'''Olympiska sommarspelen  1976''' var de tjugoförsta i ordningen i modern tid och genomfördes i nyzeeländska rugbylandslaget hade turnerat i Sydafrika. Trots att rugbyfotboll inte var olympisk sport och trots att Sydafrika varit uteslutet från OS sedan 1964 sattes bojkotten i verket. 22 afrikanska länder (bland dem löparnationerna Kenya och Etiopien), tillsammans med Guyana, utblev från spelen.

{| border="1" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" align="right"
|----- bgcolor="#efefef"
| colspan="2" | '''De XXI olympiska sommarspelen'''
|-----
| Deltagande nationer || 92
|-----
| Tävlande
| 6 028 (1 247kvinnor<br> och 4 781 män)
|-----
| Grenar || 198 i 21 sporter
|-----
| Öppningsceremoni || 17 juli 1976
|-----
| Avslutningsceremoni || 1 augusti 1976
|-----
| Officiellt öppnade av || Drottning Elizabeth II
|-----
| Deltagarnas ed av || Pierre St-Jean
|-----
| Funktionärernas ed av || Maurice Fauget
|-----
| Olympiska elden tändes av
| Stéphane Préfontaine och <br>Sandra Henderson
|}

thumb|Olympiska sommarspelen var under [[1970-talet och 1980-talet svårt drabbade av diverse politiska bojkotter.]]

==Att notera==
thumb|200px|Olympiastadion
*För första gången öppnades basket, handboll och rodd för damer.
*Nadja Comaneci, 14-årig gymnast från Rumänien fick sammanlagt sju gånger 10,0 i gymnastik och tog tre guld.
*I simgrenarna vann USA:s herrar tolv av tretton grenar - på damsidan var Östtyskland dominant, elva av tretton grensegrar.
*Klaus Dibiasi, italiensk simhoppare tog sin tredje raka guldmedalj i höga hopp.
*Sovjets brottare var av högsta klass. Man hade tjugo tävlande, varav arton tog medalj - därav tolv guld.
*'''Viktor Sanejev''', sovjetrysk trestegshoppare tog sin tredje raka guldmedalj.
*'''Miklos Németh''', ungersk spjutkastare följde i sin fars fotspår. Fadern Imre Németh tog guld i slägga 1948.
*Alberto Juantorena, Kuba vann såväl 400 m som 800 m.
*Lasse Virén, Finland vann 5 000m och 10 000 m. Han försvarade därigenom sina segrar från 1972.
*Sveriges Bernt Johansson blev en av de mest uppmärksammade vinnarna. TV-bilderna från linjeloppet på cykel där han ensam körde mot mål eskorterad av en mängd motorcykelpoliser vilka formationskörde som ett V-tecken framför honom, gick ut över hela världen.
*Boxaren '''Payao Pooltarat''' tog första OS-medaljen någonsin, för Thailand. Det blev en bronsmedalj i lätt flugvikt.

==Sporter==

{| width="100%"
| width="33%" |

*Basket
*Boxning
*Brottning
*Bågskytte
*Cykling
*Fotboll
*Friidrott
*Fäktning
*Gymnastik
| width="33%" |
*Handboll
*Judo
*Kanot/kajak
*Landhockey
*Modern femkamp
*Ridsport
*Rodd
*Segling
| valign="top" width="33%" |
*Simning
**Simhopp
**Vattenpolo
*Skytte
*Tyngdlyftning
*Volleyboll
|}<br clear=all>

==Samtliga medaljörer==

===Basketboll===
====Herrar====
*1 USA
*2 Jugoslavien
*3 Sovjetunionen
====Damer====
*1 Sovjetunionen
*2 USA
*3 Bulgarien

