The 1972 Summer Olympics were held in Munich, West Germany. 29 events in swimming were contested. There were a total of 532 participants from 52 countries competing.

Perhaps the most spectacular athletic events were in swimming. Mark Spitz had a remarkable run, competing in seven events, winning seven Olympic titles and setting seven world records. In 2008, Michael Phelps matched Spitz's feat of setting seven world records in a single Olympics. According to the official Olympic website, "He took part in the 4 × 200 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 five 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 2022, Gould remains the only woman in history to have claimed five medals in solo events in swimming at a single Olympic Games. Another 15-years-old, American Sandy Neilson, won three gold medals.

The Olympic record was broken at least once in all 29 events. In 20 of those events, a new world record was set.

Events The following events were contested (all pool events were long course, and distances are in metres unless otherwise stated):

Freestyle: 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m (women), 1500 m (men) Backstroke: 100 m, 200 m Breaststroke: 100 m, 200 m Butterfly: 100 m, 200 m Individual Medley: 200 m, 400 m Relays: 4 × 100 m free, 4 × 200 m free (men); 4 × 100 m medley

Participating nations 532 swimmers from 52 nations competed.

Medal table

Results Men's events 100 m freestyle 51.22 (WR) 51.65 51.77 200 m freestyle 1:52.78 (WR) 1:53.73 1:53.99 400 m freestyle 4:00.27 (OR) 4:01.94 4:02.64 1500 m freestyle 15:52.58 (WR) 15:58.48 16:09.25 100 m backstroke 56.58 (OR) 57.70 58.35 200 m backstroke 2:02.82 (WR) 2:04.09 2:04.33 100 m breaststroke 1:04.94 (WR) 1:05.43 1:05.61 200 m breaststroke 2:21.55 (WR) 2:23.67 2:23.88 100 m butterfly 54.27 (WR) 55.56 55.74 200 m butterfly 2:00.70 (WR) 2:02.86 2:03.23 200 m individual medley 2:07.17 (WR) 2:08.37 2:08.45 400 m individual medley 4:31.98 (OR) 4:31.98 (OR) 4:32.70 4 × 100 m freestyle relay David EdgarJohn Murphy Jerry Heidenreich Mark Spitz 3:26.42 (WR) Vladimir Bure Viktor MazanovViktor Aboimov Igor Grivennikov 3:29.72 Roland Matthes Wilfried Hartung Peter Bruch Lutz Unger 3:32.424 × 200 m freestyle relay John KinsellaFred Tyler Steve Genter Mark Spitz 7:35.78 (WR) Klaus Steinbach Werner Lampe Hans Vosseler Hans Fassnacht 7:41.69 Igor Grivennikov Viktor Mazanov Georgi Kulikov Vladimir Bure 7:45.76 4 × 100 m medley relay Mike Stamm Tom Bruce Mark Spitz Jerry Heidenreich 3:48.16 (WR) Roland Matthes Klaus Katzur Hartmut Flöckner Lutz Unger 3:52.26 Erik Fish William Mahony Bruce Robertson Robert Kasting 3:53.26

Women's events 100 m freestyle 58.59 (OR) 59.02 59.06 200 m freestyle 2:03.56 (WR) 2:04.33 2:04.92 400 m freestyle 4:19.04 (WR) 4:22.44 4:23.11 800 m freestyle 8:53.68 (WR) 8:56.39 8:57.46 100 m backstroke 1:05.78 (OR) 1:06.26 1:06.34 200 m backstroke 2:19.19 (WR) 2:20.38 2:23.22 100 m breaststroke 1:13.58 (WR) 1:14.99 1:15.73 200 m breaststroke 2:41.05 (OR) 2:42.05 2:42.36 100 m butterfly 1:03.34 (WR) 1:03.61 1:03.73 200 m butterfly 2:15.57 (WR) 2:16.34 2:16.74 200 m individual medley 2:23.07 (WR) 2:23.59 2:24.06 400 m individual medley 5:02.97 (WR) 5:03.57 5:03.99 4 × 100 m freestyle relay Shirley BabashoffJane Barkman Jenny Kemp Sandy Neilson 3:55.19 (WR) Andrea Eife Kornelia Ender Elke Sehmisch Gabriele Wetzko 3:55.55 Gudrun Beckmann Heidemarie Reineck Angela Steinbach Jutta Weber 3:57.93 4 × 100 m medley relay Melissa Belote Cathy Carr Deena Deardurff Sandy Neilson 4:20.75 (WR) Christine Herbst Renate Vogel Roswitha Beier Kornelia Ender 4:24.91 Gudrun Beckmann Vreni Eberle Silke Pielen Heidemarie Reineck 4:26.46

Gallery of the medalists Some of the Olympic medalists in Munich:

References