# Athletics at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metres

The men's 100 metres sprint event at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, was held at Olympiastadion on 31 August and 1 September. Eighty-five athletes from 55 nations competed. Each nation was limited to 3 athletes per rules in force since the 1930 Olympic Congress. The event was won by Valeriy Borzov of the Soviet Union, the first medal in the men's 100 metres for that nation. Jamaican Lennox Miller, silver medalist four years earlier, became the second man to make the podium twice in the event by taking bronze (after Ralph Metcalfe in 1932 and 1936).
This event is notable for the absence of favourites and world record holders Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson from their quarterfinal heats due to American sprint coach Stan Wright being given the wrong starting time. The three qualified American athletes, Robinson, Hart and Robert Taylor, were at the ABC television headquarters watching what they believed were replays of their morning preliminary races before being informed they were watching live coverage of the races they were scheduled to run in. The athletes rushed to the stadium, but Hart and Robinson, scheduled in the first two races, missed their heats, while Robert Taylor hurried to take off his warm up uniform before running his heat. An appeal by American officials to have Robinson and Hart run in another heat was rejected.

## Background

This was the seventeenth time the event was held, having appeared at every Olympics since the first in 1896. Two finalists from 1968 returned: Lennox Miller of Jamaica and Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa of Madagascar. The favourite was Soviet Valeriy Borzov, the European champion. The American team was missing John Carlos, who had turned to professional football, but still had strong runners in Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson, who had matched the world record of 9.9 seconds in the U.S. Olympic trials, and Robert Taylor.
Thirteen nations appeared in the event for the first time: Bolivia, Cambodia (then Khmer Republic), Chad, Kuwait, Lesotho, Malawi, Mongolia, Paraguay, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Upper Volta, the Virgin Islands, and Zambia (though Northern Rhodesia had competed previously). The United States was the only nation to have appeared at each of the first seventeen Olympic men's 100 metres events.

## Competition format

The event retained the same basic four round format introduced in 1920: heats, quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. It also expanded the "fastest loser" system, introduced in 1968, to include the quarterfinals as well as the preliminary heats.
The first round consisted of 12 heats, each with 6–8 athletes. The top three runners in each heat advanced, along with the next four fastest runners overall. This made 40 quarterfinalists, who were divided into five heats of 8 runners. The top three runners in each quarterfinal advanced, along with the single fastest fourth-place finisher. The 16 semifinalists competed in two heats of 8, with the top four in each semifinal advancing to the eight-man final.

## Records

Prior to the competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows.
| World record | 9.9 | Jim Hines | Sacramento, United States | 20 June 1968 |
| World record | 9.9 | Ronnie Ray Smith | Sacramento, United States | 20 June 1968 |
| World record | 9.9 | Charles Greene | Sacramento, United States | 20 June 1968 |
| World record | 9.9 | Jim Hines | Mexico City, Mexico | 14 October 1968 |
| World record | 9.9 | Eddie Hart | Eugene, United States | 1 July 1972 |
| World record | 9.9 | Rey Robinson | Eugene, United States | 1 July 1972 |
| Olympic record | 9.9 | Jim Hines | Mexico City, Mexico | 14 October 1968 |
No records were set in the event at the 1972 Games.

## Results
### Heats

The top three runners in each of the twelve heats, and the next fastest four, advanced to the quarterfinal round.