===Boxning===
**Lätt flugvikt
*1 Jorge Hernández, Kuba
*2 Byung-ok Li, Nordkorea
*3 Orlando Maldonado, Puerto Rico & 
*3 Payao Pooltarat, Thailand
**Flugvikt
*1 Leo Randolph, USA 
*2 Ramón Duvalón, Kuba
*3 Leszek Blazynski, Polen &
*3 Davit Torosian, Sovjetunionen	
**Bantamvikt
*1 Yong-ju Gu, Nordkorea
*2 Charles Mooney, USA
*3 Pat Coedwll, Storbritannien &
*3 Viktor Rybakov, Sovjetunionen
**Fjädervikt
*1 Ángel Herrera, Kuba
*2 Richard Nowakowski, DDR
*3 Leszek Kosedowski, Polen &
*3 Juan Paredes, Mexiko
**Lättvikt
*1 Howard Davis, USA
*2 Simion Cutov, Rumänien
*3 Ace Rusevski, Jugoslavien &
*3 Vasilij Solomin, Sovjetunionen
**Lätt weltervikt
*1 ”Sugar” Ray Leonard, USA
*2 Andrés Aldama, Kuba
*3 Vladimir Kolev, Bulgarien &
*3 Kazimierz Szczerba, Polen
**Weltervikt
*1 Jochen Bachfeld, DDR
*2 Pedro Gamarro, Venezuela
*3 Reinhard Skricek, Västtyskland &
*3 Victor Zilbermann, Rumänien
**Lätt mellanvikt
*1 Jerzy Rybicki, Polen
*2 Tadija Kacar, Jugoslavien
*3 Rolando Garbay, Kuba &
*3 Viktor Savtjenko, Sovjetunionen
**Mellanvikt
*1 Michael Spinks, USA
*2 Rufat Riskiev, Sovjetunionen
*3 Luis Martínez, Kuba &
*3 Alec Nastac, Rumänien
**Lätt tungvikt
*1 Leon Spinks, USA
*2 Sixto Soria, Kuba
*3 Costica Dafinoiu, Rumänien &
*3 Janusz Gortat, Polen
**Tungvikt
*1 Teófilo Stevenson, Kuba
*2 Mircea Simon, Rumänien
*3 Clarence Hill, Bermudas &
*3 Johnny Tate, USA
===Brottning===
====Grekisk-romersk stil====
**Lätt flugvikt
*1 Aleksej Sjumakov, Sovjetunionen
*2 Gheorghe Berceanu, Rumänien
*3 Stefan Angelov, Bulgarien
**Flugvikt
*1 Vitalij Konstantinov, Sovjetunionen
*2 Nicu Ginga, Rumänien
*3 Koichiro Hirayama, Japan
**Bantamvikt
*1 Pertti Ukkola, Finland
*2 Ivan Frgic, Jugoslavien
*3 Farhat Mustafin, Sovjetunionen
**Fjädervikt
*1 Kazimierz Lipien, Polen
*2 Nelson Davidian, Sovjetunionen
*3 László Réczi, Ungern
**Lättvikt
*1 Suren Nalbandian, Sovjetunionen
*2 Stefan Rusu, Rumänien
*3 Heinz-Helmuth Wehling, DDR
**Weltervikt
*1 Anatolij Bykov, Sovjetunionen
*2 Vitezlav Mácha, Tjeckoslovakien
*3 Karl-Heinz Helbing, Västtyskland
**Mellanvikt
*1 Momir Petkovic, Jugoslavien
*2 Vladimir Tjeboksarov, Sovjetunionen
*3 Ivan Kolev, Bulgarien
**Lätt tungvikt
*1 Valerij Rezantsev, Sovjetunionen
*2 Stoyan Ivanov, Bulgarien
*3 Czes&#322;aw Kwiecinski, Polen
**Tungvikt
*1 Nikolaj Balbosjin, Sovjetunionen
*2 Kamen Goranov, Bulgarien
*3 Andrzej Skrzydlewski, Polen
**Supertungvikt
*1 Aleksandr Koltjinskij, Sovjetunionen 
*2 Alexander Tomov, Bulgarien
*3 Roman Codreanu, Rumänien
====Fri stil====
**Lätt flugvikt
*1 Hasan Isaev, Bulgarien
*2 Roman Dmitrijev, Sovjetunionen
*3 Akira Kudo, Japan
**Flugvikt
*1 Yuji Takada, Japan
*2 Aleksandr Ivanov, Sovjetunionen
*3 Hae-sup Jeon, Sydkorea
**Bantamvikt
*1 Vladimir Jumin, Sovjetunionen
*2 Hans-Dieter Brüchert, DDR
*3 Masao Arai, Japan
**Fjädervikt
*1 Jung-mo Yang, Sydkorea
*2 Zevegin Oidov, Mongoliet
*3 Gene Davis, USA
**Lättvikt
*1 Pavel Pinigin, Sovjetunionen
*2 Lloyd Keaser, USA
*3 Yasaburo Sugawara, Japan
**Weltervikt
*1 Jiichire Date, Japan
*2 Mansour Barzegar, Iran
*3 Stanley Dzidzic, USA
**Mellanvikt
*1 John Peterson, USA
*2 Viktor Novozjilov, Sovjetunionen
*3 Adolf Seger, Västtyskland
**Lätt tungvikt
*1 Levan Tediasjvili, Sovjetunionen
*2 Ben Peterson, USA
*3 Stelica Morcov, Rumänien
**Tungvikt
*1 Ivan Jarygin, Sovjetunionen
*2 Russ Hellickson, USA
*3 Dino Kostov, Bulgarien
**Supertungvikt
*1 Soslan Andijev, Sovjetunionen
*2 József Balla, Ungern
*3 Ladislau Simon, Rumänien

