• Montreal 1976

Montreal 1976 - Key Moments

ESPN staff
October 12, 2011
Montreal 1976: Key Moments | Quick Hits | Key Facts | Medal Table | Gallery | Olympics Histories Home

Nadia Comaneci poses next to the scoreboard © Getty Images
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Another Games affected by boycotts, with 28 African nations withdrawing after New Zealand were included despite the All Blacks touring apartheid South Africa, while China stayed at home after the IOC recognised Taiwan as a nation, but the Montreal Olympics will be best remembered for the exploits of a teenage gymnast.

Romanian Nadia Comaneci took the Games by storm when becoming the first woman to record a perfect 10 in Olympic competition with her routine on the uneven bars. At the time, the scoreboards were not equipped to display scores of 10.0 - so her perfect marks were reported on the boards as 1.00 instead. The 14-year-old went on to record six more perfect scores as she claimed gold in the all-around, beam and bars events.

There was a royal flavour to the Montreal Games, as Queen Elizabeth II opened the Olympics and her daughter, Princess Anne, competed in equestrian for Great Britain.

The Games were not without their problems. Montreal was left in massive debt by snowballing costs, the tower on the stadium was not completed until after the Olympics had finished, and it was not until 2006 that the debt was paid off.

Canada, the host country, finished with five silver and six bronze medals. This was the first time that the host country did not win a gold medal.

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