West Germany (Federal Republic of Germany) was the host nation of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. 423 competitors, 340 men and 83 women, took part in 183 events in 23 sports.
Medalists
West Germany finished in fourth position in the final medal rankings, with 13 gold medals and 40 medals overall.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
! Medal
! Name
! Sport
! Event
! Date
|-
| || || Athletics || Women's long jump ||
|-
| || <br />Uwe Benter<br />Peter Berger<br />Alois Bierl<br />Hans-Johann Färber || Rowing || Men's coxed four ||
|-
| || || Shooting || Mixed skeet ||
|-
| || || Athletics || Men's 50 kilometres walk ||
|-
| || || Athletics || Men's javelin throw ||
|-
| || || Athletics || Women's 800 metres ||
|-
| || || Athletics || Women's high jump ||
|-
| || <br />Günter Haritz<br />Udo Hempel<br />Günther Schumacher<br />Peter Vonhof || Cycling || Men's team pursuit ||
|-
| || || Canoeing || Men's C-1 1000 metres ||
|-
| || <br />Ingrid Becker<br />Annegret Richter<br />Heide Rosendahl || Athletics || Women's 4 × 100 metres relay ||
|-
| || || Boxing || Light middleweight ||
|-
|
|
|Field hockey
|Men's tournament
|
|-
| || <br />Hartwig Steenken<br />Gerhard Wiltfang<br />Hans Günter Winkler || Equestrian || Team jumping ||
|-
| || || Canoeing || Men's slalom C-1 ||
|-
| || || Canoeing || Women's slalom K-1 ||
|-
| || <br />Werner Lampe<br />Klaus Steinbach<br />Hans Vosseler || Swimming || Men's 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay ||
|-
| || || Judo || Men's +93 kg ||
|-
| || || Athletics || Women's pentathlon ||
|-
| || || Weightlifting || Men's +110 kg ||
|-
| || || Athletics || Women's 400 metres ||
|-
| || <br />Josef Neckermann<br />Karin Schlüter || Equestrian || Team dressage ||
|-
| || || Athletics || Men's long jump ||
|-
| || || Wrestling || Men's Greco-Roman 57 kg ||
|-
| || || Swimming || Men's 200 metre freestyle ||
|-
| || || Canoeing || Women's slalom K-1 ||
|-
| || <br />Heidemarie Reineck<br />Angela Steinbach<br />Jutta Weber || Swimming || Women's 4 × 100 metre freestyle relay ||
|-
| || || Wrestling || Men's freestyle 74 kg ||
|-
| || || Cycling || Men's individual pursuit ||
|-
| || <br />Horst Karsten<br />Harry Klugmann<br />Karl Schultz || Equestrian || Team eventing ||
|-
| || || Judo || Men's 93 kg ||
|-
| || <br />Peter Funnekötter<br />Franz Held<br />Wolfgang Plottke || Rowing || Men's coxless four ||
|-
| || <br />Vreni Eberle<br />Silke Pielen<br />Heidemarie Reineck || Swimming || Women's 4 × 100 metre medley relay ||
|-
| || || Boxing || Heavyweight ||
|-
| || <br />Peter Naumann || Sailing || Flying Dutchman ||
|-
| || <br />Karsten Meyer || Sailing || Star ||
|-
| || <br />Jobst Hirscht<br />Karlheinz Klotz<br />Gerhard Wucherer || Athletics || Men's 4 × 100 metres relay ||
|-
| || <br />Inge Bödding<br />Hildegard Falck<br />Rita Wilden || Athletics || Women's 4 × 400 metres relay ||
|}
Archery
In the first modern archery competition at the Olympics, West Germany entered two men and two women. Their highest placing competitor was Siegfried Ortmann, at 14th place in the men's competition.
