR
M\Team Epee: SwedenI
M\Team Foil: West Germany
M\Team Sabre: Soviet Union
W\Individual Foil: Ildiko Tordasi, Hungary
W\Team Foil: Soviet Union

FOOTBALL
 Team, men: East Germany

GYMNASTICS
M\Floor Exercise: Nikolai Andrianov, USSR
M\Horizontal Bar: Mitsuo Tsukahara, Japan
M\Parallel Bars: Sawao Kato, Japan
M\Pommel Horse: Zoltan Magyar, Hungary
M\Rings: Nikolai Andrianov, USSR
M\Vault: Nikolai Andrianov, USSR
M\Individual All-Around: Nikolai Andrianov, USSR
M\Team: Japan
W\Balance Beam: Nadia Comaneci, Romania
W\Floor Exercise: Nelli Kim, USSR
W\Uneven Bars: Nadia Comaneci, Romania
W\Vault: Nelli Kim, USSR
W\Individual All-Around: Nadia Comaneci, Romania
W\Team: Soviet Union

HANDBALL
Team, men: Soviet Union
Team, women: Soviet Union

HOCKEY
 Team, men: New Zealand

JUDO, Men
63kg: Hector Rodriguez Torres, Cuba
68kg: Isamu Sonoda, Japan
70kg: Wladimir Nevzorov, USSR
93kg: Kazuhiro Ninomiya, Japan
93+kg: Sergei Novikov, USSR
Open: Haruki Uemura, Japan

MODERN PENTATHLON
Individual: Janusz Pyciak-Peciak, Poland
Team: Great Britain

ROWING
M\Single Sculls: Pertti Karppinen, Finland
M\Double Sculls: Alf Hansen/Frank Hansen, Norway
M\Quadruple Sculls: East Germany
M\Coxless Pair: Bernd Landvoigt/Jorg Landvoigt, GDR
M\Coxed Pair: East Germany
M\Coxless Four: East Germany
M\Coxed Four: Soviet Union
M\Eight: East Germany
W\Single Sculls: Christine Scheiblich, East Germany
W\Double Sculls: Svetla Otsetova/Zdravka Yordanova, BUL
W\Coxed Quadruple Sculls: East Germany
W\Coxless Pair: Sikya Kelbecheva/Stoyanka Gruycheva, BUL
W\Coxed Four: East Germany
W\Eight: East Germany

SAILING
X\Flying Dutchman: West Germany
X\Tornado: Great Britain
X\Soling: Denmark
X\Tempest: Sweden
M\470: West Germany
M\Finn: Jochen Schumann, East Germany

SHOOTING, Men
25m Rapid Fire Pistol: Norbert Klaar, East Germany
50m Free Pistol: Uwe Potteck, East Germany
50m Running Target: Aleksandr Gazov, USSRc
50m Small-Bore Rifle 3x40: Lannay Bassham, USA
50m Small-Bore Rifle prone: Karlheinz Smieszek, FRG
Skeet: Josef Panacek, Czechoslovakia
Trap: Donald Haldeman, USA

SWIMMING, Men
100m Freestyle: Jim Montgomery, USA
200m Freestyle: Bruce Furniss, USA
400m Freestyle: Brian Goodell, USA
1500m Freestyle: Brian Goodell, USA
100m Backstroke: John Naber, USA
200m Backstroke: John Naber, USA
100m Breaststroke: John Hencken, USA
200m Breaststroke: David Wilkie, Great Britain
100m Butterfly: Matt Vogel, USA
200m Butterfly: Mike Bruner, USA
400m Individual Medley: Rod Strachan, USA
4x100m Medley Relay: United States
4x200m Freestyle Relay: United States
3m Springboard: Philip Boggs, USA
10m Platform: Klaus Dibiasi, Italy
WATER POLO: Hungary

SWIMMING, Women
100m Freestyle: Kornelia Ender, East Germany
200m Freestyle: Kornelia Ender, East Germany
400m Freestyle: Petra Thumer, East Germany
800m Freestyle: Petra Thumer, East Germany
100m Backstroke: Ulrike Richter, East Germany
200m Backstroke: Ulrike Richter, East Germany
100m Breaststroke: Hannelore Anke, East Germany
200m Breaststroke: Marina Koshevaia, USSR
100m Butterfly: Kornelia Ender, East Germany
200m Butterfly: Andrea Pollack, East Germany
400m Individual Medley: Ulrike Tauber, East Germany
4x100m Freestyle Relay: United States
4x100m Medley Relay: East Germany
3m Springboard: Jennifer Chandler, USA
10m Platform: Yelena Vaytsekhovskaya, USSR

