The

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

(USSR) competed 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 19 ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

. 371 competitors, 298 men and 73 women, took part in 180 events in 22 sports. The Soviet Union won 50 gold medal in the year, when the fiftieth anniversary of the USSR's founding was celebrated in the country. That fact pleased the Soviet authorities.

Medalists

The USSR finished first in the final medal rankings, with 50 gold and 99 total medals.

Gold

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

Mykola Avilov Mykola Viktorovych Avilov ( uk, Микола Вікторович Авілов, russian: link=no, Николай Викторович Авилов, born 6 August 1948) is a retired Ukrainian Soviet decathlete (Odessa) who competed at the 1968, 1 ...

— men's decathlon *

Anatoliy Bondarchuk Anatoly (russian: Анато́лий, Anatólij , uk, Анато́лій, Anatólij ) is a common Russian and Ukrainian male given name, derived from the Greek name ''Anatolios'', meaning "sunrise." Other common Russian transliterations are Ana ...

— men's hammer throw *

Valeriy Borzov Valeriy Pylypovych Borzov ( uk, Валерій Пилипович Борзов; russian: Валерий Филиппович Борзов, Valeriy Filippovich Borzov; born 20 October 1949) is a former Soviet sprinter. He is a two-time Olympian, ...

— men's 100 metres *

— men's 200 metres *

Lyudmila Bragina Lyudmila Ivanovna Bragina (russian: Людмила Ивановна Брагина, born 24 July 1943) is a retired Soviet and Russian middle distance runner. She competed for the Soviet Union in the 1500 m at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics; she won ...

— women's 1500 metres *

Nadezhda Chizhova Nadezhda Vladimirovna Chizhova (russian: Надежда Владимировна Чижова, born 29 September 1945) is a retired Russian shot putter who won three Olympic medals and four European titles, and set seven new world records. She b ...

— women's shot put *

Faina Melnik Faina Grigorievna Melnik (russian: Фаина Григорьевна Велева-Мельник, uk, Фаїна Григорівна Мельник (''Faina Hryhorivna Melnyk''); 9 June 1945 – 16 December 2016) was a Soviet discus thrower, a ...

— women's discus throw * Viktor Saneyev — men's triple jump * Jüri Tarmak — men's high jump

Basketball

Alzhan Zharmukhamedov Alzhan Musurbekuly Zharmukhamedov (alternate spelling: Alzan Zarmuhamedov) ( kk, Әлжан Мүсірбекұлы Жармұхамедов, ''Áljan Músirbekuly Jarmuhamedov''; russian: Алжан Мусурбекович Жармухамедо ...

Zurab Sakandelidze Zurab Aleksandrovich Sakandelidze ( ka, ზურაბ საკანდელიძე; russian: Зураб Александрович Саканделидзе; August 9, 1945 – January 25, 2004) was a Georgian basketball player who won ...

Gennady Volnov Gennadi Georgievich Volnov (russian: Геннадий Георгиевич Вольнов, November 28, 1939 – July 15, 2008) was a Russian basketball player who played for the senior Soviet Union national basketball team from the late 1950 ...

Ivan Yedeshko Ivan Ivanovich Edeshko ( be, Іван Іванавіч Ядэшка; russian: Иван Иванович Едешко; born March 25, 1945 in Stetski village, Hrodna Voblast, Byelorussian SSR) is a retired Belarusian professional basketball player ...

Sergei Kovalenko Sergey Ivanovich Kovalenko (russian: Серге́й Ива́нович Ковале́нко, uk, Сергій Іванович Коваленко; born 11 August 1947, died 18 November 2004 at age 57 in Kyiv) was a Soviet Ukrainian ...

, Modestas Paulauskas,

Anatoly Polivoda Anatoliy Ivanovych Polivoda ( uk, Анатолій Іванович Поливода; born 29 May 1947) is a retired Ukrainian basketball player who played for the Budivelnyk of Kiev and the Soviet Union. He trained at VSS Avanhard in Kiev. ...

Ivan Dvornyi Ivan Vasilyevich Dvorny (; 5 January 1952, Yasnaya Polyana, Moskalensky District, Omsk Oblast – 21 September 2015, Omsk) was a Russian basketball player who won gold with the Soviet basketball team at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He trained at V ...

Mikheil Korkia Mikheil Korkia ( ka, მიხეილ ქორქია) (10 September 1948 – 7 February 2004) was a Georgian-Soviet basketball player who won gold with the Soviet basketball team in Basketball at the 1972 Summer Olympics Basketball con ...

Aleksandr Belov Alexander Alexandrovich Belov, commonly known as Sasha Belov (November 9, 1951 – October 3, 1978), was a Soviet basketball player. During his playing career, he played at the center position. Belov is most remembered for scoring the game- ...

Sergey Belov Sergei Alexandrovich Belov (russian: Серге́й Алекса́ндрович Бело́в; 23 January 1944 – 3 October 2013) was a Russian professional basketball player, most noted for playing for CSKA Moscow and the senior Sov ...

and

Aleksandr Boloshev Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Boloshev (russian: Александр Александрович Болошев; 12 March 1947, Elektrogorsk, Moscow Oblast, USSR – 16 July 2010, Volgograd, Russia) was a Soviet and Russian basketball player who won gol ...