===Bågskytte===

**Herrar
*1 Darrell Pace, USA
*2 Hiroshi Michinaga, Japan
*3 Giancarlo Ferrari, Italien
**Damer
*1 Luann Ryon, USA
*2 Valentina Kovpan, Sovjetunionen
*3 Zebeniso Rustanova, Sovjetunionen

===Cykel===
**Landsvägslopp, individuellt
*1 Bernt Johansson, Sverige
*2 Giuseppe Martinelli, Italien
*3 Mieczys&#322;aw Nowicki, Polen
**Lagtempo
*1 Sovjetunionen
*2 Polen
*3 Danmark
**1 000 m tempolopp
*1 Klaus-Jürgen Grünke, DDR
*2 Michel Vaarten, Belgien
*3 Niels Fredborg, Danmark
**1 000 m sprint
*1 Anton Tkác, Tjeckoslovakien
*2 Daniel Morelon, Frankrike
*3 Hans-Jürgen Geschke, DDR
**4 000 m förföljelselopp, individuellt
*1 Georg Braun, Västtyskland
*2 Herman Ponsteen, Nederländerna
*3 Thomas Huschke, DDR
**4 000 m förföljelselopp, lag
*1 Västtyskland
*2 Sovjetunionen
*3 Storbritannien

===Fotboll===
*1 DDR
*2 Polen
*3 Sovjetunionen

===Friidrott===
====Herrar====
**100 m
*1 Haseley Crawford, Trinidad – 10,06
*2 Don Quarrie, Jamaica – 10,07
*3 Valerij Borzov, Sovjetunionen – 10,14
**200 m
*1 Don Quarrie, Jamaica – 20,22
*2 Millard Hampton, USA – 20,29
*3 Dwayne Evans, USA – 20,43
**400 m
*1 Alberto Juantorena, Kuba – 44,26
*2 Fred Newhouse, USA – 44,40
*3 Herman Frazier, USA – 44,95
**800 m
*1 Alberto Juantorena, Kuba – 1.43,50
*2 Ivo Van Damme, Belgien – 1.43,86
*3 Rick Wohlhuter, USA – 1.44,12
**1 500 m
*1 John Walker, Nya Zeeland – 3.39,17
*2 Ivo Van Damme, Belgien – 3.39,27
*3 Paul-Heinz Wellmann, Västtyskland – 3.39,33
**5 000 m
*1 Lasse Virén, Finland – 13.24,76
*2 Dick Quax, Nya Zeeland – 13.25,16
*3 Klaus-Peter Hildenbrand, Västtyskland – 13.25,38
**10 000 m
*1 Lasse Virén, Finland – 27.40,38
*2 Carlos Lopez, Portugal – 27.45,17
*3 Brendan Foster, Storbritannien – 27.54,92
**Maraton
*1 Waldemar Cierpinski, DDR – 2:09.55