VOLLEYBALL
 Team, men: Poland
Team, women: Japan

WEIGHTLIFTING
52kg: Alexander Voronin, USSR
56kg: Norair Nurikyan, Bulgaria
60kg: Nikolai Kolesnikov, USSR
67.5kg: Pjotr Korol, USSR
75kg: Yordan Mitkov, Bulgaria
82.5kg: Valery Shariy, USSR
90kg: David Rigert, USSR
110kg: Yury Zaitsev, USSR
110+kg: Vassiliy Alexeyev, USSR

WRESTLING, FREESTYLE
48kg: Hassan Issajew, Bulgaria
52kg: Yuji Takada, Japan
57kg: Wladimir Jumin, USSR
62kg: Yang Jung-Mo, South korea
68kg: Pawel Pinegin, USSR
74kg: Jiichiro Date, Japan
82kg: John Allan Peterson, USA
90kg: Lewan Tediaschwili, USSR
100kg: Ivan Jarygin, USSR
100+kg: Soslan Andijew, USSR

WRESTLING, GRECO-ROMAN
48kg: Alexej Schumakow, USSR
52kg: Vitali Konstantinov, USSR
57kg: Pertti Olavi Ukkola, Finland
62kg: Kazimierz Lipien, Poland
68kg: Suren Nalbandjan, USSR
74kg: Anatoli Bykov, USSR
82kg: Momir Petkovic, Yugoslavia
90kg: Waleri Resanzev, USSR
100kg: Nikolai Balboshin, USSR
100+kg: Alexander Koltschinski, USSR

21 Sports, 198 events

U
R
S

G
D
R

U
S
A

F
R
G

J
P
N

P
O
L

B
U
L

C
U
B

R
O
M

H
U
N

F
I
N

S
W
E

  

Archery

    

2

                  

2

Athletics (FRA, JAM, MEX, NZL, TRI)

4

11

6

1

  

3

1

2

  

1

2

1

37

Basketball

1

  

1

                  

2

Boxing (PRK)

  

1

5

    

1

  

3

        

11

Canoe/ Kayak (YUG)

6

3

            

1

      

11

Cycling (TCH)

1

1

  

2

              

1

6

Equestrian (FRA, SUI)

    

2

2

                

6

Fencing (ITA)

3

    

2

          

1

  

1

8

Football

  

1

                    

1

Gymnastics

7

      

3

      

3

1

    

14

Handball

2

                      

2

Hockey (NZL)

                        

1

Judo

2

      

3

    

1

        

6

Modern Pentathlon (GBR)

          

1

            

2

Rowing (NOR)

1

9

        

2

      

1

  

14

Sailing (DEN, GBR)

  

1

  

2

              

1

6

Shooting (TCH)

1

2

2

1

                

7

Swimming (Diving & Water Polo) (GBR, ITA)

2

11

15

            

1

    

31

Volleyball

        

1

1

            

2

Weightlifting

7

          

2

          

9

Wrestling (KOR, YUG)

12

  

1

  

2

1

1

      

1

  

20

TOTAL

49

40

34

10

9

7

6

6

4

4

4

4

198

 

MONTREAL 1976 MEDAL TALLY

Country

G

S

B

TTL

USSR

49

41

35

125

East Germany

40

25

25

90

United States

34

35

25

94

West Germany

10

12

17

39

Japan

9

6

10

25

Poland

7

6

13

26

Bulgaria

6

9

7

22

Cuba

6

4

3

13

Romania

4

9

14

27

Hungary

4

5

13

22

Finland

4

2

0

6

Sweden

4

1

0

5

Great Britain

3

5

5

13

Italy

2

7

4

13

France

2

3

4

9

Yugoslavia

2

3

3

8

Czechoslovakia

2

2

4

8

New Zealand

2

1

1

4

South Korea

1

1

4

6

Switzerland

1

1

2

4

Jamaica

1

1

0

2

North Korea

1

1

0

2

Norway

1

1

0

2

Denmark

1

0

2

3

Mexico

1

0

1

2

Trinidad and Tobago

1

0

0

1

Canada

0

5

6

11

Belgium

0

3

3

6

Netherlands

0

2

3

5

Portugal

0

2

0

2

Spain

0

2

0

2

Australia

0

1

4

5

Iran

0

1

1

2

Mongolia

0

1

0

1

Venezuela

0

1

0

1

Brazil

0

0

2

2

AUT, BER, PAK, PUR, THA

0

0

1

5

Total

198

199

216

613

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