— men's team competition.

Boxing

* Boris Kuznetsov — men's featherweight *

Vyacheslav Lemeshev Vyacheslav Ivanovich Lemeshev (russian: Вячеслав Иванович Лемешев) (April 3, 1952 in Moscow — January 27, 1996) was an Olympic boxer from the USSR. Soviet physiologists, while examining Lemeshev abilities wit ...

— men's 71–75 kg

Canoeing

Aleksandr Shaparenko Aleksandr Shaparenko (sometimes shown as Aleksandr Shaporenko, born 16 February 1946) is a Soviet-born Ukrainian sprint canoeist who competed from the late 1960s to the late 1970s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won th ...

— men's K1 1000m kayak singles * Yuliya Ryabchynskaya — women's K1 500m kayak singles * Nikolai Gorbachev and Viktor Kratasyuk — men's K2 1000m kayak pairs * Yekaterina Kuryshko and Lyudmila Pinayeva-Khvedosyuk — women's K2 500m kayak pairs * Vladas Česiūnas and Yury Lobanov — men's C2 1000m Canadian pairs * Yury Stetsenko, Valery Didenko, Yury Filatov and Vladimir Morozov — men's K4 1000m kayak fours

Cycling

* Valery Yardy,

Gennady Komnatov Gennady Viktorovich Komnatov (russian: Геннадий Викторович Комнатов; 18 September 1949 – 1 April 1979) was a Russian road cyclist. He was part of the Soviet team that won a gold medal in the 100 km team time ...

Valery Likhachov Valery Nikolayevich Likhachov (russian: Валерий Николаевич Лихачëв; born 5 December 1947) is a retired Russian cyclist. He was part of the Soviet team that won the 100 km team time trial event at the 1970 UCI Road Wo ...

and Boris Shukov — men's team road race * Vladimir Semenets and Igor Tselovalnykov — men's 2000m tandem

Diving

* Vladimir Vasin — men's springboard

Equestrian

Yelena Petushkova Yelena Vladimirovna Petushkova (russian: Елена Владимировна Петушкова) (born Moscow 17 November 1940 - died there 9 January 2007) was a Russian and former Soviet equestrian who won three medals, of which one was gold an ...

, Pepel,

Ivan Kalita Iván I Danilovich Kalitá ( Russian: Ива́н I Данилович Калита́; 1 November 1288 – 31 March 1340 or 1341Basil Dmytryshyn, ''Medieval Russia:A source book, 850-1700'', (Academic International Press, 2000), 194.) was Grand D ...

, Ikhor, Ivan Kizimov, Tarif — dressage team

Fencing

* Viktor Sidyak — men's sabre individual * Svetlana Tširkova, Alexandra Zabelina, Yelena Belova-Novikova,

Galina Gorokhova Galina Yevgenyevna Gorokhova (russian: Галина Евгеньевна Горохова; born 31 August 1938) is a Russian and former Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of f ...

and Tatyana Samusenko-Petrenko — women's foil team

Gymnastics

* Viktor Klimenko — men's pommel horse * Nikolay Andrianov — men's floor exercises * Lyudmila Turishcheva — women's all-around individual *

Olga Korbut Olga Valentinovna Korbut, ; russian: Ольга Валентиновна Корбут, group=nb (born 16 May 1955) is a former gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union. Nicknamed the "Sparrow from Minsk", she won four gold medals and two silver ...

— women's balance beam *

— women's floor exercises *

Tamara Lazakovich Tamara Vasilyevna Lazakovich (russian: Тамара Васильевна Лазакович; 11 March 1954 – 1 November 1992) was a Soviet artistic gymnast who competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Described as a "perky sparrow" with a "purity ...

Elvira Saadi Elvira Fuadovna Saadi (born January 2, 1952) is a retired gymnast from the former Soviet Union who is now an elite gymnastics coach in Canada. As a member of the Soviet Union's women's gymnastics team, Saadi shared in the team gold medals at th ...

, Lyudmila Turishcheva,

Lyubov Burda Lyubov Viktorovna Burda (russian: Любовь Викторовна Бурда; born 11 April 1953) is a retired Soviet artistic gymnast. Career In 1967 Burda placed 3rd in the all-around at the USSR Championships (also the USSR Spartakiade th ...

and

Antonina Koshel Antonina Vladimirovna Koshel (russian: Антонина Владимировна Кошель, be, Антаніна Уладзіміраўна Кошаль; born 20 November 1954) is a retired Soviet artistic gymnast. She competed at the 1972 Sum ...

— women's team combined exercises

Judo

Shota Chochishvili Shota Samsonovich Chochishvili ( ka, შოთა ჩოჩიშვილი, russian: Шота Самсонович Чочишвили; 10 July 1950 – 27 August 2009) was a Georgian professional wrestler and judoka. Judo career Between 19 ...

— men's half-heavyweight (93 kg)

Modern pentathlon

Pavel Lednev Pavel Serafimovich Lednyov (russian: Павел Серафимович Леднёв; 25 March 1943, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia – 23 November 2010, Moscow, Russia) was a Russian modern pentathlete and Olympic Champion. He won a total of seven ...

