1972 Winter Olympics

The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the XI Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Sapporo 1972, were a big winter sports event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was a special moment because it was the first time the Winter Olympic Games were held somewhere other than Europe or North America. Athletes from many countries came together to compete in exciting winter sports like skating, skiing, and ice hockey. The games brought friends from around the world to enjoy the snow and ice in the beautiful city of Sapporo.

Host city selection

Main article: Bids for the 1972 Winter Olympics

Sapporo was chosen to host the 1972 Winter Olympics after competing with other cities. The decision was made in Rome, Italy, in 1966. To get ready, Japan built new facilities and held a test event in 1971, which was very successful. The games helped Sapporo grow, with lots of money spent on improving the city. The organizers also made a good profit from television rights.

1972 Winter Olympics bidding result

City	Country	Round 1
Sapporo	Japan	32
Banff & Calgary	Canada	16
Lahti	Finland	7
Salt Lake City	United States	7

Highlights

The 1972 Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo, Japan, and featured many exciting moments. Emperor Hirohito opened the Games, becoming only the third person ever to open the Olympics twice. Japan celebrated its first Winter Olympic gold medals when three athletes won the ski jumping event.

Other highlights included Galina Kulakova from the USSR winning all three women’s cross-country skiing events, Dutch skater Ard Schenk winning three gold medals in speed skating, and American Barbara Cochran winning gold in slalom skiing. Switzerland’s Marie-Thérès Nadig won both the downhill and giant slalom in Alpine skiing. Spain and Poland each won their first Winter Olympic gold medals, and American speedskaters Anne Henning and Dianne Holum had a strong showing with several medals. Figure skater Janet Lynn from the United States became very popular in Japan for her artistic performance. Luge saw its only tie in Winter Olympics history in the men’s doubles event.

Venues

Main article: Venues of the 1972 Winter Olympics

The 1972 Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo, Japan. Many special places were built or changed just for the games. In the city, there were places like Makomanai Park for speed skating and figure skating. There were also indoor rinks for ice hockey and more figure skating.

In the mountains, there were special slopes and tracks for skiing, bobsleigh, and ski jumping. These places were either brand new or fixed up to be perfect for the athletes.

Sports

The 1972 Winter Olympics featured many exciting sports. Athletes competed in 35 different events across 6 main sports categories. Some of the sports included Alpine skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-country skiing, Figure skating, and Ice hockey. There were also events in Luge, Nordic combined, Ski jumping, and Speed skating. Each sport had its own set of challenges and exciting moments for the athletes.

Participating nations

Thirty-five nations took part in the 1972 Winter Olympics. This included the Republic of China (known as Taiwan) and the Philippines, who joined the Winter Olympics for the very first time.

Participating National Olympic Committees

Argentina (2)  Australia (4)  Austria (40)  Belgium (1)  Bulgaria (4)  Canada (47)  Czechoslovakia (41)  East Germany (42)  Finland (50)  France (40)  Great Britain (37)  Greece (3)  Hungary (1)  Iran (4)  Italy (44)  Japan (85) (host)  Lebanon (1)  Liechtenstein (4)  Mongolia (4)  Netherlands (11)  New Zealand (2)  North Korea (6)  Norway (67)  Philippines (2)  Poland (47)  Republic of China (5)  Romania (13)  South Korea (5)  Soviet Union (78)  Spain (3)  Sweden (58)  Switzerland (52)  United States (103)  West Germany (78)  Yugoslavia (26)

Medal count

These are the top eleven nations that won medals at the Sapporo 1972 Winter Olympics. The host country, Japan, finished in 11th place.

Podium sweeps

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Soviet Union	8	5	3	16
2	East Germany	4	3	7	14
3	Switzerland	4	3	3	10
4	Netherlands	4	3	2	9
5	United States	3	2	3	8
6	West Germany	3	1	1	5
7	Norway	2	5	5	12
8	Italy	2	2	1	5
9	Austria	1	2	2	5
10	Sweden	1	1	2	4
11	Japan*	1	1	1	3
Totals (11 entries)		33	28	30	91

Date	Sport	Event	NOC	Gold	Silver	Bronze
6 February	Ski jumping	Normal hill individual	Japan	Yukio Kasaya	Akitsugu Konno	Seiji Aochi
7 February	Luge	Women's singles	East Germany	Anna-Maria Müller	Ute Rührold	Margit Schumann
7 February	Luge	Men's singles	East Germany	Wolfgang Scheidel	Harald Ehrig	Wolfram Fiedler