*2 Frank Shorter, USA – 2:10.46
*3 Karel Lismont, Belgien – 2:11.13
**Häck 110 m
*1 Guy Drut, Frankrike – 13,30
*2 Alejandro Casañas. Kuba – 13,33
*3 Willie Davenport, USA – 13,38
**Häck 400 m
*1 Edwin Moses, USA – 47,63
*2 Mike Shine, USA – 48,69
*3 Jevgenij Gavrilenko, Sovjetunionen – 49,45
**3 000 m hinder
*1 Anders Gärderud, Sverige – 8.08,02
*2 Bronislaw Malinowski, Polen – 8.09,11
*3 Frank Baumgardt, DDR – 8.10,36
**4 x 100 m
*1 USA – 38,33
*2 DDR – 38,66
*3 Sovjetunionen – 38,78
**4 x 400 m
*1 USA – 2.58,65
*2 Polen – 3.01,43
*3 Västtyskland – 3.01,98
**Gång 20 km
*1 Daniel Bautista, Mexiko – 1:24.41
*2 Hans-Georg Reimann, DDR – 1:25.14
*3 Peter Fränkel, DDR – 1:25.30
**Gång 50 km
Ingen tävling
**Längdhopp
*1 Arnie Robinson, USA – 8,35
*2 Randy Williams, USA – 8,11
*3 Frank Wartenberg, DDR – 8,02
**Höjdhopp
*1 Jacek Wszola, Polen – 2,25
*2 Greg Joy, Kanada – 2,23
*3 Dwight Stones, USA – 2,21
**Trestegshopp
*1 Viktor Sanejev, Sovjetunionen – 17,29
*2 James Butts, USA – 17,18
*3 Joäo Carlos de Oliveira, Brasilien – 16,90
**Stavhopp
*1 Tadeuz Slusarsky, Polen – 5,50
*2 Antti Kalliomäki, Finland – 5,50
*3 Dave Roberts,USA – 5,50
**Kulstötning
*1 Udo Beyer, DDR – 21,05
*2 Jevgenij Mironov, Sovjetunionen – 21,03
*3 Aleksandr Barysjnikov, Sovjetunionen – 21,00
**Diskuskastning
*1 Mac Wilkins, USA – 67,50
*2 Wolfgang Schmidt, DDR – 66,22
*3 John Powell, USA – 65,70
**Släggkastning
*1 Jurij Sedych, Sovjetunionen – 77,52
*2 Aleksej Spiridonov, Sovjetunionen – 76,08
*3 Anatolij Bondartjuk, Sovjetunionen – 75,48
**Spjutkastning
*1 Miklós Németh, Ungern – 94,58
*2 Hannu Siitonen, Finland – 87,92
*3 Gheorghe Megelea, Rumänien – 87,16
**Tiokamp
*1 Bruce Jenner, USA – 8 618
*2 Guido Kratschmer, Västtyskland – 8 411
*3 Nikolaj Vvilov, Sovjetunionen – 8 369