Women's Individual Competition:
- Ursula Bueschking - 2200 points (→ 30th place)
- Carla Nolpa - 2165 points (→ 35th place)
Men's Individual Competition:
- Siegfried Ortmann - 2390 points (→ 14th place)
- Richard Krust - 2342 points (→ 30th place)
Athletics
Men's 800 metres
- Franz-Josef Kemper
:* Heat — 1:47.3
:* Semifinals — 1:48.8
:* Final — 1:46.5 (→ 4th place)
- Josef Schmidt
:* Heat — 1:47.8
:* Semifinals — 1:48.8 (→ did not advance)
- Walter Adams
:* Heat — DNF (→ did not advance)
Men's 1500 metres
- Paul-Heinz Wellmann
:* Heat — 3:41.8
:* Semifinals — 3:38.4
:* Final — 3:40.1 (→ 7th place)
- Thomas Wessinghage
:* Heat — 3:40.6
:* Semifinals — 3:43.4 (→ did not advance)
- Bodo Tümmler
:* Heat — 3:44.5
:* Semifinals — 3:50.0 (→ did not advance)
Men's 5000 metres
- Jürgen May
:* Heat — 14:06.6 (→ did not advance)
- Wolfgang Riesinger
:* Heat — 14:15.2 (→ did not advance)
Men's 4 × 100 m Relay
- Jobst Hirscht, Karlheinz Klotz, Gerhard Wucherer, and Klaus Ehl
:* Heat — 39.17s
:* Semifinals — 38.86s
:* Final — 38.79s (→ File:Med 3.png Bronze Medal)
Men's High Jump
- Hermann Magerl
:* Qualifying Round — 2.15m
:* Final — 2.18m (→ 4th place)
- Ingomar Sieghart
:* Qualification Round — 2.12m (→ did not advance)
Basketball
;Men's Team Competition
- Preliminary Round (Group B)
:* Lost to Puerto Rico (74-81)
:* Lost to Soviet Union (63-87)
:* Defeated Philippines (93-74)
:* Lost to Italy (57-68)
:* Lost to Yugoslavia (56-81)
:* Defeated Poland (67-65)
:* Defeated Senegal (72-62)
- Classification Matches
:* 13th/16th place: Lost to Australia (69-70)
:* 11th/12th place: Lost to Spain (83-84) → 12th place
- Team Roster
:*Karl Ampt
:*Holger Geschwindner
:*Dietrich Keller
:*Hans-Jörg Krüger
:*Dieter Kuprella
:*Joachim Linnemann
:*Rainer Pethran
:*Joachim Pollex
:*Norbert Thimm
:*Helmut Uhlig
:*Klaus Weinand
:*Jürgen Wohlers
Boxing
Men's Flyweight (– 51 kg)
- Gerd Schubert
:* First Round — Defeated Phar Khong (CMB), walkover
:* Second Round — Lost to Orn-Chim Chawalit (THA), 1:4
<br>
Men's Bantamweight (– 54 kg)
- Werner Schaefer
:* First Round — Bye
:* Second Round — Lost to Joe Destimo (GHA), 2:3
<br>
Men's Featherweight (– 57 kg)
- Peter Prause
:* First Round — Lost to Jochen Bachfeld (GDR), 0:5
<br>
Men's Lightweight (– 60 kg)
- Peter Hess
:* First Round — Bye
:* Second Round — Defeated Enrique Requeiferos (CUB), 4:1
:* Third Round — Lost to Svein Erik Paulsen (NOR), KO-2
<br>
Men's Welterweight (– 67 kg)
- Günther Meier
:* First Round — Bye
:* Second Round — Defeated Jeff Rackley (NZL), 5:0
:* Third Round — Defeated Sangnual Rabieb (THA), 5:0
:* Quarterfinals — Lost to Emilio Correa (CUB), 2:3
<br>
Men's Light Middleweight (– 71 kg)
- Dieter Kottysch → File:Med 1.png Gold Medal
:* First Round — Bye
:* Second Round — Defeated Bonifacio Avila (COL), TKO-2
:* Third Round — Defeated Evengelos Oikonomakos (GRE), 5:0
:* Quarterfinals — Defeated Mohamed Majeri (TUN), 5:0
:* Semifinals — Defeated Alan Minter (GBR), 3:2
:* Final — Defeated Wiesław Rudkowski (POL), 3:2
<br>
Men's Middleweight (– 75 kg)
- Ewald Jarmer
:* First Round — Bye
:* Second Round — Lost to Marvin Johnson (USA), 0:5
<br>
Men's Light Heavyweight (– 81 kg)
- Rudi Hornig
:* First Round — Defeated Henri Moreau (FRA), 5:0
:* Second Round — Defeated Guglielmo Spinello (ITA), 4:1
:* Quarterfinals — Lost to Janusz Gortat (POL), TKO-1
<br>
Men's Heavyweight (+ 81 kg)
- Peter Hussing → File:Med 3.png Bronze Medal
:* First Round — Bye
:* Quarterfinals — Defeated Oscar Ludeña (PER), KO-1
:* Semifinals — Lost to Teófilo Stevenson (CUB), TKO-2
Canoeing
Cycling
17 cyclists represented West Germany in 1972.
