British Honduras (now Belize) sent a delegation to compete at 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. ...

in Munich, West Germany from 26 August to 11 September 1972. This was the then British territory's second appearance at a

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

. The delegation consisted of one sport shooter, Owen Phillips, who participated in two events. He came 59th in the

50 meter pistol The 50 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often called Free Pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It provides the purest precision shooting among the pistol events, and is one of the oldest shooting disciplines, dating back to t ...

and 101st in the

50 meter rifle prone 50 meter rifle prone (formerly known as one of four free rifle disciplines) is an International Shooting Sport Federation event consisting of 60 shots from the prone position with a .22 Long Rifle (5.6 mm) caliber rifle. The time limit is 7 ...

Background

The Belize Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association was recognized by the International Olympic Committee on 1 January 1968. The territory made its debut in Olympic competition later that year at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

and except for the boycotted

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

has appeared in every Summer Olympiad since. This made Munich the second appearance for the then British territory, which would not become independent from the United Kingdom until 1981. The 1972 Summer Olympics were held from 26 August to 11 September 1976; a total of 7,134 athletes, representing 121 National Olympic Committees took part in the Games. The British Honduran delegation to Munich consisted of one shooter, Owen Phillips. Gilmore Hinkson, a Belezian sports official, was selected as the flag-bearer for the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

Shooting

Owen Phillips was 66 years old at the time of the Munich Olympics and making his Olympic debut. On 27 August, he took part in the

competition, where he scored 376 points out of a possible 600 maximum score. This ranked him 59th and last among all competitors. The gold medal was won with 567 points by Ragnar Skanåker of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, the silver medal was taken by

Dan Iuga Daniel Iuga (born November 13, 1945) is a retired Romanian-American pistol shooter and coach. He competed for Romania in the mixed free pistol 50 m event at the 1972, 1976 and 1980 Olympics and won a silver medal in 1972. As a teenager Iuga pl ...

of Romania with 562 points, and the bronze was earned by Rudolf Dollinger of Austria with 560 points. The next day, he took part in the

. Again, there was a maximum possible score of 600 points, and Phillips finished his competition with 555 points. This placed him 101st and last among all competitors. The gold medal was won with 599 points by

Ri Ho-jun Ri Ho-jun (, born 1 December 1946) is a sports shooter and Olympic Champion for North Korea. He won a gold medal in the 50 metre rifle prone event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, the country's first ever Olympic gold. In August 1972 h ...

of North Korea, the silver was taken with 598 points by the United States'

Victor Auer Victor Lee "Vic" Auer (March 24, 1937 – May 3, 2011) was a sport shooter and Olympic medalist for the United States. He won a silver medal in the 50 metre rifle prone event at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. He was born in Santa Ana, ...

, and the bronze was claimed with the same 598 points by Romania's

Nicolae Rotaru Nicolae Rotaru (16 July 1935 – 2009) was a Romanian sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of usi ...

References

External links

Official Olympic Reports
{{Country at games navbox, Belize, Summer Olympics Nations at the 1972 Summer Olympics

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 Solar time, me ...

1972 in British Honduras Oly