====Damer====
**100 m
*1 Annegret Richter, Västtyskland – 11,08
*2 Renate Stecher, DDR – 11,13
*3 Inge Helten, Västtyskland – 11,17
**200 m
*1 Bärbel Eckert, DDR – 22,37
*2 Annegret Richter, Västtyskland – 22,39
*3 Renate Stecher, DDR – 22,47
**400 m
*1 Irena Szewinska, Polen – 49,28
*2 Christina Brehmer, DDR – 50,51
*3 Ellen Streidt, DDR – 50,55
**800 m
*1 Tatjana Kazankina, Sovjetunionen – 1.54,94
*2 Nikolina Sjtereva, Bulgarien – 1.55,42
*3 Elfi Zinn, DDR – 1.55,60
**1 500 m
*1 Tatjana Kazankina, Sovjetunionen – 4.05,48
*2 Gunhild Hoffmeister, DDR – 4.06,02
*3 Ulrike Klapezynski, DDR – 4.06,09
**100 m häck
*1 Johanna Schaller, DDR – 12,77
*2 Tatjana Anisimova, Sovjetunionen – 12,78
*3 Natalja Lebedeva, Sovjetunionen – 12,80
**4 x 100 m
*1 DDR – 42,55
*2 Västtyskland – 42,59
*3 Sovjetunionen – 43,09
**4 x 400 m
*1 DDR – 3.19,23
*2 USA – 3.22,81
*3 Sovjetunionen – 3.24,24
**Höjdhopp
*1 Rosemarie Ackermann, DDR – 1,93
*2 Sara Simeoni, Italien – 1,91
*3 Jordanka Blagoeva, Bulgarien – 1,91
**Längdhopp
*1 Angela Voigt, DDR – 6,72
*2 Kathy McMillan, USA – 6,66
*3 Lidija Alfejeva, Sovjetunionen – 6,60
**Kulstötning
*1 Ivanka Christova, Bulgarien – 21,16
*2 Nadezjda Tjizjova, Sovjetunionen – 20,96
*3 Helena Fibingerová, Tjeckoslovakien – 20,67
**Diskuskastning
*1 Evelin Schlaak, DDR – 69,00
*2 Maria Vergova, Bulgarien – 67,30
*3 Gabriele Hinzmann, DDR – 66,84
**Spjutkastning
*1 Ruth Fuchs, DDR – 65,94
*2 Marion Becker, Västtyskland – 64,70
*3 Kate Schmidt, USA – 63,96
**Femkamp
*1 Sigrun Siegl, DDR – 4 745
*2 Christine Laser, DDR – 4 745
*3 Burglinde Pollack, DDR – 4 740

===Fäktning===
====Herrar====
**Florett, individuellt
*1 Fabio Dal Zotto Italien
*2 Aleksandr Romankov, Sovjetunionen
*3 Bernard Talvard, Frankrike
**Florett, lag
*1 Västtyskland
*2 Italien
*3 Frankrike
**Värja, individuellt
*1 Alexander Pusch, Västtyskland
*2 Jürgen Hehn, Västtyskland
*3 Gyözö Kulcsár, Ungern
**Värja, lag
*1 Sverige
*2 Västtyskland
*3 Schweiz
**Sabel, individuellt
*1 Viktor Krovopuskov, Sovjetunionen
*2 Vladimir Nazlymov, Sovjetunionen
*3 Viktor Sidjak, Sovjetunionen
**Sabel, lag
*1 Sovjetunionen
*2 Italien
*3 Rumänien

====Damer====
**Florett
*1 Ildikó Schwarczenberger, Ungern
*2 Maria Consolata Collino, Italien
*3 Jelena Belova Novikova, Sovjetunionen
**Florett, lag
*1 Sovjetunionen
*2 Frankrike
*3 Ungern