, Boris Onyshchenko and Vladimir Shmelyov — men's team competition

Rowing

; Men's single sculls – 1st place ( gold medal) * Yury Malyshev ; Men's double sculls – 1st place ( gold medal) *

Gennadi Korshikov Gennadi Egorovich Korshikov (russian: Геннадий Егорович Коршиков; born 19 February 1949) is a Russian rower who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics. He was born in L ...

Aleksandr Timoshinin Aleksandr Ivanovich Timoshinin (russian: Александр Иванович Тимошинин, 20 May 1948 – 26 November 2021) was a Russian rower, born in Moscow, who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1968 Summer Olympics and in the 19 ...

Sailing

Vitaly Dyrdyra Vitaly Dyrdyra ( uk, Дирдира Віталій Федорович; born November 4, 1938, in Cherkasy Oblast, Ukraine) is a sailor and Olympic champion for the Soviet Union. He won a gold medal in the ''Tempest Class'' at the 1972 Summe ...

and

Valentyn Mankin Valentyn Grigoryevich Mankin (russian: Валентин Григорьевич Манкин; 19 August 1938 – 1 June 2014) was a Soviet/Ukrainian sailor from Kyiv, three times Olympic champion for the USSR team. Life Mankin was Jewish. He ...

— men's tempest class

Shooting

* Yakov Zheleznyak — men's running game target

Volleyball

Nina Smoleyeva Nina Smoleyeva (born 28 March 1948) is a former volleyball player for the USSR. Smoloyeva was a major player who helped the Soviet Union women's national volleyball team to become the most dominant team in the late 1960s to early 1970s, by win ...

, Tatyana Tretyakova-Ponyaeva, Lyubov Tyurina,

Inna Ryskal Inna Valerievna Ryskal (russian: Инна Валерьевна Рыскаль born 15 June 1944 in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR) is a former Soviet volleyball player for the USSR. She was one of the pre-eminent players of the 1960s and the early 1970s ...

, Roza Salikhova, Tatyana Sarycheva, Tatyana Gonobobleva, Natalya Kudreva, Galina Leontyeva, Lyudmila Borozna, Lyudmila Buldakova and Vera Duyunova-Galushka — women's team competition

Water polo

* Viacheslav Sobchenko,

Vladimir Zhmudsky Vladimir Vladimirovich Zhmudsky (russian: Владимир Владимирович Жмудский, born 23 January 1947 in Dublyany, Ukrainian SSR) is a Ukrainian water polo player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1972. See also * ...

, Nikolay Melnikov,

Leonid Osipov Leonid Mikhaylovich Osipov (russian: Леонид Михайлович Осипов, 6 February 1943 – 5 November 2020) was a Russian water polo player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1964, 1968 and in the 1972 Summer Olympics ...

, Aleksandr Shidlovsky, Aleksandr Dreval,

Vadim Gulyaev Vadim Vladimirovich Gulyayev (russian: Вадим Владимирович Гуляев; 5 February 1941 in Moscow – 12 December 1998 in Moscow) was a Russian water polo player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1968 Summer Olympics ...

Aleksandr Kabanov Aleksandr Sergeyevich Kabanov (russian: Александр Серге́евич Кабанов, 14 June 1948 – 30 June 2020) was a Soviet and Russian water polo player and head coach of the Russian water polo team. He is one of a few sportspeop ...

Anatoly Akimov Anatoly Ivanovich Akimov (russian: Анатолий Иванович Акимов, 15 November 1947 – 28 June 2002) was a Russian water polo player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summer Olympics. Akimov had one sister Tat ...

, Aleksey Barkalov and

Aleksandr Dolgushin Aleksandr Ivanovich Dolgushin (russian: Александр Иванович Долгушин, 7 March 1946 in Moscow – 17 April 2006 in Moscow) was a Russian water polo player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1968 Summer Olympics and i ...

— men's team competition

Weightlifting

* Mukharby Kirzhinov — men's lightweight *

Jaan Talts Jaan Talts (born 19 May 1944) is a former Estonian weightlifter. He competed for the Soviet Union at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics and won a silver and a gold medal, respectively. Throughout his career, Talts won two world and four European title ...

— men's heavyweight *

Vasily Alekseyev Vasily Ivanovich Alekseyev (russian: Василий Иванович Алексеев; 7 January 1942 – 25 November 2011) was a Soviet weightlifter. He set 80 world-records and 81 Soviet records in weightlifting and won Olympic gold medals at ...

— men's super heavyweight

Wrestling

* Rustem Kazakov — men's Greco-Roman bantamweight * Shamil Khisamutdinov — men's Greco-Roman lightweight *

Valery Rezantsev Valery Rezantsev (russian: Валерий Резанцев, born 8 October 1946) is a Russian Greco-Roman wrestler. He was an Olympic gold medalist in 1972 and in 1976, competing for the Soviet Union. He won gold medals at the 1970, 1971, 1973, 1 ...

— men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight *

Anatoly Roshchin Anatoly Aleksandrovich Roshchin (russian: Анатолий Александрович Рощин, 10 March 1932 – 5 January 2016) was a heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Russia. Between 1962 and 1972 he won nine medals at the Summer Olympi ...

