Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics
| 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.
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" [1].
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 |  Japan (JPN) |
2 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 |  Sweden (SWE) |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 |  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
References
- 1972 Summer Olympics results: swimming, from http://www.sports-reference.com/; retrieved 2009-12-05.
