Саппоро-1972: Қысқы Олимпиада ойындарының тарихы

Multi sport event in Sapporo, Japan

The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially the XI Olympic Winter Games (第11回オリンピック冬季競技大会) and commonly known as Sapporo 1972 (札幌1972), were a winter multi sport event held from February 3 to 13, 1972, in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. It was the first Winter Olympic Games to take place outside Europe and North America.

Emperor Hirohito became the third dignitary to open the Olympic Games twice (first time in summer 1964), after Adolf Hitler had done in winter and summer 1936, then Giovanni Gronchi in winter 1956 and summer 1960. Prior to these games, Japan had never won a gold medal, and had won only one medal (silver by Chiharu Igaya in 1956) overall, in the Winter Olympics. The host country's fans in Sapporo were boosted 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); those would also be the only medals Japan would earn in these Olympics. 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 Cochran, one of three siblings on the U. S. Ski Team, 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. 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. Spain scored its first Winter gold medal courtesy of slalom skier Francisco Fernández Ochoa. Poland did the same with Wojciech Fortuna winning the large hill ski jumping competition. American female speedskaters Anne Henning and Dianne Holum made the United States' best showing in the Winter Games, winning two gold, a silver, and a bronze. On an historical note, these Games were the last where a skier won a gold medal using all wooden skis. Since this time, top level cross country skiers have used skis made mostly of fibreglass synthetics. 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.

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

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