United States at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Template:Infobox Olympics United States
The United States competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 400 competitors, 316 men and 84 women, took part in 185 events in 21 sports.[1]
Medalists
The United States finished in second position in the final medal rankings, with 33 gold and 94 total medals.
Gold
- Doreen Wilber — Archery, Women's Individual Competition
- John Williams — Archery, Men's Individual Competition
- Vincent Matthews — Athletics, Men's 400 metres
- Dave Wottle — Athletics, Men's 800 metres
- Frank Shorter — Athletics, Men's Marathon
- Rod Milburn — Athletics, Men's 110 m Hurdles
- Larry Black, Eddie Hart, Robert Taylor, and Gerald Tinker — Athletics, Men's 4 × 100 m Relay
- Randy Williams — Athletics, Men's Long Jump
- Ray Seales — Boxing, Men's Light Welterweight
- Maxine Joyce King — Diving, Women's 3 m Springboard
- John Writer — Shooting, Men's Small-bore Rifle, Three Positions
- Lones Wigger — Shooting, Men's Free Rifle, Three Positions
- Mark Spitz — Swimming, Men's 100 m Freestyle
- Mark Spitz — Swimming, Men's 200 m Freestyle
- Mark Spitz — Swimming, Men's 100 m Butterfly
- Mark Spitz — Swimming, Men's 200 m Butterfly
- Mike Burton — Swimming, Men's 1500 m Freestyle
- John Hencken — Swimming, Men's 200 m Breaststroke
- David Edgar, Jerry Heidenreich, John Murphy, and Mark Spitz — Swimming, Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay
- Steve Genter, John Kinsella, Fred Tyler, and Mark Spitz — Swimming, Men's 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay
- Tom Bruce, Jerry Heidenreich, Mike Stamm, and Mark Spitz — Swimming, Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay
- Sandy Neilson — Swimming, Women's 100 m Freestyle
- Keena Rothhammer — Swimming, Women's 800 m Freestyle
- Melissa Belote — Swimming, Women's 100 m Backstroke
- Melissa Belote — Swimming, Women's 200 m Backstroke
- Cathy Carr — Swimming, Women's 100 m Breaststroke
- Karen Moe — Swimming, Women's 200 m Butterfly
- Shirley Babashoff, Jane Barkman, Jenny Kemp, and Sandy Neilson — Swimming, Women's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay
- Melissa Belote, Cathy Carr, Deena Deardurff, and Sandy Neilson — Swimming, Women's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay
- Dan Gable — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Lightweight
- Wayne Wells — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Welterweight
- Ben Peterson — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Light Heavyweight
- William Allen, William Bentsen, and Harry Melges — Sailing, Men's Soling Team Competition
Silver
- Robert Taylor — Athletics, Men's 100 metres
- Wayne Collett — Athletics, Men's 400 meters
- Ralph Mann — Athletics, Men's 400 m Hurdles
- Bob Seagren — Athletics, Men's Pole Vault
- George Woods — Athletics, Men's Shot Put
- Jay Silvester — Athletics, Men's Discus Throw
- Mable Fergerson, Kathy Hammond, Madeline Manning-Jackson, and Cheryl Toussaint — Athletics, Women's 4 × 400 m Relay
- Michael Bantom, James Brewer, Tommy Burleson, Doug Collins, Kenneth Davis, James Forbes, Thomas Henderson, Dwight Jones, Robert Jones, Kevin Joyce, Tom McMillen, and Edward Ratleff — Basketball, Men's Team Competition
- Richard Rydze — Diving, Men's 10 m Platform
- Bruce Davidson, Kevin Freeman, Michael Plumb, and James Wofford — Equestrian, Three-Day Event Team Competition
- Frank Chapot, Kathryn Kusner, Neal Shapiro, and William Steinkraus — Equestrian, Jumping Team Competition
- Eugene Clapp, Fritz Hobbs, William Hobbs, Paul Hoffman, John Livingston, Michael Livingston, Timothy Mickelson, Peter Raymond and Lawrence Terry — Rowing, Men's Eights
- Victor Auer — Shooting, Men's Small-bore Rifle, prone
- Lanny Bassham — Shooting, Men's Small-bore Rifle, Three Positions
- Jerry Heidenreich — Swimming, Men's 100 m Freestyle
- Steve Genter — Swimming, Men's 200 m Freestyle
- Steve Genter — Swimming, Men's 400 m Freestyle
- Mike Stamm — Swimming, Men's 100 m Backstroke
- Mike Stamm — Swimming, Men's 200 m Backstroke
- Tom Bruce — Swimming, Men's 100 m Breaststroke
