1972 Winter Olympics

The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games (第十一回オリンピック冬季競技大会, Dai Jūichi-kai Orinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai) (French: Les XIes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event which was held from February 3 to February 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympics to be held outside Europe and North America, and only the third game (summer or winter) held outside those regions over all, after Melbourne (1956 Summer Olympics) and Tokyo (1964 Summer Olympics).

Host city selection

Main article: Bids for the 1972 Winter Olympics

Sapporo first won the rights to host the 1940 Winter Olympics, but Japan resigned as the Games' host after its 1937 invasion of China. The 1940 Games were later cancelled. All the cities awarded Games that were cancelled due to war have since hosted the Games (Berlin, London, Tokyo, Helsinki, Sapporo and Cortina d'Ampezzo).

Sapporo competed with Banff, Lahti, and Salt Lake City. The Games were awarded at the 64th IOC Session in Rome, Italy, on April 26, 1966.

In preparation, the Japanese constructed new largescale facilities at Sapporo and conducted a trial run a full year in advance of the Games. An international sport week was held in February, 1971, to assess the city's preparations as well as "to test its civic mettle and hospitality", and this effort was acclaimed by Olympic observers as "a complete success".^[1] The development of new infrastructure proved to be a huge boon for the Sapporo economy: by the time of the Games, the national government had invested some US$500 million in upgrades, including a new subway.^[1] The Games' organizers themselves turned a healthy profit in part because they arranged a record $8.47 million for broadcast rights.^[2]

1972 Winter Olympics bidding result^[3]
City	Country	Round 1
Sapporo	Japan	32
Banff	Canada	16
Lahti	Finland	7
Salt Lake City	United States	7

Highlights

Prior to these games, Japan had never won a gold medal in the Winter Olympics. The host country's fans in Sapporo were booed when three Japanese athletes, led by Yukio Kasaya, swept the ski jumping 70 m (current K-90 normal hill) event for gold (Kasaya), silver (Akitsugu Konno), and bronze (Seiji Aochi).
Galina Kulakova of the USSR won all three cross-country skiing events for women.
Dutch skater Ard Schenk won three gold medals in speed skating.
In Women's Alpine Skiing, American Barbara Ann Cochran, one of three siblings on the U.S. Ski Team, surprised the world and became the first U.S. woman since Andrea Mead Lawrence to win a Gold Medal in Skiing when she took first place in the Slalom with an excellent first run backed up by an even better second run.
In Alpine skiing, virtual unknown Swiss Marie-Thérès Nadig won both the downhill and the giant slalom events.
Magnar Solberg from Norway was the first repeat winner in the individual 20 km biathlon event, having first won in Grenoble.^[4]
Spain scored its first Winter gold medal courtesy of slalom skier Francisco Fernández Ochoa.
American speedskaters Anne Henning and Dianne Holum made the United States' best showing in the Winter Games, winning two gold, a silver, and a bronze.^[2]
Three days before the Games, controversy over amateur status arose when IOC president Avery Brundage threatened to disqualify 40 alpine skiers who received endorsement and other deals. Austrian skier Karl Schranz, who received over $50,000 per year from ski manufacturers, was banned as an example. Meanwhile, Canada refused to send an ice hockey team, maintaining that professional ice hockey players from Communist nations were allowed to compete with no restrictions.^[5]
On a historical note, these Games are the last where a skier won the gold medal using all-wooden skis. Since this time, top-level cross-country skiers use skis made mostly of fibreglass synthetics.^[6]
In female Figure skating event, American skater Janet Lynn won not only a bronze medal, but also tremendous popularity among Japanese audiences because of her artistic free program, as to make appearance on the cover of "Olympic Winter Games, Sapporo 1972" photo books published in Japan, and even on Japanese TV commercials later.
Luge had its only tie in the history of the Winter Olympics in the men's doubles event.

