Basketball · 1972 · Munich, West Germany
Three Seconds, Three Times
A 63-game US Olympic winning streak ends in the most disputed finish in basketball history, after officials replay the final three seconds of the gold medal game until the result changes.
USSR 51-50 USA
Result
63 games
US winning streak ended
3 times
Final seconds replayed
The United States had never lost an Olympic basketball game since the sport's introduction in 1936, a streak of 63 straight wins, when they met the Soviet Union in the 1972 Munich final. Trailing by one point, American guard Doug Collins made two free throws with three seconds left to put the USA ahead 50-49, an apparent gold medal.
What followed was chaos: the Soviets inbounded and the clock ran out, but officials ruled a timeout had been called just before the ball was played and ordered one second put back on the clock. That attempt also failed, after which FIBA's secretary general intervened from the stands and ordered the full three seconds restored, a decision with no clear rule basis. On the third attempt, Soviet player Aleksandr Belov caught a full-court pass and scored the winning basket as time expired.
The US team formally protested and, when the result was upheld, refused to accept their silver medals, a boycott some surviving players have maintained for decades. The 1972 final remains the most contested and analysed ending in the sport's Olympic history, and the unclaimed silver medals are still held in a vault in Switzerland.
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