- Gary Hall, Sr. — Swimming, Men's 200 m Butterfly
- Tim McKee — Swimming, Men's 200 m Individual Medley
- Tim McKee — Swimming, Men's 400 m Individual Medley
- Shirley Babashoff — Swimming, Women's 100 m Freestyle
- Shirley Babashoff — Swimming, Women's 200 m Freestyle
- Susie Atwood — Swimming, Women's 200 m Backstroke
- Dana Schoenfield — Swimming, Women's 200 m Breaststroke
- Lynn Colella — Swimming, Women's 200 m Butterfly
- Richard Sanders — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Bantamweight
- John Peterson — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Middleweight
Bronze
- Craig Lincoln — Diving, Men's 3 m Springboard
- Thomas Hill — Athletics, Men's 110 m Hurdles
- Larry Young — Athletics, Men's 50 km Walk
- Dwight Stones — Athletics, Men's High Jump
- Jan Johnson — Athletics, Men's Pole Vault
- Arnie Robinson — Athletics, Men's Long Jump
- Bill Schmidt — Athletics, Men's Javelin Throw
- Kathy Hammond — Athletics, Women's 400 metres
- Kathy Schmidt — Athletics, Women's Javelin Throw
- Ricardo Carreras — Boxing, Men's Bantamweight
- Jesse Valdez — Boxing, Men's Welterweight
- Marvin Johnson — Boxing, Men's Middleweight
- James McEwan — Canoeing, Men's C1 Canadian Slalom Singles
- Neal Shapiro — Equestrian, Jumping Individual Competition
- Tom McBreen — Swimming, Men's 400 m Freestyle
- Doug Northway — Swimming, Men's 1500 m Freestyle
- John Murphy — Swimming, Men's 100 m Backstroke
- Mitch Ivey — Swimming, Men's 200 m Backstroke
- John Hencken — Swimming, Men's 100 m Breaststroke
- Jerry Heidenreich — Swimming, Men's 100 m Butterfly
- Robin Backhaus — Swimming, Men's 200 m Butterfly
- Steve Furniss — Swimming, Men's 200 m Individual Medley
- Keena Rothhammer — Swimming, Women's 200 m Freestyle
- Susie Atwood — Swimming, Women's 100 m Backstroke
- Ellie Daniel — Swimming, Women's 200 m Butterfly
- Lynn Vidali — Swimming, Women's 200 m Individual Medley
- Peter Asch, Steven Barnett, Bruce Bradley, Stanley Cole, James Ferguson, Eric Lindroth, John Parker, Gary Sheerer, James Slatton, Russell Webb, and Barry Weitzenberg — Water Polo, Men's Team Competition
- Chris Taylor — Wrestling, Men's Freestyle Super Heavyweight
- Donald Cohan, Charles Horter, and John Marshall — Sailing, Men's Dragon Team Competition
- Peter Dean and Glen Foster — Sailing, Men's Tempest Team Competition
Archery
In the first modern archery competition at the Olympics, the United States entered three men and three women. They took home both of the gold medals as well as a pair of 5th-place finishes.
Men's Individual Competition:
- John Williams — 2528 points (→
Gold Medal)
- Edwin Eliason — 2438 points (→ 5th place)
- Dennis McComak — 2398 points (→ 11th place)
Women's Individual Competition:
- Doreen Wilber — 2424 points (→
Gold Medal)
- Linda Myers — 2385 points (→ 5th place)
- Maureen Bechdolt — 2218 points (→ 28th place)
Athletics
Men's 100 metres
Men's 200 metres
Men's 400 metres
Men's 800 metres
- Heat — 1:51.1
- Semifinals — DNF (→ did not advance)
- Heat — 1:49.4 (→ did not advance)
Men's 1,500 metres
- Heat — 3:51.5 (→ did not advance)
- Heat — 3:40.7
- Semifinals — 3:41.6 (→ did not advance)
- Heat — 3:41.3
- Semifinals — 3:40.4 (→ did not advance)
Men's 5,000 metres
- Heat — 13:41.2 (→ did not advance)
- Heat — 13:32.6
- Finals — 13:28.25(→4th)
- Heat — 14:07.2 (→ did not advance)
Men's 10,000 metres
- Heat — 28:34.2 (→ did not advance)
Men's 3,000 metres Steeplechase
Men's 4 × 100 m Relay
Men's High Jump
- Qualification Round — 2.12 m (→ did not advance)
- Qualification Round — 2.12 m (→ did not advance)
Men's Pole Vault
Women's Javelin Throw
- Qualification Round — 51.38 m (→ did not advance, 15th place)
Basketball
Boxing
Men's Light Flyweight (– 48 kg)
- First Round — Defeated Arif Dorgu (TUR), 4:1
- Second Round — Lost to Enrique Rodríguez (ESP), 0:5
Men's Light Middleweight (– 71 kg)
- First Round — Bye
- Second Round — Lost to Valeri Tregubov (URS), 2:3
Men's Heavyweight (+ 81 kg)
- First Round — Defeated Yuri Nesterov (URS), 5:0
- Quarterfinals — Lost to Teófilo Stevenson (CUB), TKO-3
Canoeing
Cycling
Fifteen cyclists represented the United States in 1972.