— men's Greco-Roman super heavyweight * Roman Dimitriyev — men's freestyle light flyweight * Zagalav Abdulbekov — men's freestyle featherweight *

Levan Tediashvili Levan Tediashvili ( ka, ლევან თედიაშვილი; born 15 March 1948 in Gegmoubani, Georgian SSR) is a former Soviet (Georgian) wrestler and Olympic champion in Freestyle wrestling in 1972 and 1976. He remained undefeated b ...

— men's freestyle middleweight *

Ivan Yarygin Ivan Sergeyevich Yarygin ( rus, Иван Сергеевич Ярыгин, p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ jɪˈrɨɡʲɪn; 7 November 1948 – 11 October 1997) was a Soviet and Russian heavyweight freestyle wrestler. Between 1970 and 1980 h ...

— men's freestyle heavyweight *

Aleksandr Medved Aleksandr Vasiliyevich Medved (born 16 September 1937) is a Ukrainian-born Soviet Belarusian retired freestyle wrestler who competed for the Soviet Union and was named "one of the greatest wrestlers in history" by FILA, the sport's governing bo ...

— men's freestyle super heavyweight

Silver

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

Yevgeny Arzhanov Yevhen Oleksandrovych Arzhanov ( uk, Євген Олександрович Аржанов, born 9 February 1948) is a Ukrainian former middle-distance runner who won a silver medal in the 800 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

— men's 800 metres *

, Aleksandr Kornelyuk, Vladimir Lovetskiy and Juris Silovs — men's 4 × 100 m relay * Vladimir Golubnichy — men's 20 km walk * Leonid Lytvynenko — men's decathlon *

Jānis Lūsis Jānis Lūsis (19 May 1939 – 29 April 2020) was a Latvian track and field athlete who competed in javelin throw. Biography Lūsis trained at Daugava Voluntary Sports Society and later at Armed Forces sports society. He competed in four Sum ...

— men's javelin throw *

Veniamin Soldatenko Veniamin Vasilievich Soldatenko (russian: Вениамин Васильевич Солдатенко, born 4 January 1939) is a retired Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the 50 km walk. He acquired Kazakhstani citizenship after the dissolut ...

— men's 50 km walk * Nijole Sabaite — women's 800 metres

Equestrian

, her horse Pepel — dressage individual

Fencing

* Leonid Romanov, Vasily Stankovich, Vladimir Denisov,

Anatoly Koteshev Anatoly Koteshev (russian: Анатолий Алексеевич Котешев; born 16 July 1944) is a Soviet fencer. He won a silver medal in the team foil event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known a ...

and

Viktor Putyatin Viktor Putyatin ( uk, Віктор Павлович Путятін; 12 September 1941 – 2 November 2021) was a Soviet fencer. He won silver medals in the team foil events at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), o ...

— men's foil team * Viktor Sidyak, Eduard Vinokurov,

Viktor Bazhenov Viktor Bazhenov (russian: Виктор Андреевич Баженов; born 6 August 1946) is a Soviet fencer. He won a silver medal in the team sabre event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the ...

Vladimir Nazlymov Vladimir Nazlymov (born November 1, 1945) (russian: Владимир Аливерович Назлымов) (Daghestan, USSR) - Sabre fencer and coach for USSR and later United States, to which he moved in 1991. Born in Makhachkala, Daghestan. ...

and

Mark Rakita Mark Semenovich Rakita (russian: Марк Семенович Ракита; born July 22, 1938) is a famed Russian two-time Olympic champion sabreur and coach from the Soviet era. Early life Rakita was born in Moscow, USSR, and is Jewish. Fencin ...

— men's sabre team

Gymnastics

* Viktor Klimenko — men's long horse vault *

Mikhail Voronin Mikhail Yakovlevich Voronin (russian: Михаил Яковлевич Воронин; 26 March 1945 – 22 May 2004) was a Soviet and Russian gymnast who competed for the Soviet Union in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He won seven medals, inclu ...

— men's rings * Eduard Mikaelyan, Vladimir Shchukin,

, Viktor Klimenko, Nikolay Andrianov and Aleksandr Maleyev — men's team combined exercises *

— women's asymmetrical bars *

— women's balance beam * Lyudmila Turishcheva — women's floor exercises

Judo

* Vitali Kuznetsov — men's open class

Modern pentathlon

* Boris Onyshchenko — men's individual competition

Shooting

* Yevgeni Petrov — men's skeet shooting * Boris Melnik — men's free rifle, three positions

Swimming

* Viktor Mazanov, Viktor Aboimov,

Vladimir Bure Vladimir Valeryevich Bure (russian: Владимир Валерьевич Буре, born 4 December 1950) is a Russian former freestyle swimmer and a fitness coach for the New Jersey Devils of the NHL. Bure is the father of retired NHL players P ...

and Igor Grivennikov — men's 4 × 100 m freestyle * Galina Stepanova-Prozumenshchykova — women's 100m breaststroke

Weightlifting

* Dito Shanidze — men's featherweight

Wrestling

* Anatoly Nazarenko — men's Greco-Roman middleweight *

Nikolay Yakovenko Nikolay Ivanovich Yakovenko (russian: Николай Иванович Яковенко, 5 November 1941 – 22 December 2006) was a heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler from Russia. He won the world title in 1967 and 1969 and Olympic silver medals i ...

