1972 Winter Olympics
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 ( ja, 札幌1972), was a winter multi-sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Euro ...
, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, was a winter
multi-sport event
A multi-sport event is an organized sporting event, often held over multiple days, featuring competition in many different sports among organized teams of athletes from (mostly) nation-states. The first major, modern, multi-sport event of interna ...
held in
Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous cit ...
, Japan, from 3 to 13 February 1972. A total of 1,006 athletes representing 35 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 35 events from 10 different sports and disciplines.
Seventeen NOCs won at least one medal and fourteen of them collected at least one gold. The
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
finished at the top of the gold and overall medal counts with 8 and 16, respectively. Along with
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
, the Soviet team also won the most silver medals (5).
East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
, which ended the Games behind the Soviet Union with 14 medals, secured the most bronzes (7). The host nation, Japan, won a record total of three medals (one of each color), which included its first Winter Olympics gold medal.
Three NOCs won a single medal:
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
(silver),
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
(gold). For the last two, these were their first-ever gold medals at the Winter Olympics, and in the case of Spain, it was its first medal. This was Canada's weakest result since the
1936 Winter Olympics
The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...
, when its athletes also brought home a single silver medal.
The NOCs from the Republic of China and the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
sent athletes to the Winter Olympics for the first time, but failed to win any medals.
Highlights
Hosting the Olympic Winter Games for the first time, Japan's record consisted of a single medal: a silver in
alpine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics
At the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the six alpine skiing events were held from Friday, 27 January to Friday, 3 February.
Toni Sailer of Austria won all three men's events to become the first alpine ski racer to win three g ...
. In Sapporo,
Yukio Kasaya
is a Japanese former ski jumper. At the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo he became the first Japanese athlete to win a gold medal and the second Japanese (after Chiharu Igaya) to win any medal at the Winter Olympics. Previously he placed second at the ...
,
Akitsugu Konno
was a Japanese ski jumper who competed in the early 1970s. His best finish was a Silver Medal in the Individual Normal Hill at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo
( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city ...
, and
Seiji Aochi
(June 21, 1942 – August 14, 2008) was a Japanese ski jumper who competed in the early 1970s. His best finish was a bronze medal in the Individual normal hill event at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo.
Aochi attended Meiji University
...
won the
ski jumping
Ski jumping is a winter sport in which competitors aim to achieve the farthest jump after sliding down on their skis from a specially designed curved ramp. Along with jump length, competitor's aerial style and other factors also affect the fina ...
normal hill (70 m) gold, silver, and bronze medal, respectively. Kasaya's gold was Japan's first-ever at the Winter Games. This result would persist as the country's best for the next 20 years.
Wojciech Fortuna
Wojciech Fortuna (born 6 August 1952) is a Polish former ski jumper who won the Olympic Gold Medal in the Large Hill at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo. In the Normal Hill he finished 6th. The Gold Medal was Poland's first - and the only ...
of Poland won the ski jumping's large hill (90 m) event, while Spain's
Francisco Fernández Ochoa
Francisco "Paquito" Fernández Ochoa (25 February 1950 – 6 November 2006) was a World Cup alpine ski racer from Spain. Born in Madrid and raised north of the city in Cercedilla, he was the eldest of eight children whose father ran a ski schoo ...
prevailed in the alpine skiing's men's slalom, thus becoming their respective countries' first Winter Olympic champions. Ochoa's gold medal was also Spain's first medal at the Winter Games.
Karen Magnussen
Karen Diane Magnussen, OC (born April 4, 1952) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She is the 1972 Olympic silver medallist and 1973 World champion. She was Canada's Female Athlete of the Year in 1971 and 1972, and was made an Offi ...
's silver in the
figure skating
Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...
singles competition was Canada's sole medal and reflected what was the NOC's weakest performance since the 1936 Winter Games.
For the first time in its history, a delegation from
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
concluded its participation at the Winter Olympics without gold medals.
Six Soviet Union medals were won by two cross-country skiers:
Galina Kulakova
Galina Alexeyevna Kulakova (russian: Галина Алексеевна Кулакова, born 29 April 1942) is a Soviet former cross-country skier, arguably the best skier on distances shorter than 10 km in the early 1970s. She won four Ol ...
, who took gold in both women's individual distances and in the relay event; and
Vyacheslav Vedenin
Vyacheslav Petrovich Vedenin (russian: Вячесла́в Петро́вич Веденин; 1 October 1941 – 22 October 2021
East German lugers won eight medals for their NOC by taking every medal in the men's and women's singles, and placing two teams in the top three of the doubles event.
