Summer Olympiad (1976)

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. These are the summer Olympic Games organized by the International Olympic Committee. These Games were marred by an African boycott to protest the fact that the national rugby team of New Zealand had toured South Africa and New Zealand was scheduled to compete in the Olympics. Women’s events were included for the first time in basketball, rowing and team handball. Fourteen-year-old gymnast Nadia Comaneci of Romania caused a sensation when, for her performance on the uneven bars, she was awarded the first-ever perfect score of 10.0. She eventually earned seven 10.0s. On the men’s side, Japan’s Shun Fujimoto broke his leg while completing his floor exercises routine. The Japanese team was engaged in a close contest with the Soviet Union, so Fujimoto kept his injury secret. However, when he was dismounted from the rings, he dislocated his knee and forced to withdraw. The Japanese women’s volleyball team won all their matches in straight sets, and in only one of fifteen games, an opponent scored in double figures. Individual stars included Klaus Dibiasi of Italy, who won his third straight gold medal in platform diving; Viktor Saneyev of Soviet Georgia, who won his third triple jump gold; and Irena Szewinska of Poland, winner of the 400m run, who brought her career total to seven medals - in five different events. Alberto Juantorena of Cuba put together the first 40m-800m double victory. Miklos Németh of Hungary won the javelin throw to become the first son of an athletics gold medalist to win gold of his own. His father, Imre, had won the hammer throw in 1948. Clarence Hill of Bermuda earned a bronze medal in boxing’s super-heavyweight division to give Bermuda the honor of being the least populous nation (53,500) ever to win a medal in the Summer Olympics.

Opening date: 17 July 1976

Closing date: 01 August 1976

Ceremonies

Official opening of the Games by: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

Lighting the Olympic Flame by: Stéphane Préfontaine and Sandra Henderson (two athletes aged 16 and 15).

Olympic Oath by: Pierre Saint-Jean (weightlifting)

Official Oath by: Maurice Forget (athletics)

Participations

92 NOCs (Nations)
6,084 athletes (1,260 women, 4,824 men)
198 events

Country of the host city: Canada (CAN)

Candidate cities: Los Angeles (USA) and Moscow (URSS)

Sports

• Aquatics
• Archery
• Athletics
• Basketball
• Boxing
• Canoe / Kayak
• Cycling
• Equestrian
• Fencing
• Football
• Gymnastics
• Handball
• Hockey
• Judo
• Modern Pentathlon
• Rowing
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Volleyball
• Weightlifting
• Wrestling

Venues

Montreal Olympic Park

• Olympic Stadium - opening/closing ceremonies, athletics, football/soccer finals, equestrian events
• Olympic Pool - swimming, diving, water polo
• Olympic Velodrome - cycling, judo
• Maurice Richard Arena - wrestling, boxing
• Centre Pierre Charbonneau - wrestling
• Olympic Village (Montreal) - athletes' residences

Venues in Greater Montreal

• Olympic Basin, Notre Dame Island - rowing, canoeing
• Claude Robillard Centre - handball, water polo
• Étienne Desmarteau Centre - basketball
• St. Michel Arena - weightlifting
• Paul Sauvé Centre - volleyball
• The Forum - gymnastics, handball, basketball, volleyball, boxing
• Winter Stadium (Montreal), University de Montréal - fencing
• Molson Stadium, McGill University - field hockey

Venues outside Montreal

• Olympic Shooting Range, L'Acadie, Quebec - shooting
• Olympic Archery Field, Joliette, Quebec - archery
• Olympic Equestrian Centre, Bromont, Quebec - equestrian
• Le pavillon d'éducation physique et des sports de l'Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec - handball preliminaries
• Sherbrooke Stadium, Sherbrooke, Quebec - football/soccer preliminaries
• Sherbrooke Sports Palace, Sherbrooke, Quebec - handball preliminaries
• Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Kingston, Ontario - yachting
• Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario - football/soccer preliminaries
• Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, Ontario - football/soccer preliminaries

Highlights

• Nadia Comaneci (ROM-gymnastics) was the star of the Games. She was the first gymnast in Olympic history to be awarded the perfect score of 10.0. She achieved her first perfect 10 on the uneven parallel bars and the judges awarded her the maximum mark seven times.

• With his victory in platform diving, Klaus Dibiasi (ITA-diving) became the first Olympic diver to win three successive gold medals and to be awarded medals in four Olympic Games.

• Canada, the host country, left with only five silver and six bronze medals. It was the first and only time to date in Olympic history that the host country of the Summer Games won no gold medals.

• Republic of China (Taiwan) withdrew after Canada informed them that they could not compete under the name "Republic of China". This was done because Canada officially recognized the People's Republic of China.

• The Olympics were a financial disaster for Montreal, as the city faced debts for 30 years after the Games had finished. The total expenditure (including repairs, renovations, construction, interest, and inflation) amounted to C$1.61 billion.

• Alberto Juantorena of Cuba became the first man to win both the 400 m and 800 m at the same Olympics.

• Boris Onischenko, a member of the Soviet Union's modern pentathlon team, was disqualified after it was discovered that he had rigged his epee to register a hit when there was not one. Because of this, the USSR modern pentathlon team was disqualified.

Facts

• The Olympic flame arrived by air, sent in the form of an electronic signal by a telephone cable towards a transmitter in the direction of a satellite from the Intelsat network. It was then forwarded to a receiver where the stored energy activated a laser beam, which gave it back its original appearance. After a rainstorm doused the Olympic flame a few days after the games had opened, an official relit the flame using his cigarette lighter. Organizers quickly doused it again and relit it using a backup of the original flame.

• With its 53,500 inhabitants, Bermuda became the most sparsely populated country to win a medal at the Summer Games, thanks to Clarence Hill who won the bronze medal in boxing in the heavyweight category.

• Hockey was played on an artificial pitch for the first time.

• Women's events appeared in basketball, handball and rowing.