Canada Montreal
XXI Summer International Olympic Games

Athletes of Andorra, Antigua, Caymans and Papua-New Guinea made their first appearance at these Games. Totally, 6084 athletes (including 1260 female ones) of 92 nations competed at this Summer Olympics. The USSR delegation included 410 athletes.
Totally 198 sets of medals had been played for in 25 sports of the Montreal Summer Olympics.
At the opening ceremony, the Olympic Flame was lit by female athlete Sandra Henderson and male athlete Stéphane Préfontaine; they represented English-speaking and French-speaking Canada respectively. The Athlete’s Oath was voiced by weightlifter Pierre St.-Jean.
Officially, the Games were opened by Queen Elisabeth II of Great Britain. 

WINNER MEDALS
Similar to the Munich Summer Olympics, organizers of these Olympic Games had also modified the design of the winner medal reverse side. The reverse shows an open laurel wreath with the official logo of the Montreal Games, i.e. five Olympic rings in combination with the stylized letter “M” at top.
The sport concerned is engraved in French on the rim. The Montreal Olympic medal has a brass chain attached to the medal with a ring. Depending on the prize status the chain was electroplated respectively.
OBVERSE: a figure of the Greek Goddess of Victory, holding a laurel wreath in her right hand, hand raised, and a palm leaf in her left hand. On the left of the goddess, there is a Panathenaean amphora standing on a shelf rock, with depicted competing athletes. A view of an amphitheatre looking like the Roman Coliseum appears on the right of the goddess. A four-line inscription in French reading “XXle – Olympiade – Montreal – 1976” (English: XXI –Olympics – Montreal – 1976) is engraved in the right upper segment.
REVERSE: an open laurel wreath with the official logo of the Montreal Games, i.e. five Olympic rings in combination with the stylized letter “M” for Montreal at top. 

COMMEMORATIVE MEDAL
OBVERSE: a view of the Montreal Olympic stadium, with the two-line inscription in French “XXle – Olympiade – Montreal – 1976” (English: XXI – Olympics – Montreal – 1976).
REVERSE: the Montreal Olympic logo, the stylized “M” above the Olympic rings.