Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics
| Swimming at the Games of the XX Olympiad | |
| Competitors | 532 from 52 nations |
|---|---|
| Swimming events at the 1972 Summer Olympics  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freestyle | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | women | ||
| 800 m | women | |||
| 1500 m | men | |||
| Backstroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Breaststroke | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Butterfly | ||||
| 100 m | men | women | ||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| Individual medley | ||||
| 200 m | men | women | ||
| 400 m | men | women | ||
| Freestyle relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | men | women | ||
| 4×200 m | men | |||
| Medley relay | ||||
| 4×100 m | men | women | ||
The 1972 Summer Olympics were held in Munich, West Germany, 29 events in swimming were contested. There was a total of 532 participants from 52 countries competing.[1]
Perhaps the most spectacular athletic events were in swimming. Mark Spitz of the United States had a spectacular run, lining up for seven events, winning seven Olympic titles and setting seven world records. The seven world records in a single Olympic meet was tied by Michael Phelps in 2008. According to the official Olympic website, "He took part in the 4x200 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 of Australia won 5 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 terms of records, the Olympic record was broken at least once in all 29 events. In 20 of those events, there was a new world record set.
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) | 17 | 14 | 12 | 43 |
| 2 |  Australia (AUS) | 6 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 |  East Germany (GDR) | 2 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| 4 | .svg.png){kind=small} Japan (JPN) | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 |  Sweden (SWE) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | .svg.png){kind=small} Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 7 |  Canada (CAN) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 8 |  West Germany (FRG) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 9 |  Italy (ITA) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 Hungary (HUN) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 11 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Medal summary
Men's events
Women's events
Participating nations
532 swimmers from 52 nations competed.[1]
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References
- 1 2 "Swimming at the 1972 Munich Summer Games". Sports Reference. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
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