It is deemed as the most controversial result in Olympic history. The
United States basketball team had been unbeaten in 62 Olympic
competitions. Then they met the Soviets in the 1972 Munich Olympics.
USA guard Doug Collins sank two foul shots very late in the game, giving the Americans a 50-49 lead with three seconds remaining and what looked like the gold medal.
The Soviets inbounded the ball right away. However, the referee, Brazil’s Renato Righetto, blew the whistle with one second on the clock.
Following a conference with the officials, it was determined that the Soviet head coach Vladimir Kondrashkin had called a time out. The Soviets were given a second opportunity to inbound the ball with three seconds left. After a Soviet player heaved a desperation miss from half court, the US began their celebration, which proved to be premature. The Soviet coach, Kondrashkin, protested that the clock had been reset incorrectly and demanded a third chance.
The Russian team received the ball, and got it to their star player Aleksandr Belov, who sank the winning basket at the buzzer. The US team, certain they were robbed of the gold, flatly refused the silver and did not attend the victory ceremony, filing an official protest.
A five-man jury, despite testimony from the referee and the timekeeper pointing to the contrary, ruled the result fair.
The US team now had a choice: suck up their frustrations and accept silver, or storm off in the mother of all funks. They chose the latter, and for the first time in history, a spot on the podium was left deserted.
USA guard Doug Collins sank two foul shots very late in the game, giving the Americans a 50-49 lead with three seconds remaining and what looked like the gold medal.
The Soviets inbounded the ball right away. However, the referee, Brazil’s Renato Righetto, blew the whistle with one second on the clock.
Following a conference with the officials, it was determined that the Soviet head coach Vladimir Kondrashkin had called a time out. The Soviets were given a second opportunity to inbound the ball with three seconds left. After a Soviet player heaved a desperation miss from half court, the US began their celebration, which proved to be premature. The Soviet coach, Kondrashkin, protested that the clock had been reset incorrectly and demanded a third chance.
The Russian team received the ball, and got it to their star player Aleksandr Belov, who sank the winning basket at the buzzer. The US team, certain they were robbed of the gold, flatly refused the silver and did not attend the victory ceremony, filing an official protest.
A five-man jury, despite testimony from the referee and the timekeeper pointing to the contrary, ruled the result fair.
The US team now had a choice: suck up their frustrations and accept silver, or storm off in the mother of all funks. They chose the latter, and for the first time in history, a spot on the podium was left deserted.
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