Water Polo at the Olympic Games: Montréal 1976

The 1972 Olympics epitomised the political scenario of that decade. The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was extended to sports and the rivalry became even stronger following the controversial final match in the basketball tournament. Indeed, the memories of the terrorist attack against the Israeli athletes perpetrated by the Black September organisation were still vivid.

by Simone Pierotti

Therefore, for the 1976 edition of the Games, not only did the IOC want to raise the level of security, it also decided not to stage the event in a major country, due to the fear of political consequences. It was the city of Montréal to win the bid over Moscow and Los Angeles, which would respectively host the Games for the following two editions. For the sixth time, the Olympics were not held in a capital city.

The Montréal Games went down into history for their massive costs – $6bn in 2009 dollars -, but also for remarkable performances by legendary athlete. It was in Canada that 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comăneci scored seven perfect 10.0 and won three gold medals. In the same sport, Japan won the team championship also thanks to Shun Fujimoto, who performed despite her broken knee. Italian Klaus Di Biasi triumphed for the third consecutive time in platform diving, Cuban Alberto Juantorena became the only athlete to win both the 400 and the 800 metres in track and field, whereas East Germany and the United States dominated respectively in women’s and men’s swimming races. Needless to say, Hungary, Italy, the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia were supposed to do the same in the water polo tournament.  Read more:

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