#### Heat 1

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Lennox Miller | Jamaica | 10.45 | Q |
| 2 | Amadou Meïté | Ivory Coast | 10.51 | Q |
| 3 | Hans-Jürgen Bombach | East Germany | 10.66 | Q |
| 4 | Rudy Reid | Trinidad and Tobago | 10.74 | |
| 5 | Dan Amuke | Kenya | 10.76 | |
| 6 | Byambajavyn Enkhbaatar | Mongolia | 10.93 | |
| 7 | Samphon Mao | Khmer Republic | 10.95 | |
| 8 | Luis Alers | Puerto Rico | 11.09 | |

#### Heat 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Valeriy Borzov | Soviet Union | 10.47 | Q |
| 2 | Mike Sands | Bahamas | 10.67 | Q |
| 3 | Luděk Bohman | Czechoslovakia | 10.72 | Q |
| 4 | Gerhard Wucherer | West Germany | 10.82 | |
| 5 | Tadeusz Cuch | Poland | 10.89 | |
| 6 | Yeo Kian Chye | Singapore | 10.92 | |
| 7 | Alphonse Yanghat | Republic of the Congo | 10.95 | |
| 8 | Andrew Sartee | Liberia | 11.09 | |

#### Heat 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Manfred Kokot | East Germany | 10.49 | Q |
| 2 | Sandy Osei-Agyemang | Ghana | 10.52 | Q |
| 3 | Les Piggot | Great Britain | 10.54 | Q |
| 4 | John Mwebi | Kenya | 10.60 | |
| 5 | Luís da Silva | Brazil | 10.63 | |
| 6 | Kevin Johnson | Bahamas | 10.91 | |
| 7 | Mansour Al-Juaid | Saudi Arabia | 11.23 | |
| – | Robert Arega | Togo | DNS | |

#### Heat 4

The tailwind of 2.3 m/s made this heat ineligible for records purposes.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jaroslav Matoušek | Czechoslovakia | 10.37 | Q |
| 2 | Brian Green | Great Britain | 10.41 | Q |
| 3 | Kouakou Komenan | Ivory Coast | 10.50 | Q |
| 4 | Walter Callander | Bahamas | 10.78 | |
| 5 | George Calhern | Virgin Islands | 10.90 | |
| 6 | Farhad Navab | Iran | 11.02 | |
| 7 | Angel Guerreros | Paraguay | 11.12 | |
| – | Anat Ratanapol | Thailand | DNS | |

#### Heat 5

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Aleksandr Kornelyuk | Soviet Union | 10.38 | Q |
| 2 | Kola Abdulai | Nigeria | 10.57 | Q |
| 3 | Stanisław Wagner | Poland | 10.62 | Q |
| 4 | Juraj Demeč | Czechoslovakia | 10.66 | |
| 5 | Félix Mata | Venezuela | 10.73 | |
| 6 | Bjarni Stefánsson | Iceland | 10.99 | |
| 7 | Younis Abdallah | Kuwait | 11.20 | |
| – | Gaoussou Koné | Ivory Coast | DNS | |

#### Heat 6

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Rey Robinson | United States | 10.56 | Q |
| 2 | Philippe Clerc | Switzerland | 10.58 | Q |
| 3 | Sammy Monsels | Suriname | 10.61 | Q |
| 4 | George Daniels | Ghana | 10.65 | |
| 5 | André Bicaba | Upper Volta | 10.71 | |
| 6 | Motsapi Moorosi | Lesotho | 10.74 | |
| 7 | William Dralu | Uganda | 10.92 | |

#### Heat 7

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Hasely Crawford | Trinidad and Tobago | 10.50 | Q |
| 2 | Don Halliday | Great Britain | 10.58 | Q |
| 3 | Erik Gustafsson | Finland | 10.68 | Q |
| 4 | Guillermo González | Puerto Rico | 10.73 | |
| 5 | Norman Chihota | Tanzania | 10.79 | |
| 6 | Egzi Gebre-Gebre | Ethiopia | 10.89 | |
| 7 | Pierre-Richard Gaetjens | Haiti | 11.50 | |
| – | Pablo Montes | Cuba | DNS | |

#### Heat 8

The tailwind of 2.10 m/s made this heat ineligible for records purposes.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Barka Sy | Senegal | 10.30 | Q |
| 2 | Bernd Borth | East Germany | 10.48 | Q |
| 3 | Audun Garshol | Norway | 10.49 | Q |
| 4 | Su Wen-Ho | Republic of China | 10.59 | q |
| 5 | Gana Abba Kimet | Chad | 10.89 | |
| 6 | Raimo Vilén | Finland | 11.00 | |
| 7 | Lionel Caero | Bolivia | 11.19 | |