— men's Greco-Roman heavyweight * Arsen Alakhverdiyev — men's freestyle flyweight * Gennady Strakhov — men's freestyle light heavyweight

Bronze

Archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In ...

* Emma Gaptchenko — women's individual competition

Athletics

* Vasily Khmelevski — men's hammer throw

Cycling

* Omar Pkhakadze — men's 1000m sprint (scratch)

Fencing

— men's sabre individual *

— women's foil individual * Igor Valetov, Georgi Zažitski,

Grigory Kriss Grigory Yakovlevich Kriss ( uk, Григорій Якович Крісс, russian: Григорий Яковлевич Крисс, born 24 December 1940) is a retired Soviet Union, Soviet Olympic épée fencer who won four Olympic medals. Early ...

, Viktor Modzalevsky and Sergey Paramonov — men's épée team

Football (soccer)

* Gennady Yevryuzhikhin,

Oganes Zanazanyan Hovhannes Arutyunovich Zanazanyan ( hy, Հովհանես Զանազանյան, russian: Оганес Арутюнович Заназанян; 10 December 1946 – 4 October 2015) was a Soviet football player and an Armenian coach. Honours * Sov ...

, Vyacheslav Semyonov,

Andrei Yakubik Andrei Aleksandrovich Yakubik (russian: Андрей Александрович Якубик; born 24 August 1950) is a former Soviet football player. Honours * Soviet Top League winner: 1976 (spring). * Soviet Cup winner: 1977. * Olympi ...

, Yury Yeliseyev,

Vladimir Pilguy Vladimir Mikhailovich Pilguy (russian: Владимир Михайлович Пильгуй, uk, Володимир Михайлович Пільгуй; born 26 January 1948) is a former Ukrainian and Soviet footballer. Honours * Soviet Top Le ...

, Yevgeny Rudakov,

Yozhef Sabo Yozhef Yozhefovich Sabo ( uk, Йожеф Йожефович Сабо; hu, Szabó József; born 29 February 1940) is a former Ukrainian football player and football manager. He is of Hungarian background. He is baptized as a Greek-Catholic. ...

, Yevgeny Lovchev,

Sergei Olshansky Sergei Petrovich Olshansky (russian: Серге́й Петрович Ольшанский; born May 28, 1948 in Moscow) is a retired Soviet football player. Currently, he works as a general director for FC Nika Moscow. Honours * Soviet Top ...

, Vladimir Onishchenko,

Viktor Kolotov Viktor Mikhailovich Kolotov (russian: Виктор Михайлович Колотов; ua, Віктор Михайлович Колотов; 3 July 1949 – 3 January 2000) was a Soviet and Ukrainian footballer. He was born in the settlement ...

, Anatoly Kuksov, Yury Istomin, Vladimir Kaplichnyi,

Murtaz Khurtsilava Murtaz Kalistratovich Khurtsilava ( ka, მურთაზ ხურცილავა, russian: Муртаз Калистратович Хурцилава, born 5 January 1943) is a former Georgian association football defender. Khurtsilava wa ...

Arkady Andriasyan Arkady Georgievich Andreasyan ( hy, Արկադի Գեորգիի Անդրեասյան, russian: Аркадий Георгиевич Андреасян; 11 August 1947 – 23 December 2020) was a Soviet Armenian football player and manager. He pla ...

Oleg Blokhin Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin, or Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin ( uk, Оле́г Володи́мирович Блохі́н, rus, Оле́г Влади́мирович Блохи́н; born 5 November 1952), is a former Ukrainian and Soviet footbal ...

and

Revaz Dzodzuashvili Revaz Mikheilis dze Dzodzuashvili ( ka, რევაზ მიხეილის ძე ძოძუაშვილი; born 15 April 1945) is a Georgian football manager and a former player. He coaches FC Dinamo Sukhumi. He earned 49 caps for ...

— men's team competition

Gymnastics

* Nikolay Andrianov — men's long horse vault *

— women's all-around individual * Lyudmila Turishcheva — women's side horse vault *

— women's floor exercises

Judo

* Anatoly Novikov — men's half middleweight (70 kg) * Givi Onashvili — men's heavyweight (>100 kg)

Modern pentathlon

— men's individual competition

Sailing

* Viktor Potapov — men's Finn class

Shooting

* Viktor Torshin — men's rapid-fire pistol

Swimming

— men's 100m freestyle * Viktor Mazanov,

, Igor Grivennikov and Georgi Kulikov — men's 4 × 200 m freestyle * Galina Stepanova-Prozumenshchykova — women's 200m breaststroke

Volleyball

* Aleksandr Saprykin, Yury Starunsky, Leonid Zayko, Vladimir Patkin, Yury Poyarkov,

Vladimir Putyatov Vladimir Nikolaevich Putyatov (russian: Владимир Николаевич Путятов, born 24 December 1945) is a Russian former volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics ...

Vladimir Kondra Vladimir Grigorevich Kondra (russian: Владимир Григорьевич Кондра, born 16 November 1950) is a Russian former volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summer Olympics, in the 1976 Summer Olympics, a ...

