MONTREAL 1976
- 17 July – 1 August 1976
- 198 official medal events.
- 6,074 competitors from 92 countries.
- Finnish team: 86 athletes (83 participated in official events).
Finnish athletics enjoyed new days of glory at the Montreal Games. Lasse Virén made history by retaining both his Olympic titles from Munich 1972, in the 10,000 metres by an overwhelming margin, in the 5,000 metres by virtue of a fierce battle in the final stretch. On the day following his 5,000-metre triumph Virén ran the Olympic marathon, finishing in fifth place. Pirjo Häggman, later member of the IOC, finished fourth in women’s 400 metres, losing the bronze by only one hundredth of a second. Pertti Ukkola won Finland’s first Olympic wrestling gold in 20 years. The most surprising Finnish champion in Montreal was Pertti Karppinen who won gold in single sculls rowing having reached the final as the last qualifier. Finnish boxers failed to win a medal for the first time since 1948, however. The Montreal Games were the first ones affected by a large-scale boycott, as 30 African countries withdrew in protest against New Zealand, who maintained sports relations with South Africa.
Medal Standings
| G | S | B | Total | ||
| 1 | Soviet Union | 49 | 41 | 35 | 125 |
| 2 | GDR | 40 | 25 | 25 | 90 |
| 3 | USA | 34 | 35 | 25 | 94 |
| 4 | FR Germany | 10 | 12 | 17 | 39 |
| 5 | Japan | 9 | 6 | 10 | 25 |
| 6 | Poland | 7 | 6 | 13 | 26 |
| 7 | Bulgaria | 6 | 9 | 7 | 22 |
| 8 | Cuba | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| 9 | Romania | 4 | 9 | 14 | 27 |
| 10 | Hungary | 4 | 5 | 13 | 22 |
| 11 | Finland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| 12 | Sweden | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 | Great Britain | 3 | 5 | 5 | 13 |
| 14 | Italy | 2 | 7 | 4 | 13 |
| 15 | France | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| 16 | Yugoslavia | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 17 | Czechoslovakia | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 18 | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 19 | South Korea | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| 20 | Switzerland | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 | Jamaica | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| North Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Norway | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| 24 | Denmark | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 25 | Mexico | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 26 | Trinidad and Tobago | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 27 | Canada | 0 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 28 | Belgium | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 29 | Netherlands | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 30 | Spain | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Portugal | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| 32 | Australia | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 33 | Iran | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 34 | Mongolia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Venezuela | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 36 | Brazil | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 37 | Thailand | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Bermuda | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
