MUNICH 1972
- 26 August – 11 September 1972
- 195 official medal events.
- 7,116 competitors from 122 countries.
- Finnish team: 100 athletes (96 participated in official events).
The Olympic Games of 1972 in Munich were overshadowed by the attack of Palestinian terrorists which claimed the life of 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team. In Finland, however, the Munich Games are best remembered for the spectacular renaissance of Finnish track and field athletics. Lasse Virén won gold in the 10,000 metres with a new world record and one week later took another Olympic victory in the 5,000 metres. Only half an hour later Pekka Vasala won gold in the 1,500-metre final. The fourth Finnish medal in track races was Tapio Kantanen’s bronze in the steeplechase. Risto Björlin won the first Olympic medal for Finnish wrestling in 16 years, while Reima Virtanen became the first Finnish boxer to reach an Olympic final since Helsinki 1952. Kyösti Laasonen won Finland’s first Olympic medal in archery. In weightlifting Jouko Leppä narrowly missed the medal and finished fourth in the superheavyweight category.
Medal Standings
| G | S | B | Total | ||
| 1 | Soviet Union | 50 | 27 | 22 | 99 |
| 2 | USA | 33 | 31 | 30 | 94 |
| 3 | GDR | 20 | 23 | 23 | 66 |
| 4 | FR Germany | 13 | 11 | 16 | 40 |
| 5 | Japan | 13 | 8 | 8 | 29 |
| 6 | Australia | 8 | 7 | 2 | 17 |
| 7 | Poland | 7 | 5 | 9 | 21 |
| 8 | Hungary | 6 | 13 | 16 | 35 |
| 9 | Bulgaria | 6 | 10 | 5 | 21 |
| 10 | Italy | 5 | 3 | 10 | 18 |
| 11 | Sweden | 4 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
| 12 | Great Britain | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 |
| 13 | Romania | 3 | 6 | 7 | 16 |
| 14 | Finland | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 |
| Cuba | 3 | 1 | 4 | 8 | |
| 16 | Netherlands | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 17 | France | 2 | 4 | 7 | 13 |
| 18 | Czechoslovakia | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| 19 | Kenya | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 20 | Yugoslavia | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 21 | Norway | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 22 | North Korea | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 23 | New Zealand | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 24 | Uganda | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 25 | Denmark | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Switzerland | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 27 | Canada | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 28 | Iran | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 29 | Belgium | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Greece | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 31 | Austria | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Colombia | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 33 | Tunisia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mongolia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Turkey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Mexico | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| South Korea | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Lebanon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Argentina | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Pakistan | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 41 | Ethiopia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Brazil | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 43 | Jamaica | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Spain | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Niger | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Ghana | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Nigeria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| India | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