, Valery Kravchenko,

Yevgeny Lapinsky Yevhen Valentinovich Lapinsky ( uk, Євген Валентинович Лапинський, 23 March 1942 – 29 September 1999), also known as Yevgeny Lapinsky, was a Ukrainian former volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in th ...

, Viktor Borshch,

Yefim Chulak Yefim Aronovich Chulak (russian: Ефим Аронович Чулак , born 15 July 1948) is a Russian former volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics Events Janua ...

and Vyatcheslav Domanyi — men's team competition

Weightlifting

Gennady Chetin Gennady Timofeyevich Chetin (russian: Геннадий Тимофеевич Четин, 1 February 1943 – 2002) was a Russian bantamweight weightlifter. He competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics and finished in fourth and third place, r ...

— men's bantamweight

Wrestling

Ruslan Ashuraliyev Ruslan Nuraliyevich Ashuraliyev (Russian: Руслан Нуралиевич Ашуралиев, 20 February 1950 – 27 November 2009) was a Russian freestyle wrestler who won world titles in 1974 and 1975 and placed second in 1973. He competed ...

— men's freestyle lightweight

Results by event

Archery

Women's individual competition: * Emma Gaptchenko — 2403 points (→ Bronze medal) * Keto Lossaberidze — 2402 points (→ 4th place) * Alla Peounova — 2364 points (→ 8th place) Men's individual competition: * Victor Sidorouk — 2427 points (→ 7th place) * Mikhail Peounov 2397 points (→ 12th place) *

Mati Vaikjärv Mati Vaikjärv (born 2 February 1944) is an Estonian archer. He competed in the men's individual event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich ...

— 2363 points (→ 24th place)

Athletics

Men's 100 metres * Vladimir Atamas :* First heat — 10.51s (→ did not advance) Men's 800 metres *

→ Silver medal :* Heat — 1:48.3 :* Semifinals — 1:46.3 :* Final — 1:45.9 * Ivan Ivanov :* Heat — 1:51.0 :* Semifinals — 1:49.6 (→ did not advance) * Yevgeni Volkov :* Heat — 1:48.6 :* Semifinals — 1:50.1 (→ did not advance) Men's 1,500 metres * Volodymyr Panteley :* Heat — 3:42.3 :* Semifinals — 3:41.6 :* Final — 3:40.2 (→ 8th place) *

:* Heat — DNS (→ did not advance) * Ivan Ivanov :* Heat — 3:42.3 (→ did not advance) Men's 5000 metres * Nikola Puklakov :* Heat — 13:57.6 (→ did not advance) * Vladimir Afonin :* Heat — 14:08.6 (→ did not advance) Men's 4 × 100 m relay * Aleksandr Kornelyuk, Vladimir Lovetskiy, Juris Silovs and

:* Heat — 39.15s :* Semifinals — 39.00s :* Final — 38.50s (→ Silver medal) Men's high jump * Jüri Tarmak :* Qualifying round — 2.15m :* Final — 2.23m (→ Gold medal) * Rustam Akhmetov :* Qualifying round — 2.15m :* Final — 2.15m (→ 8th place) * Kestusis Shapka :* Qualifying round — 2.15m :* Final — 2.15m (→ 12th place) Women's javelin throw * Svetlana Korolyova :* Qualifying round — 55.90 m :* Final — 56.36 m (→ 8th place)

Basketball

;Men's team competition *Preliminary round (group B) :* Defeated Senegal (94–52) :* Defeated West Germany (87–63) :* Defeated Italy (79–66) :* Defeated Poland (94–64) :* Defeated Puerto Rico (100–87) :* Defeated Philippines (111–80) :* Defeated Yugoslavia (74–67) *Semifinals :* Defeated Cuba (67–60) *Final :* Defeated United States (51–50) → Gold medal

Boxing

Men's light middleweight (– 71 kg) *

Valeri Tregubov Valery Tregubov (19 March 1942 – 1986) was a Russian boxer. He competed in the men's light middleweight event at the 1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly kn ...

:* First round — bye :* Second round — defeated Reggie Jones (USA), 3:2 :* Third round — lost to

Alan Minter Alan Sydney Minter (17 August 19519 September 2020) was a British professional boxer who competed from 1972 to 1981. He held the undisputed middleweight title in 1980, having previously held the British middleweight title from 1975 to 1976, an ...

(GBR), 0:5 Men's heavyweight (+ 81 kg) *

Yuri Nesterov Yuri Igorevich Nesterov (russian: Юрий Игоревич Нестеров, born March 24, 1967 in Leningrad) is a former Soviet/ Russian handball player who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), offici ...

:* First round — lost to Duane Bobick (USA), 0:5

Canoeing

Cycling

Fifteen cyclists represented the Soviet Union in 1972. ; Individual road race *

— 34th place *

Anatoly Starkov Anatoly Yefremovich Starkov ( uk, Анатолій Єфремович Старков; russian: Анатолий Ефремович Старков; born 15 October 1946) is a retired Soviet cyclist. He competed in the individual road race at the 1 ...