Venues

Main article: Venues of the 1972 Winter Olympics

City venues
- Makomanai Park
  - Makomanai Speed Skating Rink¹ – opening ceremonies, speed skating
  - Makomanai Ice Arena¹ – ice hockey, figure skating, closing ceremonies
  - Olympic village¹
  - Press center¹
  - Makomanai Cross-Country Events Site¹ – cross-country skiing, Nordic combined (cross-country skiing)
  - Makomanai Biathlon Site¹ – biathlon
- Mikaho Indoor Skating Rink¹ – figure skating
- Tsukisamu Indoor Skating Rink¹ – ice hockey
Mountain venues
- Mt. Teine Alpine Skiing courses¹ – alpine skiing (slalom, giant slalom)
- Mt. Teine Bobsleigh Course – bobsleigh
- Mt. Teine Luge Course – luge
- Okurayama Jump Hill² – ski jumping (large hill)
- Miyanomori Jump Hill¹ – Nordic combined (ski jumping), ski jumping (normal hill)
- Mount Eniwa Downhill Course¹ – alpine skiing (downhill)

¹ New facilities constructed in preparation for the Olympic Games. ² Existing facilities modified or refurbished in preparation for the Olympic Games.

Sports

There were 35 events contested in 6 sports (10 disciplines).

Alpine skiing (6) ()
Biathlon (2) ()
Bobsleigh (2) ()
Cross-country skiing (7) ()
Figure skating (3) ()

Ice hockey (1) ()
Luge (3) ()
Nordic combined (1) ()
Ski jumping (2) ()
Speed skating (8) ()

Participating nations

35 nations participated in the 1972 Winter Olympics. The Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan) and the Philippines participated in their first Winter Olympic Games.

Medal count

Main article: 1972 Winter Olympics medal table

These are the top ten nations that won medals at these Games. The host nation Japan finished 11th.

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

Notes

1 2 Findling, John E.; Pelle, Kimberly D. (1996). Historical dictionary of the modern Olympic movement. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 285. ISBN 0-313-28477-6. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
1 2 Washington Post
↑ "Past Olympic host city election results". GamesBids. Archived from the original on March 17, 2011. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
↑ www.Olympic.org
↑ Infoplease-Sapporo
↑ aolhometown

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1972 Winter Olympics.

"Sapporo 1972". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.
"Results and Medalists". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee.
Sapporo 72 – Official report, digitized copy online
The program of the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics

Preceded by Grenoble	Winter Olympics Sapporo XI Olympic Winter Games (1972)	Succeeded by Innsbruck

Olympic Games

Ceremonies Charter Participating nations Summer Olympics Winter Olympics Host cities Bids Venues IOC NOCs Country codes Medal Medal tables Medalists Diploma Scandals and controversies Colonialism Doping Sports Symbols Torch relays Pierre de Coubertin medal Women Deaths WWI

Summer Games	1896 Athens 1900 Paris 1904 St. Louis 1908 London 1912 Stockholm 1916 1920 Antwerp 1924 Paris 1928 Amsterdam 1932 Los Angeles 1936 Berlin 1940 1944 1948 London 1952 Helsinki 1956 Melbourne 1960 Rome 1964 Tokyo 1968 Mexico City 1972 Munich 1976 Montreal 1980 Moscow 1984 Los Angeles 1988 Seoul 1992 Barcelona 1996 Atlanta 2000 Sydney 2004 Athens 2008 Beijing 2012 London 2016 Rio de Janeiro 2020 Tokyo 2024 2028

Winter Games	1924 Chamonix 1928 St. Moritz 1932 Lake Placid 1936 Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1940 1944 1948 St. Moritz 1952 Oslo 1956 Cortina 1960 Squaw Valley 1964 Innsbruck 1968 Grenoble 1972 Sapporo 1976 Innsbruck 1980 Lake Placid 1984 Sarajevo 1988 Calgary 1992 Albertville 1994 Lillehammer 1998 Nagano 2002 Salt Lake City 2006 Turin 2010 Vancouver 2014 Sochi 2018 Pyeongchang 2022 Beijing 2026

Ancient Olympic Games Intercalated Games 1906 Paralympic Games Youth Olympic Games

Events at the 1972 Winter Olympics (Sapporo)

Alpine skiing Biathlon Bobsleigh Cross‑country skiing Figure skating Ice hockey Luge Nordic combined Ski jumping Speed skating

Venues of the 1972 Winter Olympics

City venues	Makomanai Biathlon site Makomanai Cross-country site Makomanai Ice Arena Makomanai Speed Skating Rink Mikaho Indoor Skating Rink Tsukisamu Indoor Skating Rink

Mountain venues	Miyanomori Jumping Hill Mount Eniwa Downhill Course Mt. Teine Alpine Skiing courses Mt. Teine Bobsleigh Course Mt. Teine Luge Course Okurayama Jumping Hill

Authority control	WorldCat Identities VIAF: 129171574 LCCN: n96058200 GND: 2020924-1 SUDOC: 123575494 BNF: cb12839246g (data)

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