Controversy aside, 1976 Olympics were a huge success on the playing fields
MONTREAL — Greg Joy calls carrying the Canadian flag at the closing ceremony of the 1976 Montreal Olympics “one of the highlights of my life.”
The final showcase before 73,000 at the unfinished Olympic Stadium ended a Summer Games that was a huge success on the playing fields despite cost overruns, labour troubles and charges of corruption that plagued the lead-up to the event, which celebrates its 40th anniversary on July 17.
“It was a fantastic Games in that it was well-organized despite the construction issues,” said Joy. “It was a friendly Games.”
The first Summer Games ever held in Canada made international stars of Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci, American boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, decathlete Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner and others, but the one thing it lacked was a gold medal for the host country.