— 35th place * Valery Yardy — did not finish (→ no ranking) * Ivan Trifonov — did not finish (→ no ranking) ;

Team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

* Boris Shukhov * Valery Yardy *

; Sprint * Omar Pkhak'adze * Serhiy Kravtsov ; 1000m time trial * Eduard Rapp :* Final — 1:07.73 (→ 8th place) ;

Tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which a team of machines, animals or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. The original use of the term in English was in ''tandem harness'', which is used for two ...

Igor Tselovalnikov Ihor Vasilyevich Tselovalnikov (russian: Игорь Васильевич Целовальников; uk, Ігор Васильович Целовальников; 2 January 1944 – 15 March 1986) was a Soviet cyclist. He competed at the 196 ...

and Vladimir Semenets — Gold medal ;

Team pursuit The team pursuit is a track cycling event similar to the individual pursuit, except that two teams, each of up to four riders, compete, starting on opposite sides of the velodrome. Race format Both men's and women's events are competed over ...

* Viktor Bykov * Vladimir Kuznetsov * Anatoly Stepanenko * Aleksandr Yudin

Diving

Men's 3m springboard * Vladimir Vasin – 594.09 points (gold medal) * Viacheslav Strahov – 556.20 points (6th place) * Vladimir Kapirulin – 329.46 points (18th place) Men's 10m platform * David Ambarzumian – 463.56 points (5th place) *Vladimir Kapirullin – 459.21 points (7th place) * Aleksander Gendrikson – 431.04 points (12th place) Women's 3m springboard * Natalia Kusnecova – 258.45 points (14th place) * Tatjana Shtyreva – 252.42 points (16th place) * Tamara Safonova – 252.09 points (17th place) Women's 10m platform * Alla Seiina – 314.76 points (10th place) *Natalia Kuznecova – 184.02 points (13th place) *Tatjana Shtyreva – 177.33 points (19th place)

Equestrian

Fencing

20 fencers, 15 men and 5 women, represented the Soviet Union in 1972. ; Men's foil * Vladimir Denisov *

* Vasyl Stankovych ; Men's team foil * Vasyl Stankovych,

, Vladimir Denisov, Leonid Romanov ; Men's épée * Igor Valetov * Sergey Paramonov *

; Men's team épée *

, Viktor Modzalevsky, Georgi Zažitski, Sergey Paramonov, Igor Valetov ; Men's sabre * Viktor Sidyak *

; Men's team sabre *

, Viktor Sidyak,

, Eduard Vinokurov,

; Women's foil *

Yelena Novikova-Belova Elena Dmitriyevna Novikova-Belova (Russian: Елена Дмитриевна Новикова-Белова, née ''Novikova'', born 28 July 1947) is a retired Russian foil fencer. She competed at the 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1980 Olympics in the in ...

* Aleksandra Zabelina ; Women's team foil *

, Aleksandra Zabelina, Svetlana Tširkova, Tatyana Petrenko-Samusenko

Football

Gymnastics

Handball

;Men's team competition The Soviet team came away from the three-game opening round with no losses, but only one win. Ties with

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and

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 countries, Nordic c ...

and a win over

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

put the Soviet Union in a tie with Sweden at the top of the division. Since both teams moved on to the second round, the fact that Sweden won the tie-breaker mattered little. The Soviets' hopes were high after the first game of the second round, a win over

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

that put the team on top of the division. However, their subsequent loss to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

dropped them to third in the group. This meant that they played in a game for fifth and sixth place against host nation

. Their win was little consolation for being eliminated from medal contention. Men's team competition: *Soviet Union – 5th place (3–1–2) *Team roster :*

Nikolai Semenov Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov (or Semënov), (russian: Никола́й Никола́евич Семёнов; – 25 September 1986) (often referred to in English as Semenoff, Semenov, Semionov, or Semyonova) was a Soviet physicist and chem ...

:* Mikhail Ischenko :* Aleksandr Panov :* Vladimir Maksimov :* Valentin Kulev :* Vasili Ilyin :* Anatoli Shevchenko :* Yuri Klimov :* Mikhail Luzenko :* Alexander Resanov :* Valeri Gassi :* Albert Oganesov :* Yan Vilson :* Yuri Lagutin :* Ivan Usaty

Judo

Modern pentathlon

Three male pentathletes represented the Soviet Union in 1972. Men's individual competition * Boris Onishenko — 5335 pts (→ Silver medal) *

— 5328 pts (→ Bronze medal) * Vladimir Shmelev — 5302 pts (→ 5th place) Men's team competition *Onishenko, Lednev and Shmelev — 15968 pts (→ Gold medal)

Rowing

The Soviet Union had 26 male rowers participate in all seven

rowing Rowing is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using the sweeping motions of oars to displace water and generate reactional propulsion. Rowing is functionally similar to paddling, but rowing requires oars to be mechanically ...

events in 1972. Men's single sculls * Yury Malyshev :*Heat — 7:42.67 :*Semifinals — 8:13.49 :*Final — 7:10.12 (→ Gold medal) ; Men's coxless pair – 8th place * Vladimir Polyakov * Nikolay Vasilyev ; Men's coxed pair * Vladimir Eshinov, Nikolay Ivanov and

Yuriy Lorentsson Yuriy Evgenevich Lorentsson (russian: Юрий Евгеньевич Лоренцсон, 2 December 1930 – 24 December 2002) was a Russian rowing coxswain. He was the second rower, after Briton Jack Beresford, to compete at five Olympics. In 19 ...