===Gymnastik===
====Herrar====
**Mångkamp, individuellt
*1 Nikolaj Andrianov, Sovjetunionen
*2 Sawao Kato, Japan
*3 Mitsuo Sukahara, Japan
**Mångkamp, lag
*1 Japan
*2 Sovjetunionen
*3 DDR
**Räck
*1 Mitsuo Tsukahara, Japan
*2 Eizo Kenmotsu, japan
*3 Henri Boerïo, Frankrike
*3 Eberhard Gienger, Västtyskland
**Barr
*1 Sawao Kato, Japan
*2 Nikolaj Andrianov, Sovjetunionen
*3 Mitsuo Tsukahara, Japan
**Hopp
*1 Nikolaj Andrianov, Sovjetunionen
*2 Mitsuo Tsukahara, Japan
*3 Hiroshi Kajijama, Japan
**Bygelhäst
*1 Zóltan Magyar, Ungern
*2 Eizo Kenmotsu, japan
*3 Nikolaj Andrianov, Sovjetunionen
*3 Michael Nikolay, DDR
**Ringar
*1 Nikolaj Andrianov, Sovjetunionen
*2 Aleksandr Dityatin, Sovjetunionen
*3 Ji&#345;í Tabák, Tjeckoslovakien
*3 Mitch Gaylord, USA
**Fristående
*1 Nikolaj Andrianov, Sovjetunionen
*2 Vladimir Martjenko, Sovjetunionen
*3 Peter Kormann, USA

====Damer====
**Mångkamp, individuellt
*1 Nadia Comaneci, Rumänien
*2 Nelli Kim, Sovjetunionen
*3 Ljudmila Turistjeva, Sovjetunionen
**Mångkamp, lag
*1 Sovjetunionen
*2 Rumänien
*3 DDR
**Barr
*1 Nadia Comaneci, Rumänien
*2 Teodora Ungureanu, Rumänien
*3 Márta Egervári, Ungern
**Bom
*1 Nadia Comaneci, Rumänien
*2 Olga Korbut, Sovjetunionen
*3 Teodora Ungureanu, Rumänien
**Hopp
*1 Nelli Kim, Sovjetunionen
*2 Ljudmila Turistjeva, Sovjetunionen
*2 Carola Dombeck, DDR
*Fristående
**1 Nelli Kim, Sovjetunionen
*2 Ljudmila Turistjeva, Sovjetunionen
*3 Nadia Comaneci, Rumänien

===Handboll===
====Herrar====
*1 Sovjetunionen
*2 Rumänien
*3 Polen
====Damer====
*1 Sovjetunionen
*2 DDR
*3 Ungern

{{Olympics infobox|1976|Summer |
 Name = Games of the XXI Olympiad |
 Logo = 1976summerolympicslogo.png|center|250px|1976 Summer Olympics|
 Size = 150 |
 Optional caption = |
 Host city = Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
 Nations participating = 92 |
 Athletes participating = 6,028 (4,781 men, 1,247 women) |
 Events = 198 in 21 sports|
 Opening ceremony = July 17, 1976|
 Closing ceremony = August 1, 1976 |
 Officially opened by = Queen Elizabeth II of Canada|
 Athlete's Oath = Pierre St.-Jean |
 Judge's Oath = Maurice Fauget |
 Olympic Torch = Stéphane Préfontaine and <br /> Sandra Henderson |
 Stadium = Stade Olympique 
}}
The '''1976 Summer Olympics''', officially known as the '''Games of the XXI Olympiad''', were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1976 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. These are the summer Olympic Games organized by the International Olympic Committee. 

==Bidding==
Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, Netherlands, over the bids of Moscow and Los Angeles, which later hosted the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games respectively. The vote count results here are compliments of [http://www.aldaver.com/votes.html the International Olympic Committee Vote History] web page. According to it, as well, there was one blank vote in the second and final round.

