Soviet Union at the 1972 Summer Olympics
The Soviet Union competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 371 competitors, 298 men and 73 women, took part in 180 events in 22 sports.
The Soviet Union won 50 gold medals 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 at the 1972 Summer Olympics">Athletics
- Mykola Avilov — men's decathlon
- Anatoliy Bondarchuk — men's hammer throw
- Valeriy Borzov — men's 100 metres
- Valeriy Borzov — men's 200 metres
- Lyudmila Bragina — women's 1500 metres
- Nadezhda Chizhova — women's shot put
- Faina Melnik — women's discus throw
- Viktor Saneyev — men's triple jump
- Jüri Tarmak — men's high jump
Basketball
- Alzhan Zharmukhamedov, Zurab Sakandelidze, Gennady Volnov, Ivan Yedeshko, Sergei Kovalenko, Modestas Paulauskas, Anatoly Polivoda, Ivan Dvornyi, Mikheil Korkia, Aleksandr Belov, Sergey Belov and Aleksandr Boloshev — men's team competition.
Boxing
- Boris Kuznetsov — men's featherweight
- Vyacheslav Lemeshev — men's 71–75 kg
Canoeing
- Aleksandr Shaparenko — 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, Valery Likhachov 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, Pepel, Ivan Kalita, Ikhor, Ivan Kizimov, Tarif — dressage team
Fencing
- Viktor Sidyak — men's sabre individual
- Svetlana Tširkova, Alexandra Zabelina, Yelena Belova-Novikova, Galina Gorokhova 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 — women's balance beam
- Olga Korbut — women's floor exercises
- Tamara Lazakovich, Elvira Saadi, Lyudmila Turishcheva, Lyubov Burda, Olga Korbut and Antonina Koshel — women's team combined exercises
Judo
- Shota Chochishvili — men's half-heavyweight
Modern pentathlon
- Pavel Lednev, Boris Onyshchenko and Vladimir Shmelyov — men's team competition
Rowing
; Men's single sculls – 1st place; Men's double sculls – 1st place
Sailing
- Vitaly Dyrdyra and Valentyn Mankin — men's tempest class
Shooting
- Yakov Zheleznyak — men's running game target
Volleyball
- Nina Smoleyeva, Tatyana Tretyakova-Ponyaeva, Lyubov Tyurina, Inna Ryskal, 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, Nikolay Melnikov, Leonid Osipov, Aleksandr Shidlovsky, Aleksandr Dreval, Vadim Gulyaev, Aleksandr Kabanov, Anatoly Akimov, Aleksey Barkalov and Aleksandr Dolgushin — men's team competition
Weightlifting
- Mukharby Kirzhinov — men's lightweight
- Jaan Talts — men's heavyweight
- Vasily Alekseyev — men's super heavyweight
Wrestling
- Rustem Kazakov — men's Greco-Roman bantamweight
- Shamil Khisamutdinov — men's Greco-Roman lightweight
- Valery Rezantsev — men's Greco-Roman light heavyweight
- Anatoly Roshchin — men's Greco-Roman super heavyweight
- Roman Dimitriyev — men's freestyle light flyweight
- Zagalav Abdulbekov — men's freestyle featherweight
- Levan Tediashvili — men's freestyle middleweight
- Ivan Yarygin — men's freestyle heavyweight
- Aleksandr Medved — men's freestyle super heavyweight
Silver
Athletics">Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics">Athletics
- Yevgeny Arzhanov — men's 800 metres
- Valeriy Borzov, 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 — men's javelin throw
- Veniamin Soldatenko — men's 50 km walk
- Nijole Sabaite — women's 800 metres
Equestrian
- Yelena Petushkova, her horse Pepel — dressage individual
Fencing
- Leonid Romanov, Vasily Stankovich, Vladimir Denisov, Anatoly Koteshev and Viktor Putyatin — men's foil team
- Viktor Sidyak, Eduard Vinokurov, Viktor Bazhenov, Vladimir Nazlymov and Mark Rakita — men's sabre team
Gymnastics
- Viktor Klimenko — men's long horse vault
- Mikhail Voronin — men's rings
- Eduard Mikaelyan, Vladimir Shchukin, Mikhail Voronin, Viktor Klimenko, Nikolay Andrianov and Aleksandr Maleyev — men's team combined exercises
- Olga Korbut — women's asymmetrical bars
- Tamara Lazakovich — 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 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 — men's Greco-Roman heavyweight
- Arsen Alakhverdiyev — men's freestyle flyweight
- Gennady Strakhov — men's freestyle light heavyweight
Bronze
Archery">Archery at the 1972 Summer Olympics">Archery
- Emma Gaptchenko — women's individual competition
Athletics
- Vasily Khmelevski — men's hammer throw
Cycling
- Omar Pkhakadze — men's 1000m sprint
Fencing
- Vladimir Nazlymov — men's sabre individual
- Galina Gorokhova — women's foil individual
- Igor Valetov, Georgi Zažitski, Grigory Kriss, Viktor Modzalevsky and Sergey Paramonov — men's épée team
Football (soccer)
- Gennady Yevryuzhikhin, Oganes Zanazanyan, Vyacheslav Semyonov, Andrei Yakubik, Yury Yeliseyev, Vladimir Pilguy, Yevgeny Rudakov, Yozhef Sabo, Yevgeny Lovchev, Sergei Olshansky, Vladimir Onishchenko, Viktor Kolotov, Anatoly Kuksov, Yury Istomin, Vladimir Kaplichnyi, Murtaz Khurtsilava, Arkady Andriasyan, Oleg Blokhin and Revaz Dzodzuashvili — men's team competition