#### Heat 9

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Alain Sarteur | France | 10.42 | Q |
| 2 | Saleh Alah-Djaba | Chad | 10.65 | Q |
| 3 | Charlie Francis | Canada | 10.68 | Q |
| 4 | Andrés Calonge | Argentina | 10.73 | |
| 5 | Laurie D'Arcy | New Zealand | 10.77 | |
| 6 | Larmeck Mukonde | Zambia | 11.16 | |
| – | Hermes Ramírez | Cuba | DNS | |

#### Heat 10

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Vasilios Papageorgopoulos | Greece | 10.24 | Q |
| 2 | Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa | Madagascar | 10.29 | Q |
| 3 | Michael Fray | Jamaica | 10.47 | Q |
| 4 | Antti Rajamäki | Finland | 10.52 | q |
| 5 | Ainsley Armstrong | Trinidad and Tobago | 10.56 | q |
| 6 | Jorge Vizcarrondo | Puerto Rico | 10.79 | |
| 7 | Zain-ud-Din bin Abdul Wahab | Malaysia | 10.80 | |

#### Heat 11

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Eddie Hart | United States | 10.47 | Q |
| 2 | Dominique Chauvelot | France | 10.66 | Q |
| 3 | Klaus Ehl | West Germany | 10.67 | Q |
| 4 | Benedict Majekodunmi | Nigeria | 10.70 | |
| 5 | Gaston Malam | Cameroon | 10.88 | |
| 6 | Sunil Gunawardene | Ceylon | 11.00 | |
| 7 | Tukal Mokalam | Philippines | 11.02 | |

#### Heat 12

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Robert Taylor | United States | 10.32 | Q |
| 2 | Jobst Hirscht | West Germany | 10.36 | Q |
| 3 | Zenon Nowosz | Poland | 10.36 | Q |
| 4 | Volodymyr Atamas | Soviet Union | 10.51 | q |
| 5 | Axel Nepraunik | Austria | 10.61 | |
| 6 | André Byrame | France | 10.64 | |
| 7 | Moustafa Matola | Malawi | 11.31 | |

### Quarterfinals

The top three runners in each of the five heats and the next fastest one, advanced to the semifinal round.

#### Quarterfinal 1

Hart failed to appear due to a scheduling change and coaching error.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jobst Hirscht | West Germany | 10.25 | Q |
| 2 | Jaroslav Matoušek | Czechoslovakia | 10.35 | Q |
| 3 | Bernd Borth | East Germany | 10.44 | Q |
| 4 | Philippe Clerc | Switzerland | 10.45 | |
| 5 | Ainsley Armstrong | Trinidad and Tobago | 10.47 | |
| 6 | Mike Sands | Bahamas | 10.50 | |
| 7 | Audun Garshol | Norway | 10.55 | |
| - | Eddie Hart | United States | DNS | |

#### Quarterfinal 2

Robinson failed to appear due to a scheduling change and coaching error.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa | Madagascar | 10.47 | Q |
| 2 | Brian Green | Great Britain | 10.58 | Q |
| 3 | Kouakou Komenan | Ivory Coast | 10.60 | Q |
| 4 | Stanisław Wagner | Poland | 10.61 | |
| 5 | Sandy Osei-Agyemang | Ghana | 10.66 | |
| 6 | Erik Gustafsson | Finland | 10.78 | |
| 7 | Su Wen-Ho | Republic of China | 10.82 | |
| - | Rey Robinson | United States | DNS | |