{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|-
! colspan="7" | 1976 Summer Olympics Bidding Results
|-
| '''City'''
| '''NOC Name'''
| bgcolor="" |'''Round 1'''
| bgcolor="" |'''Round 2'''
|-
||Montreal, Quebec||
||25||'''41'''
|-
||Moscow||
||'''28'''||28
|-
||Los Angeles, California||
||17||-

|}

== Highlights ==
* The Games were opened by Queen Elizabeth II (as head of state of Canada) and the several members of the Royal Family attended the opening ceremonies.
* Canada, the host country, left with only five silver and six bronze medals. It was the first and only time to date in Olympic history that the host country of the Summer Games won no gold medals. This feat had occurred previously only in the Winter Games — 1924 in Chamonix, France and 1928 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. This later occurred at the 1984 Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, and once more for Canada at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary.
* Republic of China (Taiwan) withdrew after Canada informed them that they could not compete under the name "Republic of China". This was done because Canada officially recognized the People's Republic of China. Canada did try to compromise by saying that the people of the Republic of China could retain their national flag and anthem, but they refused. 
* In protest at a tour of Congo's official Jean Claude Ganga led a boycott of 28 IOC refused to bar the New Zealand team. Some of the nations (including Morocco, Cameroon and Egypt) had already participated, however, as the teams withdrew only after the first day. From Southern and Central Africa, only Senegal and Ivory Coast took part. Both Iraq and Guyana also opted to join the Congolese-led boycott.
* Because of the Winter games in Innsbruck, Austria, though far lower than the norm for today's Olympic Games.
* The Olympics were a financial disaster for Montreal, as the city faced debts for 30 years after the Games had finished. The Olympic Stadium, a daring design of French architect Roger Taillibert, remains a lasting monument to the huge deficit and as such is known as the Big Owe; it never had an effective retractable roof, and the tower was completed only after the Olympics. In December 2006 the stadium's costs were finally paid in full.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2006/12/19/qc-olympicstadium.html Quebec's Big Owe stadium debt is over<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The total expenditure (including repairs, renovations, construction, interest, and inflation) amounted to C$1.61&nbsp;billion.  
* The Olympic Flame was "electronically" transmitted via satellite from Athens to Ottawa, by means of an electronic pulse derived from the actual burning flame. From Ottawa, it was carried by hand to Montreal. After a rainstorm doused the Olympic flame a few days after the games had opened, an official relit the flame using his cigarette lighter. Organizers quickly doused it again and relit it using a backup of the original flame. 
* 14-year-old Nadia Comăneci of Romania scored seven perfect 10s and won three gold medals, including the prestigious All Around. The score board could hold only 3 digits and the score was shown as 1.00. In women's gymnastics three gold medals were also won by Nellie Kim of USSR. Nikolai Andrianov of USSR won four gold medals, including All Around, in men's gymnastics.
* Soviet Union) won his third consecutive triple jump gold medal, while Klaus Dibiasi of Italy did the same in the platform diving event.
* marathon, thereby failing to equal Emil Zátopek's 1952 achievements.
* Boris Onischenko, a member of the Soviet Union's modern pentathlon team, was disqualified after it was discovered that he had rigged his épée to register a hit when there wasn't one. Because of this, the USSR modern pentathlon team was disqualified. Onischenko earned the enmity of other Soviet Olympic team members: for example, USSR volleyball team members threatened to throw him out of the hotel's window if they met him.
* Women's events were introduced in handball and rowing.
* Five American boxers - Sugar Ray Leonard, Leon Spinks, Michael Spinks, Leo Randolph and Howard Davis Jr. won gold medals in boxing. This has been often called the greatest Olympic boxing team the United States ever had, and, out of the five American gold medalists in boxing, all but Davis went on to become professional world champions.
* Princess Anne of the sex test. She was a member of her country's equestrian team.
*Japanese gymnast Shun Fujimoto performed on a broken right knee, and helped the Japanese team win the gold medal for the team championship. Fujimoto broke his leg on the floor exercise, and due to the closeness in the overall standings with the USSR, he hid the extent of the injury. With a broken knee, Fujimoto was able to complete his event on the rings, performing a perfect triple somersault dismount, maintaining perfect posture. He scored a 9.7 thus securing gold for Japan. Years later, when asked if he would do it again, he stated bluntly "No, I would not."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics2000/fans_guide/883355.stm "Fujimoto caps Japanese success"], BBC, September 29, 2000</ref>
*The East German women's swim team won all but two gold medals, though it was later learned that most of these women had been subject to testosterone injections by their own coaches and superiors. (See Doping (sport)).
*Luann Ryan won the women's Archery gold for the USA; Ryan had never before competed at international level.

