Athletics at the 1972 Summer Games: Previous Summer Games ▪ Next Summer Games
Host City: München, West Germany
Venue(s): Olympic Stadium, Olympic Park, München
Date Started: September 3, 1972
Date Finished: September 4, 1972
| Gold: | Valeriy Borzov |
| Silver: | Larry Black |
| Bronze: | Pietro Mennea |
The favorites were American Larry Black and Jamaica's Don Quarrie, the 1971 Pan American champion. The 1971 European Champion was Valery Borzov, who had already won the 100 and was expected to challenge. Quarrie sustained a hamstring pull in the semis and did not qualify. Borzov dominated the final, winning by almost two metres over Black, with Italy's Pietro Mennea in third. Black was unfortunate to have drawn lane one in the final, but Borzov won the race by 0.19, so the result might not have changed even with a better lane draw. Borzov later became an IOC Member from the Ukraine in 1994. He also married Soviet gymnastic legend Lyudmila Turishcheva. His 100/200 double was the first ever won by a sprinter from outside North America. Fourth-place finisher Larry Burton later played for five years in the NFL as a wide receiver for the New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers.
| Rank | Athlete | Age | Team | NOC | Medal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valeriy Borzov | 22 | Soviet Union | URS | Gold | |
| 2 | Larry Black | 21 | United States | USA | Silver | |
| 3 | Pietro Mennea | 20 | Italy | ITA | Bronze | |
| 4 | Larry Burton | 20 | United States | USA | ||
| 5 | Chuck Smith | 23 | United States | USA | ||
| 6 | Siegfried Schenke | 29 | East Germany | GDR | ||
| 7 | Martin Jellinghaus | 27 | West Germany | FRG | ||
| 8 | Hans-Joachim Zenk | 20 | East Germany | GDR | ||
| 5 h1 r3/4 | Jaroslav Matoušek | 21 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | ||
| 5 h2 r3/4 | Jiří Kynos | 29 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | ||
| 6 h1 r3/4 | Manfred Ommer | 21 | West Germany | FRG | ||
| 6 h2 r3/4 | Ainsley Armstrong | 19 | Trinidad and Tobago | TTO | ||
| 7 h1 r3/4 | Lucien Sainte-Rose | 19 | France | FRA | ||
| 7 h2 r3/4 | Bruno Cherrier | 18 | France | FRA | ||
| 8 h2 r3/4 | Richard Hardware | 21 | Jamaica | JAM | ||
| AC h1 r3/4 | Don Quarrie | 21 | Jamaica | JAM | ||
| 4 h1 r2/4 | René Metz | 21 | France | FRA | ||
| 4 h2 r2/4 | Bevan Smith | 22 | New Zealand | NZL | ||
| 4 h3 r2/4 | Philippe Clerc | 25 | Switzerland | SUI | ||
| 4 h4 r2/4 | Vladimir Lovetsky | 20 | Soviet Union | URS | ||
| 5 h1 r2/4 | Jimmy Sierra | 23 | Colombia | COL | ||
| 5 h2 r2/4 | George Daniels | 22 | Ghana | GHA | ||
| 5 h3 r2/4 | Edwin Roberts | 31 | Trinidad and Tobago | TTO | ||
| 5 h4 r2/4 | Motsapi Moorosi | 27 | Lesotho | LES | ||
| 5 h5 r2/4 | Francisco García | 23 | Spain | ESP | ||
| 6 h1 r2/4 | Omar Chokhmane | 24 | Morocco | MAR | ||
| 6 h2 r2/4 | Andrés Calonge | 27 | Argentina | ARG | ||
| 6 h3 r2/4 | Pasqualino Abeti | 24 | Italy | ITA | ||
| 6 h4 r2/4 | Su Wen-Ho | 26 | Chinese Taipei | TPE | ||
| 6 h5 r2/4 | Trevor James | 23 | Trinidad and Tobago | TTO | ||
| 7 h1 r2/4 | Guillermo González | 22 | Puerto Rico | PUR | ||
| 7 h2 r2/4 | Markku Juhola | 24 | Finland | FIN | ||
| 7 h3 r2/4 | Ladislav Kříž | 28 | Czechoslovakia | TCH | ||
| 7 h4 r2/4 | Audun Garshol | 20 | Norway | NOR | ||
| 7 h5 r2/4 | Brian Green | 31 | Great Britain | GBR | ||
| 8 h2 r2/4 | Sunil Gunawardene | 22 | Sri Lanka | SRI | ||
| AC h3 r2/4 | James Addy | 32 | Ghana | GHA | ||
| AC h4 r2/4 | Sammy Monsels | 19 | Suriname | SUR | ||
| 4 h8 r1/4 | Dan Amuke | 22 | Kenya | KEN | ||
| 5 h2 r1/4 | Mike Sands | 19 | Bahamas | BAH | ||
| 5 h5 r1/4 | Luiz da Silva | 26 | Brazil | BRA | ||
| 5 h6 r1/4 | Zain-ud-Din bin Abdul Wahab | 24 | Malaysia | MAS | ||
| 5 h7 r1/4 | Kevin Johnson | 21 | Bahamas | BAH | ||
| 5 h8 r1/4 | Nusrat Iqbal Sahi | 22 | Pakistan | PAK | ||
| 5 h9 r1/4 | Tukal Mokalam | 23 | Philippines | PHI | ||
| 6 h1 r1/4 | Solomon Belaye | 25 | Ethiopia | ETH | ||
| 6 h2 r1/4 | Yeo Kian Chye | 28 | Singapore | SIN | ||
| 6 h3 r1/4 | Jean-Pierre Bassegela | 25 | Congo (Brazzaville) | CGO | ||
| 6 h4 r1/4 | Gaston Malam | 20 | Cameroon | CMR | ||
| 6 h5 r1/4 | Eston Kaonga | 24 | Malawi | MAW | ||
| 6 h6 r1/4 | Dominic Saidu | 22 | Liberia | LBR | ||
| 6 h7 r1/4 | Ibrahim Saad Abdel Galil | Sudan | SUD | |||
| 6 h9 r1/4 | William Dralu | 25 | Uganda | UGA | ||
| 7 h3 r1/4 | Hamad Ndee | 21 | Tanzania | TAN | ||
| 7 h4 r1/4 | Gary Georges | 19 | Haiti | HAI | ||
| 7 h6 r1/4 | Said Khalil Al-Dosari | 24 | Saudi Arabia | KSA | ||
| AC h8 r1/4 | Saleh Alah-Djaba | 22 | Chad | CHA |