Paul Hildgartner
Paul Hildgartner (born 8 June 1952 in Chienes) is an Italian luger who competed from the early 1970s to the late 1980s. Competing in five Winter Olympics, he earned two gold medals (Men's doubles: 1972, Men's singles: 1984) and one silver medal ...
and
Walter Plaikner
Walter Plaikner (born 24 October 1951 in Kiens, South Tyrol) is an Italian former luger and coach of Austrian descent who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a doubles specialist, and competed alongside Paul Hildgartner ...
of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
were the only non-East German athletes to win a luge medal, as they shared the doubles gold with Horst Hörnlein and
Reinhard Bredow
Reinhard Bredow (also known as Reinhard Bredlow, born 6 April 1947 in Ilsenburg) is an East German former luger who competed in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He and Horst Hörnlein won the gold medal in the men's doubles event (shared with t ...
.
Italy's other gold medal was won by
Gustav Thöni
Gustav Thöni (; sometimes listed as Gustavo Thoeni; born 28 February 1951) is an Italian retired alpine ski racer.
Career
Thöni was born in the German-speaking province of South Tyrol, in the hamlet of Trafoi of the Stilfs municipality, whi ...
in the men's giant slalom; he also took silver in the men's slalom, thus contributing two of his country's five medals.
Marie-Theres Nadig
Marie-Theres Nadig (born 8 March 1954) is a retired Swiss alpine skier.
Biography
Aged 17, she won gold medals in the downhill and giant slalom events at the 1972 Winter Olympics. During her career, Nadig won 24 world cup races and had 57 podi ...
skied her way to victory in the women's downhill and giant slalom events, winning half of Switzerland's gold medals and helping her country achieve its best result at that time.
Two-time world figure skating champion
Ondrej Nepela
Ondrej Nepela (22 January 1951 – 2 February 1989) was a Slovak figure skater who represented Czechoslovakia. He was the 1972 Olympic champion, a three-time World champion (1971–73), and a five-time European champion (1969–73). Later in ...
added the Olympic men's singles title to his career and guaranteed
's second and last gold medal in its Winter Olympics history.
Half of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
' eight medals were obtained in women's
speed skating
Speed skating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in travelling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skatin ...
:
Anne Henning
Anne Elizabeth Henning (born September 6, 1955) is a retired American speed skater. She grew up in Northbrook, Illinois, and started in short track speed skating, but then, like many short track speed skaters before and after her, switched to lo ...
won a gold in the 500 m and a bronze in the 1000 m, while
Dianne Holum
Dianne Mary Holum (born May 19, 1951) is a retired American speed skater.
In 1966, Holum became the youngest person to compete in the world speed skating championships. Next year she won bronze at the World Allround Championships. At the age of ...
grabbed a gold in the 1500 m and a silver in the 3000 m.
Also in this discipline, Ard Schenk (three golds), Stien Baas-Kaiser (one gold and one silver), Atje Keulen-Deelstra (one silver and two bronzes), and
Kees Verkerk
Cornelis Arie "Kees" Verkerk (born 28 October 1942) is a former speed skater from the Netherlands.
(one silver) were responsible for all nine medals for the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
This was the best performance by a Dutch delegation at the Winter Olympics, and it took 26 years to be improved, when the Games returned to Japan.
Medal table
The medal table is based on information provided by the
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
(IOC) and is consistent with IOC convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals won by an NOC. The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals. If nations are still tied, equal ranking is given and they are listed alphabetically.
In the doubles event in luge, two gold medals were awarded for a first place tie and, consequently, no silver medal was awarded. This explains the 36 gold and 34 silver medals distributed during the Games.
Notes
# Switzerland also collected a total of 10 medals at the
1948 Winter Olympics
The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (german: V. Olympische Winterspiele; french: Ves Jeux olympiques d'hiver; it, V Giochi olimpici invernali; rm, V Gieus olimpics d'enviern) and commonly known as St. Moritz ...
in St. Moritz, but it won only three golds versus the four obtained in Sapporo.
# The Netherlands summed nine medals in Sapporo, just like at the
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...
, but won four golds, one more than in Grenoble.
See also
*
1972 Summer Olympics medal table
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, took place in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August through 11 September 1972. A total of 7,134 athletes from 121 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in 195 even ...
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...