Flag of Burkina Faso of black, white, and red. These colours represented the three major tributaries of the Volta River, which flows south through the country: the Black Volta, the White Volta and the Red Volta. It is similar to the tricolor flag used by the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. The flag was changed when Upper Volta became Burkina Faso on 4 August 1984. From 1984 until 1997, the official Burkina Faso coat of arms used a revolutionary central crest featuring a mattock crossed with a Soviet AK-47 assault rifle, along with an open book symbolising the importance of education and the
Upper Volta at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. Upper Volta was represented by a single athlete in the athletics, André Bicaba, making his only appearance at the Olympics. He took part in the sixth heat of the men's 100 metres, finishing 5th with a time of 10.71 and failing to advance to the quarter finals. Following the 1972 Games, Upper Volta considered sending athletes to the 1976 Summer Olympics, but joined with 28 other countries in a boycott after the IOC allowed New Zealand to participate in the Games, despite the breach of the international sports boycott of South Africa by the nation's rugby