Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, was held at Olympiastadion on 31 August and 1 September.[1] Eighty-five athletes from 55 nations competed.[2] Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union, the first medal in the men's 100 metres for that nation. Jamaican Lennox Miller, silver medalist four years earlier, became the second man to make the podium twice in the event by taking bronze (after Ralph Metcalfe in 1932 and 1936).
Men's 100 metres at the Games of the XX Olympiad | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Olympiastadion Munich, West Germany | ||||||||||||
Dates | 31 August (heats, quarterfinals) 1 September 1972 (semifinals, final) | ||||||||||||
Competitors | 85 from 55 nations | ||||||||||||
Winning time | 10.14 seconds | ||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
This event is notable for the absence of favourites and world record holders Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson from their quarterfinal heats due to American sprint coach Stan Wright being given the wrong starting time. The three qualified American athletes, Robinson, Hart and Robert Taylor, were at the ABC television headquarters watching what they believed were replays of their morning preliminary races before being informed they were watching live coverage of the races they were scheduled to run in. The athletes rushed to the stadium, but Hart and Robinson, scheduled in the first two races, missed their heats, while Robert Taylor hurried to take off his warm up uniform before running his heat. An appeal by American officials to have Robinson and Hart run in another heat was rejected.