:*Heat — 7:43.84 :*Semifinals — 8:07.34 :*Final — 7:24.44 (→ 5th place) ; Men's coxless four – 4th place * Anatoly Tkachuk * Igor Kashurov * Aleksandr Motin * Vitaly Sapronov ; Men's coxed four – 4th place * Volodymyr Sterlik * Vladimir Solovyov * Aleksandr Lyubaturov * Yury Shamayev *

Igor Rudakov Igor Aleksandrovich Rudakov (russian: Игорь Александрович Рудаков; born 8 October 1934) is a Russian coxswain who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1960, 1964, 1968, and in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He was born in L ...

; Men's eight – 4th place * Aleksandr Ryazankin * Viktor Dementyev * Sergey Kolyaskin * Aleksandr Shitov * Valery Bisarnov * Boris Vorobyov * Vladimir Savelov * Aleksandr Martyshkin * Viktor Mikheyev

Sailing

Shooting

Fourteen male shooters represented the Soviet Union in 1972. Yakiv Zhelezniak won gold, Boris Melnik and Yevgeny Petrov won silvers and Viktor Torshin won a bronze medal. ;

25 m pistol 25 meter pistol, formerly and unofficially still often known as sport pistol, is one of the ISSF shooting events. It was devised as a women's event in the 1960s, based upon the rules of 25 meter center-fire pistol but shot with a .22-caliber spo ...

* Viktor Torshin * Igor Bakalov ;

50 m 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 ...

* Grigory Kosykh * Vladimir Stolypin ; 300 m rifle, three positions * Boris Melnik * Valentin Kornev ; 50 m rifle, three positions * Vladimir Agishev * Vitaly Parkhimovich ; 50 m rifle, prone * Vitaly Parkhimovich * Valentin Kornev ;

50 m running target 50 meter running target or 50 meter running boar is an ISSF shooting event, shot with a .22-calibre rifle at a target depicting a boar moving sideways across a 10-meter wide opening. It was devised as a replacement for 100 meter running deer in th ...

* Yakiv Zhelezniak * Valerii Postoyanov ;

Trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

* Aleksandr Alipov * Aleksandr Androshkin ;

Skeet Skeet may refer to: * Skeet shooting, a discipline of competitive clay pigeon shooting ** ISSF Olympic skeet, a variant used at the Olympic Games People * Skeet Childress (born 1979), American guitar player in the band Look What I Did * Skeet Qu ...

* Yevgeny Petrov * Yury Tsuranov

Swimming

Men's 100m freestyle *

:* Heat — 52.87s :* Semifinals — 52.60s :* Final — 51.77s (→ Bronze medal) * Igor Grivennikov :* Heat — 53.64s :* Semifinals — 53.55s :* Final — 52.44s (→ 6th place) * Georgi Kulikov :* Heat — 53.78s :* Semifinals — 53.68s (→ did not advance) Men's 200m freestyle *

:* Heat — 1:56.15 :* Final — 1:57.24 (→ 7th place) * Viktor Mazanov :* Heat — 1:57.92 (→ did not advance) * Georgi Kulikov :* Heat — 1:57.04 (→ did not advance) Men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay *

, Viktor Mazanov, Viktor Aboimov and Georgy Kulikov :* Heat — 3:32.72 *

, Viktor Mazanov, Viktor Aboimov and Igor Grivennikov :* Final — 3:29.72 (→ Silver medal) Men's 4 × 200 m freestyle relay * Viktor Aboimov, Alexsandr Samsonov, Viktor Mazanov and Georgi Kulikov :* Heat — 7:51.44 * Igor Grivennikov, Viktor Mazanov, Georgi Kulikov and

:* Final — 7:45.76 (→ Bronze medal)

Volleyball

;Men's team competition *Preliminary round (group A) :* Defeated Tunisia (3–0) :* Defeated South Korea (3–0) :* Defeated Bulgaria (3–1) :* Defeated Czechoslovakia (3–0) :* Defeated Poland (3–2) *Semifinals :* Lost to East Germany (1–3) *Bronze medal match :* Defeated Bulgaria (3–0) → Bronze medal *Team roster :* Viktor Borsch :* Vyacheslav Domany :* Vladimir Patkyn :* Leonid Zayko :*

Yuri Starunsky Yury Vasilevich Starunsky (russian: Юрий Васильевич Старунский, April 17, 1945 – December 24, 2010) was a Soviet volleyball player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer ...

:* Alex Saprikyne :*

:* Elim Chulak :* Vladimir Poutyatov :* Valery Kravchenko :*

:* Yuri Poyarkov

Water polo

Weightlifting

Wrestling

Medals by republic

In the following table for team events number of team representatives, who received medals are counted, not "one medal for all the team", as usual. Because there were people from different republics in one team.

Top 5 sports societies

Bibliography

References

* – for medal stats by republic and by sports society {{DEFAULTSORT:Soviet Union At The 1972 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 mean solar tim ...

Summer Olympics 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 ina ...