Finland competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 96 competitors, 89 men and 7 women, took part in 75 events in 16 sports.
Medalists
Finland finished in 14th position in the final medal rankings, with three gold medals and eight medals overall.
Gold
- Pekka Vasala — Athletics, Men's 1,500m
- Lasse Virén — Athletics, Men's 5,000m
- Lasse Virén — Athletics, Men's 10,000m
Silver
- Reima Virtanen — Boxing, Men's Middleweight
Bronze
- Tapio Kantanen — Athletics, Men's 3,000m Steeplechase
- Kyösti Laasonen — Archery, Men's Individual Competition
- Risto Hurme, Veikko Salminen, and Martti Ketelä — Modern Pentathlon, Men's Team Competition
- Risto Björlin — Wrestling, Men's Greco-Roman Bantamweight
Archery
In the first modern archery competition at the Olympics, Finland entered three men. They won a bronze medal.
Men's Individual Competition:
- Kyösti Laasonen — 2467 points (→ Bronze Medal)
- Olavi Laurila — 2372 points (→ 20th place)
- Jorma Sandelin — 2278 points (→ 40th place)
Athletics
thumb|[[Pekka Vasala was Men's 1500 metres winner]]
thumb|[[Lasse Virén when he fell during the 10,000 meters competition]]
Men's 100 metres
- Antti Rajamäki
- First Heat — 10.52s (→ did not advance)
- Raimo Vilen
- First Heat — 11.00s (→ did not advance)
Men's 1500 metres
- Pekka Vasala
- Heat — 3:40.9
- Semifinals — 3:37.9
- Final — 3:36.3 (→ Image:Med 1.png Gold Medal)
- Pekka Päivärinta
- Heat — 3:40.9
- Semifinals — 3:45.1 (→ did not advance)
Men's 5000 metres
- Tapio Kantanen
- Heat — 13:42.0 (→ did not advance)
Men's 4 × 100 m Relay
- Antti Rajamäki, Raimo Vilen, Erik Gustafsson, and Markku Juhola
- Heat — 39.54s
- Semifinals — 39.30s (NR) (→ did not advance)
Boxing
Men's Light Middleweight (– 71 kg)
- Mikko Saarinen
- First Round — Bye
- Second Round — Defeated David Attan (KEN), TKO-2
- Third Round — Lost to Peter Tiepold (GDR), 0:5
Canoeing
Cycling
Six cyclists represented Finland in 1972.
;Individual road race
- Harry Hannus — did not finish (→ no ranking)
- Mauno Uusivirta — did not finish (→ no ranking)
- Tapani Vuorenhela — did not finish (→ no ranking)
- Ole Wackström — did not finish (→ no ranking)
;Team time trial
- Kalevi Eskelinen
- Harry Hannus
- Mauno Uusivirta
- Ole Wackström
;Team individual pursuit
- Raimo Suikkanen
Diving
Men's 3m Springboard:
- Pentti Koskinen — 336.99 points (15th place)
Women's 3m Springboard:
- Laura Kivelä — 236.25 points (24th place)
Women's 10m Platform:
- Laura Kivelä — 172.65 points (22nd place)
Fencing
One fencer represented Finland in 1972.
;Men's épée
- Risto Hurme
Gymnastics
Judo
Modern pentathlon
Three male pentathletes represented Finland in 1972, with them winning bronze in the team event.
Men's Individual Competition:
- Risto Hurme — 5094 points (→ 8th place)
- Veikko Salminen — 4852 points (→ 17th place)
- Martti Ketelä — 4849 points (→ 19th place)
Men's Team Competition:
- Hurme, Salminen, and Ketelä — 14812 points (→ Image:Med 3.png Bronze Medal)
Rowing
Men's Coxed Pairs
- Leo Ahonen, Leif Anderson and Antero Yli-lkkelä
- Heat — 8:06.56
- Repechage — 8:11.89 (→ did not advance)
Sailing
Shooting
Ten male shooters represented Finland in 1972.
;25 m pistol
- Immo Huhtinen
- Seppo Mäkinen
;50 m pistol
- Seppo Irjala
- Immo Huhtinen
;300 m rifle, three positions
- Jaakko Minkkinen
- Osmo Ala-Honkola
;50 m rifle, three positions
- Esa Kervinen
- Jaakko Minkkinen
;50 m rifle, prone
- Jaakko Asikainen
- Esa Kervinen
;50 m running target
- Pekka Suomela
- Paavo Mikkonen
;Skeet
- Ari Westergård