== Venues ==
right|thumb|The Olympic Village as it appears today. 
=== Montreal Olympic Park ===
* Olympic Stadium - opening/closing ceremonies, athletics, football/soccer finals, equestrian events
* Olympic Pool - swimming, diving, water polo
* Olympic Velodrome - cycling, judo
* Maurice Richard Arena - wrestling, boxing
* Centre Pierre Charbonneau - wrestling
* Olympic Village (Montreal) - athletes' residences

=== Venues in Greater Montreal ===
* Olympic Basin, Notre Dame Island - rowing, canoeing
* Claude Robillard Centre - handball, water polo
* Étienne Desmarteau Centre - basketball
* St. Michel Arena - weightlifting
* Paul Sauvé Centre - volleyball
* The Forum - gymnastics, handball, basketball, volleyball, boxing
* Winter Stadium (Montreal), Université de Montréal - fencing
* Molson Stadium, McGill University - field hockey

=== Venues outside Montreal ===
* Olympic Shooting Range, L'Acadie, Quebec - shooting
* Olympic Archery Field, Joliette, Quebec - archery
* Olympic Equestrian Centre, Bromont, Quebec - equestrian
* Le pavillon d'éducation physique et des sports de l'Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec - handball preliminaries
* Sherbrooke Stadium, Sherbrooke, Quebec - football/soccer preliminaries
* Sherbrooke Sports Palace, Sherbrooke, Quebec - handball preliminaries
* Portsmouth Olympic Harbour, Kingston, Ontario - yachting
* Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Ontario - football/soccer preliminaries
* Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, Ontario - football/soccer preliminaries

== Medals awarded ==
framed|Velodrome (foreground) and Olympic Stadium (its tower completed after the Games), Montreal
See the medal winners, ordered by sport:
{|
|
* Archery
* Athletics
* Basketball
* Boxing
* Canoeing
* Cycling
* Diving
* Equestrian
* Fencing
* Football
* Gymnastics
* Handball
|width=20|
|valign=top|
* Hockey
* Judo
* Modern pentathlon
* Rowing
* Sailing
* Shooting
* Swimming
* Volleyball
* Water polo
* Weightlifting
* Wrestling
|}

== Medal count ==
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|- bgcolor="#efefef"
| '''Rank'''
| '''Country'''
| width=60 bgcolor="gold" | '''Gold'''
| width=60 bgcolor="silver" | '''Silver'''
| width=60 bgcolor="CC9966" | '''Bronze'''
| width=60 | '''Total'''
|-
| 1 ||align=left|  || 49 || 41 || 35 || 125
|-
| 2 ||align=left|  || 40 || 25 || 25 || 90
|-
| 3 ||align=left|  || 34 || 35 || 25 || 94
|-
| 4 ||align=left|  || 10 || 12 || 17 || 39
|-
| 5 ||align=left|  || 9 || 6 || 10 || 25
|-
| 6 ||align=left|  || 7 || 6 || 13 || 26
|-
| 7 ||align=left|  || 6 || 9 || 7 || 22
|-
| 8 ||align=left|  || 6 || 4 || 3 || 13
|-
| 9 ||align=left|  || 4 || 9 || 14 || 27
|-
| 10 ||align=left|  || 4 || 5 || 13 || 22
|}

== Participating nations ==
thumb|Participating nations
Numbers in parentheses indicate the number of athletes from each nation that competed at the Games.
{|
|valign=top|
*
*  <!-- not yet called Antigua and Barbuda -->
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
|width=20|
|valign=top|
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
|width=20|
|valign=top|
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
|width=20|
|valign=top|
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
|}