Gymnastics
- Nikolay Andrianov — men's long horse vault
- Tamara Lazakovich — women's all-around individual
- Lyudmila Turishcheva — women's side horse vault
- Tamara Lazakovich — women's floor exercises
Judo
- Anatoly Novikov — men's half middleweight
- Givi Onashvili — men's heavyweight
Modern pentathlon
- Pavel Lednev — men's individual competition
Sailing
- Viktor Potapov — men's Finn class
Shooting
- Viktor Torshin — men's rapid-fire pistol
Swimming
- Vladimir Bure — men's 100m freestyle
- Viktor Mazanov, Vladimir Bure, 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 Kondra, Valery Kravchenko, Yevgeny Lapinsky, Viktor Borshch, Yefim Chulak and Vyatcheslav Domanyi — men's team competition
Weightlifting
- Gennady Chetin — men's bantamweight
Wrestling
- Ruslan Ashuraliyev — men's freestyle lightweight
Results by event
Archery
Women's individual competition:- Emma Gaptchenko — 2403 points
- Keto Lossaberidze — 2402 points
- Alla Peounova — 2364 points
- Victor Sidorouk — 2427 points
- Mikhail Peounov 2397 points
- Mati Vaikjärv — 2363 points
Athletics
Men's 100 metresMen's 800 metres
- Yevgeny Arzhanov → Silver medal
- Ivan Ivanov
- Yevgeni Volkov
Men's 5000 metres
Men's 4 × 100 m relay
Men's high jump
Women's javelin throw
Basketball
;Men's team competition- Preliminary round
- Semifinals
- '''Final'''
Boxing
Men's light middleweightMen's heavyweight
- Yuri Nesterov
Cycling
Fifteen cyclists represented the Soviet Union in 1972.;Individual road race
- Valery Likhachov — 34th place
- Anatoly Starkov — 35th place
- Valery Yardy — did not finish
- Ivan Trifonov — did not finish
;Sprint
;1000m time trial
;Tandem
- Igor Tselovalnikov and Vladimir Semenets — Gold medal
Diving
Men's 3m springboard- Vladimir Vasin – 594.09 points
- Viacheslav Strahov – 556.20 points
- Vladimir Kapirulin – 329.46 points
- David Ambarzumian – 463.56 points
- Vladimir Kapirullin – 459.21 points
- Aleksander Gendrikson – 431.04 points
- Natalia Kusnecova – 258.45 points
- Tatjana Shtyreva – 252.42 points
- Tamara Safonova – 252.09 points
- Alla Seiina – 314.76 points
- Natalia Kuznecova – 184.02 points
- Tatjana Shtyreva – 177.33 points
Fencing
20 fencers, 15 men and 5 women, represented the Soviet Union in 1972.;Men's foil
;Men's team foil
;Men's épée
;Men's team épée
;Men's sabre
;Men's team sabre
;Women's foil
;Women's team foil
- Yelena Novikova-Belova, Galina Gorokhova, Aleksandra Zabelina, Svetlana Tširkova, Tatyana Petrenko-Samusenko
Handball
;Men's team competitionThe Soviet team came away from the three-game opening round with no losses, but only one win. Ties with Denmark and Sweden and a win over Poland 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 that put the team on top of the division. However, their subsequent loss to Czechoslovakia dropped them to third in the group. This meant that they played in a game for fifth and sixth place against host nation West Germany. Their win was little consolation for being eliminated from medal contention.
Men's team competition:
- Soviet Union – 5th place
- '''Team roster'''
Modern pentathlon
Three male pentathletes represented the Soviet Union in 1972.Men's individual competition
- Boris Onishenko — 5335 pts
- Pavel Lednev — 5328 pts
- Vladimir Shmelev — 5302 pts
- Onishenko, Lednev and Shmelev — 15968 pts
Rowing
The Soviet Union had 26 male rowers participate in all seven rowing events in 1972.Men's single sculls
; Men's coxless pair – 8th place
; Men's coxed pair
; Men's coxless four – 4th place
; Men's coxed four – 4th place
; Men's eight – 4th place
- Aleksandr Ryazankin
- Viktor Dementyev
- Sergey Kolyaskin
- Aleksandr Shitov
- Valery Bisarnov
- Boris Vorobyov
- Vladimir Savelov
- Aleksandr Martyshkin
- Viktor Mikheyev
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
;50 m pistol
;300 m rifle, three positions
;50 m rifle, three positions
;50 m rifle, prone
;50 m running target
;Trap
;Skeet
Swimming
Men's 100m freestyleMen's 200m freestyle
Men's 4 × 100 m freestyle relay
- Vladimir Bure, Viktor Mazanov, Viktor Aboimov and Georgy Kulikov
- Vladimir Bure, Viktor Mazanov, Viktor Aboimov and Igor Grivennikov
- Viktor Aboimov, Alexsandr Samsonov, Viktor Mazanov and Georgi Kulikov
- Igor Grivennikov, Viktor Mazanov, Georgi Kulikov and Vladimir Bure
Volleyball
;Men's team competition- Preliminary round
- Semifinals
- Bronze medal match
- '''Team roster'''
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
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 sports societies in one team.| Pos | Sports society | Total | |||
| 1 | Armed Forces | 33 | 18 | 18 | 69 |
| 2 | Dynamo | 28 | 10 | 16 | 54 |
| 3 | VSS Burevestnik | 11 | 6 | 5 | 22 |
| 4 | VSS Spartak | 9 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| 5 | VSS Trud | 7 | 1 | 1 | 9 |