(ATR) The 40-year anniversary of the 1976 Montreal Games – the first Olympics to be held on Canadian soil – is being celebrated by the Canadian Olympic Committee and citizens alike.
More than 6,000 athletes from 92 countries competed across 21 sports between July 17 and Aug. 1, 1976.
The most memorable performance of the Games came from 14-year-old Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, who scored seven perfect tens on the balance beam and won three gold medals, including in the All-Around event.
Current IOC president Thomas Bach won gold in fencing in the team foil event while competing for West Germany.
One of the infamous legacies of the Games was the debt related to the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The venue for ceremonies and track and filed was supposed to cost $250 million, but ended up with a price tag of $1.4 billion. The city wasn’t able to pay it off until November 2006 – 30 years after the closing ceremony.
Canadian Olympic Committee president Tricia Smith reminisced about the Games and her participation in them.
"As a member of Canada’s Olympic Team at those Games, I remember clearly the impact Montreal 1976 had not only on myself and my rowing teammates, but on the entire country," Smith said.
"I am where I am today because I had a dream to be an Olympian for Canada. Thank you Montreal for starting a movement and lighting the flame that has continued to transform our country."
Montreal won the right to host the XXI Olympiad on May 12, 1970, as the IOC chose the Canadian city over Moscow and Los Angeles.
Written by Brian Pinelli
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