| | Event type
Shot Put, Women
| Date | 4 – 7 September 1972 |
|---|---|
| Status | Olympic |
| Location | Olympiastadion, Olympiapark, München |
| Participants | 18 from 11 countries |
Nadezhda Chizhova (URS) had been disappointing in 1968 when, as co-favorite, she won only a bronze medal. She had won the last three European Championships (1966, 1969, 1971), and since 1968 had broken the world record six times, most recently in May 1972 with 20.63. The defending champion, Margitta Gummel was back, and had one world record during the recent Olympiad, 20.10 (65-11½) in 1969, but had been surpassed by Chizhova. This time Chizhova did not disappoint, settling matters with her first throw, a world record 21.03 (69-0). Gummel recorded a personal best in round four with 20.22 (66-4¼) but was not close to Chizhova.
| Pos | Nr | Athlete | NOC | Qualifying | Final | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 339 | Nadezhda Chizhova |  URS | 18.54 (5) | 21.03 (1) | Gold | ||
| 2 | 129 | Margitta Gummel |  GDR | 18.82 (3) | 20.22 (2) | Silver | ||
| 3 | 35 | Ivanka Hristova |  BUL | 19.20 (1) | 19.35 (3) | Bronze | ||
| 4 | 341 | Esfir Dolzhenko | URS | 17.18 (11) | 19.24 (4) | |||
| 5 | 120 | Marianne Adam | GDR | 19.11 (2) | 18.94 (5) | |||
| 6 | 137 | Marita Lange | GDR | 18.16 (6) | 18.85 (6) | |||
| 7 | 323 | Helena Fibingerová |  TCH | 18.66 (4) | 18.81 (7) | |||
| 8 | 40 | Elena Stoyanova | BUL | 17.70 (9) | 18.34 (8) | |||
| 9 | 345 | Antonina Ivanova | URS | 17.87 (7) | 18.28 (9) | |||
| 10 | 269 | Ludwika Chewińska |  POL | 17.40 (10) | 18.24 (10) | |||
| 11 | 193 | Judit Bognár |  HUN | 16.52 (13) | 18.23 (11) | |||
| 12 | 44 | Radostina Vasekova | BUL | 17.78 (8) | 17.86 (12) | |||
| 13 | 293 | Valentina Cioltan |  ROU | 16.85 (12) | 16.62 (13) | |||
| 14 r1/2 | 392 | Maren Seidler |  USA | 16.18 (14) | – | |||
| 15 r1/2 | 62 | Baek Ok-Ja |  KOR | 15.78 (15) | – | |||
| 16 r1/2 | 393 | Jan Svendsen | USA | 14.96 (16) | – | |||
| 17 r1/2 | 58 | Rosa Molina |  CHI | 14.61 (17) | – | |||
| 18 r1/2 | 290 | Nnenna Njoku |  NGR | 10.63 (18) | – |
Qualifying Round (4 September 1972 — 10:30)
Top 12 and ties and all those reaching 16.20 metres advanced to the final.
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Distance | R1 | R2 | R3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Ivanka Hristova | BUL | 19.20 | 19.20 | - | - | |||
| 2 | 1 | Marianne Adam | GDR | 19.11 | 19.11 | - | - | |||
| 3 | 6 | Margitta Gummel | GDR | 18.82 | 18.82 | - | - | |||
| 4 | 4 | Helena Fibingerová | TCH | 18.66 | 18.66 | - | - | |||
| 5 | 12 | Nadezhda Chizhova | URS | 18.54 | 18.54 | - | - | |||
| 6 | 11 | Marita Lange | GDR | 18.16 | 18.16 | - | - | |||
| 7 | 18 | Antonina Ivanova | URS | 17.87 | 17.87 | - | - | |||
| 8 | 2 | Radostina Vasekova | BUL | 17.78 | 17.78 | - | - | |||
| 9 | 13 | Elena Stoyanova | BUL | 17.70 | 17.70 | - | - | |||
| 10 | 15 | Ludwika Chewińska | POL | 17.40 | 17.40 | - | - | |||
| 11 | 14 | Esfir Dolzhenko | URS | 17.18 | 17.18 | - | - | |||
| 12 | 10 | Valentina Cioltan | ROU | 16.85 | 16.85 | - | - | |||
| 13 | 9 | Judit Bognár | HUN | 16.52 | 16.52 | - | - | |||
| 14 | 16 | Maren Seidler | USA | 16.18 | 15.63 | 16.05 | 16.18 | |||
| 15 | 17 | Baek Ok-Ja | KOR | 15.78 | × | 15.78 | × | |||
| 16 | 7 | Jan Svendsen | USA | 14.96 | 14.48 | × | 14.96 | |||
| 17 | 5 | Rosa Molina | CHI | 14.61 | 14.59 | 14.61 | 14.41 | |||
| 18 | 3 | Nnenna Njoku | NGR | 10.63 | 10.63 | 10.40 | 9.06 |
Final Round (7 September 1972 — 16:30)
| Pos | Ord | Athlete | NOC | Distance | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Nadezhda Chizhova | URS | 21.03 | 21.03 | 20.36 | 20.58 | 19.97 | × | × | |||
| 2 | 11 | Margitta Gummel | GDR | 20.22 | 18.46 | 18.83 | 19.55 | 20.22 | 19.53 | × | |||
| 3 | 8 | Ivanka Hristova | BUL | 19.35 | 19.35 | × | 19.22 | × | 18.82 | 18.95 | |||
| 4 | 4 | Esfir Dolzhenko | URS | 19.24 | 18.43 | 19.24 | × | 18.74 | × | × | |||
| 5 | 13 | Marianne Adam | GDR | 18.94 | 18.75 | × | 18.58 | 18.94 | 18.91 | 18.71 | |||
| 6 | 10 | Marita Lange | GDR | 18.85 | × | 18.46 | 18.29 | 18.85 | 18.38 | 18.71 | |||
| 7 | 7 | Helena Fibingerová | TCH | 18.81 | 18.62 | × | × | 18.59 | 18.81 | × | |||
| 8 | 12 | Elena Stoyanova | BUL | 18.34 | 18.24 | 17.75 | 18.34 | × | 17.55 | × | |||
| 9 | 2 | Antonina Ivanova | URS | 18.28 | 18.28 | 17.99 | 17.98 | – | – | – | |||
| 10 | 3 | Ludwika Chewińska | POL | 18.24 | 17.71 | 18.24 | 17.73 | – | – | – | |||
| 11 | 6 | Judit Bognár | HUN | 18.23 | 17.93 | 17.97 | 18.23 | – | – | – | |||
| 12 | 5 | Radostina Vasekova | BUL | 17.86 | 17.86 | 17.48 | 17.52 | – | – | – | |||
| 13 | 1 | Valentina Cioltan | ROU | 16.62 | 16.37 | 16.62 | × | – | – | – |