New Zealand at the 1972 Summer Olympics
New Zealand competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. For the first time at the Olympics, God Defend New Zealand was played instead of God Save the King/Queen. The New Zealand Olympic Committee was represented by 89 competitors, 82 men and 7 women, who took part in 63 events in 14 sports.
Medal tables
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event | Date |
Wybo Veldman Dick Joyce John Hunter Lindsay Wilson Joe Earl Trevor Coker Gary Robertson Simon Dickie | Rowing | Men's eight | 2 September | |
Dudley Storey Ross Collinge Noel Mills | Rowing | Men's coxless four | 2 September | |
| Athletics | Men's 1500 metres | 10 September |
Archery
In the first modern archery competition at the Olympics, New Zealand entered one man in the competition.Athletics
Track and road
Field
Boxing
Canoeing
Cycling
Eight cyclists represented New Zealand in 1972.Road
;Men's individual road raceTrack
;Men's 1000 m time trial| Athlete | Time | Rank |
| Harry Kent | 1:09.10 | 16 |
;Men's team pursuit
Brent Pascoe was the reserve rider, but did not compete.
Gymnastics
Men's individual
;Apparatus qualifying and all-aroundSale did not qualify for any of the apparatus finals.
Women's individual
;Apparatus qualifying and all-aroundFoote did not qualify for any of the apparatus finals.
Field hockey
Men's tournament
;Team roster;Head coach
Ross Gillespie
;Group B
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts | Qualification |
| 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 25 | 8 | 12 | Advance to semi-finals | |
| 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 9 | 11 | Advance to semi-finals | |
| 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 5th–8th place classification | |
| 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 5th–8th place classification | |
| 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 16 | 11 | 7 | 9th / 10th place play-off | |
| 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 11th / 12th place play-off | |
| 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 8 | 17 | 3 | 13th / 14th place play-off | |
| 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 40 | 0 | 15th / 16th place play-off |
;9th / 10th Place play-off
New Zealand finished the men's field hockey tournament in ninth place.
Judo
Rowing
1972 was the last year that only men competed at the Olympic rowing events. New Zealand entered boats in four of the seven events. The gold medal won by the 1972 New Zealand eight is one of New Zealand's most memorable performances, and was in 2008 rated by sports journalist Joseph Romanos as New Zealand's best ever team performance at the Olympic Games.Sailing
, Jack Hansen, Geoff Smals and Bryan Treleaven were named as alternates but did not compete.Shooting
Four male shooters represented New Zealand in 1972.;Mixed 25 m rapid fire pistol
| Athlete | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total | Rank |
| Bruce McMillan | 197 | 195 | 190 | 582 | 28 |
;Mixed 50 m rifle, prone
| Athlete | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Total | Rank |
| Ian Ballinger | 98 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 97 | 96 | 591 | 46 |
| Mike Watt | 99 | 98 | 100 | 100 | 99 | 97 | 593 | 29 |
;Mixed 50 m running target
| Athlete | Slow run | Fast run | Total | Rank |
| Graeme McIntyre | 270 | 253 | 523 | 26 |