Montreal was the venue for the 1976 Olympics, but Canada would go on to earn the rather dubious distinction of being the first host country to fail to win a gold medal. The Games were marred by a boycott of 22 African nations, who withdrew to protest New Zealand’s rugby tour of South Africa. As such, from a high of over 7,000 athletes for years earlier in Munich, the number of participants dropped to just over 6,000.
Nadia Comaneci, a 15-year-old gymnast from Romania, was the undisputed darling of the Montreal Games, becoming the first-ever gymnast to earn a perfect score of 10. By the time she was done, she had been awarded an unprecedented seven perfect marks and bagged three golds, one silver and one bronze.
The Philippines sent only 11 athletes, the country’s smallest delegation since 1932, as several NSA’s either sent fewer athletes or no athletes at all. For just the second time in Olympic history, the country did not send a basketball team to the Games, while athletics sent only one athlete, marathoner Victor Idava. (Source: Olympic.org and Olympic.ph)
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