The

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

were held in Munich, West Germany, 29 events in

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

were contested. There was a total of 532 participants from 52 countries competing. Perhaps the most spectacular athletic events were in

Mark Spitz Mark Andrew Spitz (born February 10, 1950) is an American former competitive swimmer and nine-time Olympic champion. He was the most successful athlete at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning seven gold medals, each in world-record ti ...

had a remarkable run, competing in seven events, winning seven Olympic titles and setting seven world records. In 2008,

Michael Phelps Michael Fred Phelps II (born June 30, 1985) is an American former competitive swimmer. He is the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold med ...

matched Spitz's feat of setting seven world records in a single Olympics. According to the official Olympic website, "He took part in the 4×200 m one hour after his final in the 100 m butterfly. As for the 200 m freestyle gold, it was his third medal in three days

On the women's side of the competition,

Shane Gould Shane Elizabeth Gould (born 23 November 1956) is an Australian former competition swimmer. She won three gold medals, a silver medal and a bronze, at the 1972 Summer Olympics. In 2018, she won the fifth season of ''Australian Survivor,'' becom ...

of Australia won five medals. She won the 200 m and 400 m freestyle as well as the 200 m individual medley, each with a new world-record time. In addition, she won the silver and the bronze in the 800 m and 100 m freestyle, respectively. In 2022, Gould remains the only woman in history to have claimed five medals in solo events in swimming at a single Olympic Games. Another 15-years-old, American

Sandy Neilson Sandra Lynn Neilson (born March 20, 1956), also known by her married name Sandy Bell, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic gold medalist, and former world record-holder. Amateur career Neilson won her only Amateur Athle ...

, won three gold medals. The Olympic record was broken at least once in all 29 events. In 20 of those events, a new world record was set.

Events

The following events were contested (all pool events were long course, and distances are in metres unless otherwise stated): * Freestyle: 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m (women), 1500 m (men) *

Backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimm ...

: 100 m, 200 m * Breaststroke: 100 m, 200 m *

Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

: 100 m, 200 m *

Individual Medley Medley is a combination of four different swimming styles—backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle—into one race. This race is either swum by one swimmer as individual medley (IM) or by four swimmers as a medley relay. Individual m ...

: 200 m, 400 m *

Relays A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

: 4 × 100 m free, 4 × 200 m free (men); 4 × 100 m medley

Participating nations

532 swimmers from 52 nations competed.

Medal table

Results

Men's events

Women's events

Gallery of the medalists

Some of the Olympic medalists in Munich: File:Mark Spitz.jpg,

, winner of the 100-metre freestyle, 200-metre freestyle, 100-metre butterfly, 200-metre butterfly, 4×100-metre freestyle relay, 4×200-metre freestyle relay, and 4×100-metre medley relay. File:Mike Burton (swimmer).jpg, Mike Burton, winner of the 1500-metre freestyle. File:Gunnar Larsson 1970.jpg, Gunnar Larsson, winner of the 200-metre individual medley and 400-metre individual medley. File:Shane Gould.jpg,

, winner of the 200-metre freestyle, 400-metre freestyle, and 200-metre individual medley. File:John Hencken c1974.jpg,

John Hencken John Frederick Hencken (born May 29, 1954) is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder. Hencken won five Olympic medals during his career, including three golds. Olympic career At the ...

, winner of the 200-metre breaststroke. File:Brad Cooper 1972.jpg, Brad Cooper, winner of the 400-metre freestyle. File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-J0411-0003-001, Roland Matthes.jpg,

Roland Matthes Roland Matthes (, ; 17 November 1950 – 20 December 2019) was a German swimmer and the most successful backstroke swimmer of all time. Between April 1967 and August 1974 he won all backstroke competitions he entered. He won four European champ ...

, winner of the 100-metre backstroke and 200-metre backstroke. File:Cathy Carr 1972.jpg, Cathy Carr, winner of the 100-metre breaststroke and 4×100-metre medley relay. File:Melissa Belote 1974.jpg,

Melissa Belote Melissa Louise Belote (born October 16, 1956), also known by her current married name Melissa Belote Ripley, is an American former competition swimmer, three-time Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in two events. She represented ...

, winner of the 100-metre backstroke, 200-metre backstroke, and 4×100-metre medley relay.

References

{{Swimming at the Summer Olympics 1972 Summer Olympics events

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

1972 in swimming