Please read the following table in Markdown format and then answer the question according to the table. Table cells in one row are seperated by '|', and different rows are seperated by '
'.

Table:
| Place | Athlete | Nation | Best mark | Throw 1 | Throw 2 | Throw 3 | Throw 4 | Throw 5 | Throw 6 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | Tamara Press | Soviet Union | 18.14 metres OR | 17.51 | 17.72 | 17.18 | 16.49 | X | 18.14 |
| 2 | Renate Culmberger | Germany | 17.61 metres | 17.41 | 17.10 | 16.38 | 17.61 | 17.00 | 17.01 |
| 3 | Galina Zybina | Soviet Union | 17.45 metres | 17.38 | 17.25 | 17.45 | 17.42 | 16.65 | 17.36 |
| 4 | Valerie Young | New Zealand | 17.26 metres | 17.08 | 15.84 | 16.81 | 17.26 | 17.24 | 17.23 |
| 5 | Margitta Helmbold | Germany | 16.91 metres | 16.67 | 15.87 | X | 16.60 | 16.91 | 16.34 |
| 6 | Irina Press | Soviet Union | 16.71 metres | X | 16.50 | X | 15.81 | 15.78 | 16.71 |
| 7 | Nancy McCredie | Canada | 15.89 metres | 15.89 | 15.13 | 15.27 |  |  |  |
| 8 | Ana Salagean | Romania | 15.83 metres | 15.79 | 15.83 | 15.70 |  |  |  |
| 9 | Johanna Hubner | Germany | 15.77 metres | 15.77 | X | X |  |  |  |
| 10 | Ivanka Khristova | Bulgaria | 15.69 metres | 15.69 | X | 15.35 |  |  |  |
| 11 | Judit Bognar | Hungary | 15.65 metres | 15.65 | X | X |  |  |  |
| 12 | Earlene Brown | United States | 14.80 metres | 14.25 | 13.43 | 14.80 |  |  |  |
Question:
what was the total number of athletes?
Answer:
12