;Individual road race
- Wilfried Trott — 7th place
- Erwin Tischler — 22nd place
- Alfred Gaida — 57th place
- Peter Weibel — 68th place
;Team time trial
- Johannes Knab
- Algis Oleknavicius
- Rainer Podlesch
- Erwin Tischler
;Sprint
- Karl Köther
- Dieter Berkmann
;1000m time trial
- Karl Köther
:* Final — 1:07.21 (→ 4th place)
;Tandem
- Jürgen Barth and Rainer Müller → 6th place
;Individual pursuit
- Hans Lutz
;Team pursuit
- Jürgen Colombo
- Günter Haritz
- Udo Hempel
- Günther Schumacher
- Peter Vonhof
Diving
Men's 3m Springboard
- Norbert Huda — 524.16 points (→ 8th place)
- Gerhard Hölzl — 327.42 points (→ 19th place)
- Reinhard vom Bauer — 299.79 points (→ 30th place)
Men's 10m Platform
- Karl-Heinz Schwemmer — 281.55 points (→ 16th place)
- Bernd Wucherpfennig — 267.87 points (→ 24th place)
- Klaus Konzorr — 260.01 points (→ 30th place)
Women's 3m Springboard
- Michaela Herweck — 261.78 points (→ 13th place)
Women's 10m Platform
- Maxie Michael — 183.48 points (→ 15th place)
- Ursula Sapp — 162.39 points (→ 24th place)
Equestrian
Fencing
19 fencers, 13 men and 6 women, represented West Germany in 1972.
;Men's foil
- Friedrich Wessel
- Klaus Reichert
- Harald Hein
;Men's team foil
- Klaus Reichert, Friedrich Wessel, Harald Hein, Dieter Wellmann, Erk Sens-Gorius
;Men's épée
- Hans-Jürgen Hehn
- Reinhold Behr
;Men's team épée
- Reinhold Behr, Hans-Jürgen Hehn, Harald Hein, Dieter Jung, Max Geuter
;Men's sabre
- Paul Wischeidt
- Walter Convents
- Knut Höhne
;Men's team sabre
- Walter Convents, Volker Duschner, Knut Höhne, Dieter Wellmann, Paul Wischeidt
;Women's foil
- Irmela Broniecki
- Brigitte Oertel
- Karin Rutz-Gießelmann
;Women's team foil
- Gundi Theuerkauff, Irmela Broniecki, Karin Rutz-Gießelmann, Monika Pulch, Erika Bethmann
Football
Men's Team Competition:
- West Germany - Eliminated in Second Round
- First round: 3-0-0
- Defeat Morocco 3-0
- Defeat Malaysia 3-0
- Defeat the United States 7-0
- Second Round: 0-1-2 (Did not advance)
- Drew with Mexico 1-1
- Lost to Hungary 1-4
- Lost to East Germany 2-3
- Roster - Heiner Baltes, Hermann Bitz, Hartwig Bleidick, Hans-Jürgen Bradler, Friedhelm Haebermann, Ewald Hammes, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Uli Hoeneß, Reiner Hollmann, Jürgen Kalb, Manfred Kaltz, Dieter Mietz, Bernd Nickel, Egon Schmitt, Hans-Dieter Seelmann, Rudi Seliger, Günter Wienhold, Ronald Worm, and Klaus Wunder
Gymnastics
Handball
;Men's Team Competition
- Preliminary Round
:* Defeated Spain (13-10)
:* Drew with Norway (15-15)
:* Lost to Romania (11-13)
- Main Round
:* Lost to Yugoslavia (15-24)
:* Defeated Hungary (17-14)
- Classification Match
:* 5th/6th place: Lost to Soviet Union (16-17) → Sixth place
- Team Roster
:*Herwig Ahrendsen
:*Hans-Jürgen Bode
:*Wolfgang Braun
:*Peter Bucher
:*Jochen Feldhoff
:*Diethard Finkelmann
:*Josef Karrer
:*Klaus Kater
:*Klaus Lange
:*Herbert Lübking
:*Heiner Möller
:*Hans-Peter Neuhaus
:*Uwe Rathjen
:*Herbert Rogge
:*Herbert Wehnert
:*Klaus Westebbe
Hockey
;Men's Team Competition
- Preliminary Round (Group A)
:* Defeated Belgium (5-1)
:* Defeated Malaysia (1-0)
:* Defeated Argentina (2-1)
:* Defeated Pakistan (2-1)
:* Drew with Uganda (1-1)
:* Defeated Spain (2-1)
:* Defeated France (4-0)
- Semi Final Round
:* Defeated The Netherlands (3-0)
- Final
:* Defeated Pakistan (1-0) → File:Med 1.png Gold Medal
- Team Roster
:* Wolfgang Baumgart
:* Horst Dröse
:* Dieter Freise
:* Werner Kaessmann
:* Carsten Keller
:* Detlev Kittstein
:* Ulrich Klaes
:* Michael Krause
:* Peter Kraus
:* Michael Peter
:* Wolfgang Rott
:* Fritz Schmidt
:* Rainer Seifert
:* Wolfgang Strödter
:* Eckart Suhl
:* Eduard Thelen
:* Peter Trump
:* Uli Vos
Judo
Modern pentathlon
Three male pentathletes represented West Germany in 1972.