#### Quarterfinal 3

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Valeriy Borzov | Soviet Union | 10.07 | Q, ER |
| 2 | Robert Taylor | United States | 10.16 | Q |
| 3 | Hasely Crawford | Trinidad and Tobago | 10.18 | Q |
| 4 | Zenon Nowosz | Poland | 10.40 | q |
| 5 | Klaus Ehl | West Germany | 10.44 | |
| 6 | Les Piggot | Great Britain | 10.53 | |
| 7 | Dominique Chauvelot | France | 10.54 | |
| 8 | Hans-Jürgen Bombach | East Germany | 10.64 | |

#### Quarterfinal 4

The tailwind of 3.40 m/s made this heat ineligible for records purposes.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Aleksandr Kornelyuk | Soviet Union | 10.23 | Q |
| 2 | Barka Sy | Senegal | 10.27 | Q |
| 3 | Michael Fray | Jamaica | 10.28 | Q |
| 4 | Kola Abdulai | Nigeria | 10.41 | |
| 5 | Antti Rajamäki | Finland | 10.43 | |
| 6 | Manfred Kokot | East Germany | 10.44 | |
| 7 | Saleh Alah-Djaba | Chad | 10.51 | |
| 8 | Charlie Francis | Canada | 10.51 | |

#### Quarterfinal 5

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Lennox Miller | Jamaica | 10.33 | Q |
| 2 | Alain Sarteur | France | 10.40 | Q |
| 3 | Vasilios Papageorgopoulos | Greece | 10.45 | Q |
| 4 | Amadou Meïté | Ivory Coast | 10.52 | |
| 5 | Luděk Bohman | Czechoslovakia | 10.52 | |
| 6 | Don Halliday | Great Britain | 10.60 | |
| 7 | Sammy Monsels | Suriname | 10.64 | |
| 8 | Vladimir Atamas | Soviet Union | 10.83 | |

### Semifinals

The top four runners in each of the two heats advanced to the final round.

#### Semifinal 1

Papageorgopoulos was forced to scratch after he pulled a groin muscle in the quarter-finals.
| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Valeriy Borzov | Soviet Union | 10.21 | Q |
| 2 | Hasely Crawford | Trinidad and Tobago | 10.36 | Q |
| 3 | Jobst Hirscht | West Germany | 10.36 | Q |
| 4 | Michael Fray | Jamaica | 10.48 | Q |
| 5 | Alain Sarteur | France | 10.51 | |
| 6 | Kouakou Komenan | Ivory Coast | 10.57 | |
| 7 | Bernd Borth | East Germany | 10.60 | |
| - | Vasilios Papageorgopoulos | Greece | DNS | |

#### Semifinal 2

| Rank | Athlete | Nation | Time | Notes |
| 1 | Robert Taylor | United States | 10.30 | Q |
| 2 | Lennox Miller | Jamaica | 10.31 | Q |
| 3 | Aleksandr Kornelyuk | Soviet Union | 10.35 | Q |
| 4 | Zenon Nowosz | Poland | 10.42 | Q |
| 5 | Barka Sy | Senegal | 10.42 | |
| 6 | Jean-Louis Ravelomanantsoa | Madagascar | 10.46 | |
| 7 | Jaroslav Matoušek | Czechoslovakia | 10.40 | |
| 8 | Brian Green | Great Britain | 10.40 | |

### Final

Borzov "won fairly easily."
| Rank | Lane | Athlete | Nation | Time |
| | 2 | Valeriy Borzov | Soviet Union | 10.14 |
| | 4 | Robert Taylor | United States | 10.24 |
| | 5 | Lennox Miller | Jamaica | 10.33 |
| 4 | 6 | Aleksandr Kornelyuk | Soviet Union | 10.36 |
| 5 | 8 | Michael Fray | Jamaica | 10.40 |
| 6 | 7 | Jobst Hirscht | West Germany | 10.40 |
| 7 | 1 | Zenon Nowosz | Poland | 10.46 |
| – | 3 | Hasely Crawford | Trinidad and Tobago | DNF |
* Wind speed = 0.3 m/s (0.67 mph)