The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad and officially branded as Montreal 1976, were an international multi-sport event held from July 17 to August 1, 1976, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam on May 12, 1970, over the bids of Moscow and Los Angeles. It was the first and, so far, only Summer Olympic Games to be held in Canada. Toronto hosted the 1976 Summer Paralympics the same year as the Montreal Olympics, which still remains the only Summer Paralympics to be held in Canada. Calgary and Vancouver later hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1988 and 2010, respectively. This was the first of two consecutive Olympic games held in North America, followed by the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
The United States competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 400 competitors, 316 men and 84 women, took part in 185 events in 21 sports.
The United States competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Gerald Ford missed the 1976 Olympics due to the African boycott. 396 competitors, 278 men and 118 women, took part in 189 events in 19 sports.
Poland competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 207 competitors, 180 men and 27 women, took part in 116 events in 18 sports.
Shooting sports have been included at every Summer Olympic Games since the birth of the modern Olympic movement at the 1896 Summer Olympics except at the 1904 and 1928 games.
The United States of America has sent athletes to every celebration of the modern Summer Olympic Games with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics, during which it led a boycott in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee for the United States.
France competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 119 competitors, 118 men and 1 woman, took part in 66 events in 13 sports.
Czechoslovakia competed at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, Mexico. 121 competitors, 94 men and 27 women, took part in 66 events in 14 sports.
Denmark competed at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. 152 competitors, 151 men and 1 woman, took part in 46 events in 13 sports.
Tunisia first participated at the Olympic Games in 1960, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games except when they participated in the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics. The nation has never participated in any Winter Olympic Games.
Lanny Robert Bassham is an American sport shooter who won a gold medal in the 1976 Summer Olympics, and a silver medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics.
Margaret Thompson Murdock is a nurse and former United States Army officer most widely known for her success in international shooting competitions, including a silver medal at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
The trap competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics was held on 18–20 July in Montreal, Canada. There were 44 competitors from 29 nations, with each nation limited to two shooters. The event was won by Donald Haldeman of the United States, the nation's first victory in the trap since back-to-back wins in 1912 and 1920. The three total victories tied the United States with Italy for most among nations at the time, though Italy would win the next two and the United States has not win again since. In this Games, Ubaldesco Baldi of Italy took bronze. Silver went to Armando Marques of Portugal, that nation's first medal in the trap.
Joan Tomàs Roca is an Andorran trap shooter who competed in five Summer Olympics spanning 36 years.
The mixed ISSF 25 meter rapid fire pistol was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1976 Summer Olympics programme. It was the 15th appearance of the event. The competition was held on 22 and 23 July 1976 at the Olympic Shooting Range, L'Acadie in Montreal. 48 shooters from 30 nations competed. Nations had been limited to two shooters each since the 1952 Games. East Germany did the most possible with that two-shooter limit, taking gold and silver. They were the first rapid fire pistol medals for East Germany and the first medals for any German shooter in the event since 1936. Roberto Ferraris of Italy earned the bronze medal, the nation's first medal in the rapid fire pistol since 1932.
The mixed ISSF 50 meter pistol was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1976 Summer Olympics programme. It was the fourteenth appearance of the event. The competition was held on 18 July 1976 at the shooting ranges in Montreal. 47 shooters from 31 nations competed. Nations had been limited to two shooters each since the 1952 Games. The event was won by Uwe Potteck, with East Germany finishing 1–2 as Harald Vollmar took silver. It was East Germany's first victory in the event. Rudolf Dollinger of Austria repeated as bronze medalist. Vollmar and Dollinger were the fifth and sixth men to win multiple medals in the free pistol. Potteck had only begun the sport 23 months prior to his victory and his previous personal best in domestic competitions was a 568. In addition, his practice scores leading up to the games averaged around 563 to 565.
The Mixed 50 metre rifle three positions event was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1976 Summer Olympics programme. It was the seventh appearance of the event. The competition was held on 21 July 1976 at the shooting ranges in Montreal. 57 shooters from 34 nations competed.
The trap was a shooting sports event held as part of the Shooting at the 1980 Summer Olympics programme. The competition was held between 20 and 22 July 1980 at the shooting ranges in Moscow. 34 shooters from 19 nations competed. Each nation was limited to two shooters. The event was won by Luciano Giovannetti of Italy, the nation's fourth victory in the trap. Silver went to the host Soviet Union's Rustam Yambulatov, that nation's first medal in the event since 1964. Jörg Damme of East Germany took bronze. The second through fourth places required a shoot-off, with a second shoot-off for silver and bronze.
The rate of participation of women in the Olympic Games has been increasing since their first participation in 1900. Some sports are uniquely for women, others are contested by both sexes, while some older sports remain for men only. Studies of media coverage of the Olympics consistently show differences in the ways in which women and men are described and the ways in which their performances are discussed. The representation of women on the International Olympic Committee has historically run well behind the rate of female participation, and long missed its target of a 20% minimum presence of women on their committee. As of 2023, 41.1% of members are women. The 2024 Paris Olympics were notable for being the first to have the goal of achieving gender parity between men and women.
