The 1976 Montreal Olympics saw the Soviet Union dominate with 49 gold medals while host Canada became the first host nation to win zero gold medals.
Key Facts
- Total athletes
- 6,084
- Participating countries
- 92
- Soviet Union gold medals
- 49 medals
- Soviet Union total medals
- 125 medals
- African countries boycotting
- 28 countries
- Events contested
- 198 events in 23 sports
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Twenty-eight African nations boycotted the Games because New Zealand's All Blacks rugby team had continued to tour apartheid South Africa, which had been banned from the Olympic movement since 1964. The African countries demanded New Zealand's exclusion from the Games, and when the IOC refused, they withdrew.
The Games of the XXI Olympiad were held in Montreal, Canada, from July 17 to August 1, 1976, with 6,084 athletes from 92 countries competing across 198 events in 23 sports. The Soviet Bloc dominated the medal standings, with the USSR and Eastern European states occupying seven of the top ten positions. Nikolai Andrianov of the Soviet Union won seven medals, the most of any individual athlete.
Canada became the first and still only host nation to win zero gold medals, finishing 27th overall — the worst result ever for a host country. The Games also proved a severe financial burden on Montreal. Thailand and Bermuda won their first-ever Olympic medals, with Bermuda becoming the smallest nation to win a Summer Olympic gold, a distinction retained until the 2020 Tokyo Games.