Men's Individual Competition:
- Heiner Thade — 5145 points (→ 7th place)
- Walter Esser — 4826 points (→ 20th place)
- Hole Rößler — 4678 points (→ 27th place)
Men's Team Competition:
- Thade, Esser, and Rößler — 14682 points (→ 6th place)
Alternate Member
- Elmar Frings
Rowing
Men's Single Sculls
- Udo Hild
:*Heat — 7:48.12
:*Repechage — 7:48.11
:*Semi Finals — 8:26.37
:*Final — 7:20.81 (→ 4th place)
Men's Coxed Pairs
- Heinz Mußmann, Bernd Krauß and Stefan Kuhnke
:*Heat — 8:02.19
:*Repechage — 8:07.95
:*Semi Finals — 8:19.86
:*Final — 7:21.52 (→ 4th place)
Sailing
Shooting
Fourteen male shooters represented West Germany in 1972. Konrad Wirnhier won gold in the skeet.
;25 m pistol
- Helmut Seeger
- Erwin Glock
;50 m pistol
- Heinrich Fretwurst
- Heinz Mertel
;300 m rifle, three positions
- Dirk Fudickar
;50 m rifle, three positions
- Gottfried Kustermann
- Bernd Klingner
;50 m rifle, prone
- Silvester Knipfer
- Gottfried Kustermann
;50 m running target
- Christoph-Michael Zeisner
- Gunther Danne
;Trap
- Heinz Leibinger
- Peter Blecher
;Skeet
- Konrad Wirnhier
- Walter Wrigge
Swimming
Men's 100m Freestyle
- Klaus Steinbach
:* Heat — 52.91s
:* Semifinals — 52.87s
:* Final — 52.92s (→ 8th place)
- Kersten Meier
:* Heat — 53.96s
:* Semifinals — 54.35s (→ did not advance)
- Gerhard Schiller
:* Heat — 54.28s (→ did not advance)
Men's 200m Freestyle
- Werner Lampe
:* Heat — 1:55.97
:* Final — 1:53.99 (→ File:Med 3.png Bronze Medal)
- Klaus Steinbach
:* Heat — 1:55.80
:* Final — 1:56.65 (→ 6th place)
- Olaf von Schilling
:* Heat — 2:00.27 (→ did not advance)
Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay
- Gerhard Schiller, Rainer Jacob, Hans-Günther Vosseler, and Kersten Meier
:* Heat — 3:37.59
- Klaus Steinbach, Werner Lampe, Rainer Jacob, and Hans Faßnacht
:* Final — 3:33.90 (→ 6th place)
Men's 4 × 200 m Freestyle Relay
- Hans Faßnacht, Gerhard Schiller, Folkert Meeuw, and Hans-Günther Vosseler
:* Heat — 7:53.98
- Klaus Steinbach, Werner Lampe, Hans-Günther Vosseler, and Hans Faßnacht
:* Final — 7:41.69 (→ File:Med 2.png Silver Medal)
Volleyball
Water polo
;Men's Team Competition
- Preliminary Round (Group B)
:* Drew with Hungary (3-3)
:* Drew with the Netherlands (4-4)
:* Defeated Greece (3-8)
:* Defeated Australia (6-3)
- Final Round (Group I)
:* Drew with United States (4-4)
:* Lost to Soviet Union (2-4)
:* Drew with Italy (2-2)
:* Lost to Yugoslavia (4-5) → Fourth place
- Team Roster
:* Gerd Olbert
:* Hermann Haverkamp
:* Peter Teicher
:* Kurt Küpper
:* Günter Wolf
:* Ingulf Nossek
:* Ludger Weeke
:* Kurt Schuhmann
:* Jürgen Stiefel
:* Hans Georg Simon
:* Hans Hoffmeister