- John Howard — 61st place
- John Allis — 63rd place
- Emile Waldteufel — did not finish (→ no ranking)
- Robert Schneider — did not finish (→ no ranking)
- Final — 1:08.56 (→ 12th place)
- Jeffrey Spencer and Ralph Therrio → 13th place
Diving
Men's 3 m Springboard
- Craig Howard Lincoln - 577.29 points (→
Bronze Medal
- Michael Finneran - 557.34 points (→ 5th place)
- David Bush - 327.06 points (→ 20th place)
Men's 10 m Platform
- Richard Rydze - 480.75 points (→
Silver Medal)
- Richard Earley - 462.45 points (→ 6th place)
- Michael Finneran - 439.47 points (→ 9th place)
Women's 3 m Springboard
- Maxine Joyce King - 450.03 points (→
Gold Medal)
- Janet Ely - 420.99 points (→ 4th place)
- Cynthia Potter - 413.58 (→ 7th place)
Women's 10 m Platform
- Janet Ely - 352.68 points (→ 4th place)
- Maxine Joyce King - 346.38 points (→ 5th place)
- Cynthia Potter - 173.82 points (→ 21st place)
Equestrianism
Fencing
19 fencers, 14 men and 5 women, represented the United States in 1972.
Football
- First Round (Group A)
- Morocco 0-0 United States
- Malaysia 3-0 United States
- West Germany 7-0 United States → did not advance, 14th place over-all
- Team Roster
- Coach: Bob Guelker
Gymnastics
Handball
The United States, which had lost all three of its games in the first Olympic handball tournament, fared no better in the first round of the second tournament. The Americans lost to Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Japan to finish last place in the division, sending them to the thirteenth- to sixteenth-place consolation round. There, they finally got their first handball win over Spain before being defeated by Denmark.
Men's Team Competition:
- United States - 14th place (1-4-0)
- Roster - Richard Abrahamson, Fletcher Abram Jr., Roger Baker, Dennis Berkholtz, Larry Caton, Vincent DiCalogero, Elmer Edes, Thomas Hardiman, Rudolph Matthews, Sandor Rivnyak, James Rogers, Richard Schlesinger, Kevin Serrapede, Robert Sparks, Joel Voelkert, and Harry Winkler
Judo
Men's Lightweight
Men's Half-Middleweight
Men's Middleweight
Men's Half-Heavyweight
Men's Heavyweight
Men's Open Class
Modern pentathlon
Three male pentathletes represented the United States in 1972.
Men's Individual Competition:
- Charles Richards — 5074 points (→ 9th place)
- John Fitzgerald — 5070 points (→ 11th place)
- Scott Taylor — 4656 points (→ 29th place)
Men's Team Competition:
- Richards, Fitzgerald, and Taylor — 14802 points (→ 4th place)
Rowing
Men's Single Sculls
- Heat — 7:57.58
- Repechage — 7:59.13
- Semi Finals — 8:21.54
- Final — 7:24.81 (→ 5th place)
Men's Coxed Pairs
- Heat — 7:50.00
- Semi Finals — 8:25.40
- B-Final — 8:04.80 (→ 11th place)
Sailing
Shooting
Fourteen male shooters represented the United States in 1972. Lones Wigger and John Writer won golds and Lanny Bassham and Vic Auer won silver medals.
Swimming
Men's 100m Freestyle
- Heat — 53.07s
- Semifinals — 53.17s
- Final — 52.08s (→ 4th place)
Men's 200m Freestyle
- Heat — 1:56.04
- Final — 1:54.96 (→ 5th place)
Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay
- Heat — 3:28.84
Men's 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay
- Heat — 8:03.98
Men's 4 × 100 m Medley Relay
Water polo
- Men's Team Competition
- Preliminary Round (Group A)
- Defeated Romania (4-3)
- Defeated Cuba (7-6)
- Defeated Canada (8-1)
- Defeated Mexico (7-5)
- Defeated Yugoslavia (5-3)
- Final Round (Group I)
- Team Roster
Weightlifting
Wrestling
Water Skiing (demonstration sport)
Men's slalom:
- Wayne Grimditch - 38.5 points, silver medal
- Ricky McCormick - 27.5 points, 9th place
Men's Figure skiing:
- Ricky McCormick - 5340 points, gold medal
- Wayne Grimditch - 4510 points, silver medal
Men's Jump:
- Ricky McCormick - 43.75 points, gold medal
- Wayne Grimditch - 30.15 points, 14th place
Women's Slalom:
- Liz Allen-Shetter - 35.0 points, gold medal
Women's Figure skiing:
- Liz Allen-Shetter - 1550 points, 5th place
Women's Jump:
- Liz Allen-Shetter - 25.70 points, bronze medal
References
- ^ "United States at the 1972 Munich Summer Games". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2011-02-21.