1972 Sapporo

Sapporo 1972

Alpine Skiing

Biathlon

Cross-Country Skiing

Figure Skating

Luge

Ski Jumping

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Austria

Germany

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Norway

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A silver medal in 1968 merely increased his determination to go one better this time around\. Schenk began his assault on gold in the 5,000m, a distance in which he was the world record holder\. He raced in the first pair, unfazed by the snow that was still falling on

Schenk clinches triple gold

She was entered into three events in Sapporo: the downhill, giant slalom and slalom\. It was a tough schedule for a young racer, but she seemed to thrive on the pressure and duly rose to the occasion\.

Teenager Nadig wins shock double gold

Kasaya was by no means a long\-shot\. He had won various events in Europe and notched up a number of major podium finishes, including at the world championships\. The key question was: would the hopes of his home nation would inspire or overwhelm him?

Kasaya sends host nation wild

In 1967, while still just 15, she won bronze at the World All\-Around Championships\. And then on her Olympic debut at Grenoble 1968 she claimed silver in the 500m, after a three\-way tie for second place, as well as a bronze in the 1,000m\.

Record-breaker Holum bags gold

Henning had started out as a short track skater, but switched to the longer track and proved an instant success\. A year earlier she had won the silver medal at the world sprint championships and had set competition records in both her 500m races to confirm herself as a real

Golden girl Henning shows teen spirit

&ldquo;Figure eight&rdquo;, &ldquo;3 turn&rdquo;, &ldquo;counter turn&rdquo;, &ldquo;rocker turn&rdquo;, &ldquo;bracket turn&rdquo;, &ldquo;loop&rdquo;, etc\.: these are all terms from the compulsory figures in figure skating, the most important part of any competition until the 1970s, accounting for up to 60 per cent of the final marks\.

In Sapporo on 7 February 1972, compulsory figures made for compelling viewing

It would be an understatement to say that the people of Hokkaidō \(the northern Japanese island where Sapporo is located\), not to mention the country as a whole, were expecting great things of the ski jumpers, all of whom were from the region, as they prepared to take part in

Historic gold and legendary podium sweep for Japan’s ski jumpers at Sapporo 1972

Nicknamed &ldquo;Paquito&rdquo;, Francisco Fernandez Ochoa was born in Madrid on 25 February 1950\. The oldest of eight children, he grew up just outside the Spanish capital, in the town of Cercedilla, next to the small ski resort of Navacerrada\.

Francisco FERNANDEZ OCHOA

Fernandez Ochoa – Spain’s sole Olympic Winter Games champion 

She was selected for the 1968 Winter Games in Grenoble, where she won bronze medals in the 1,500m and 3,000m, and maintained her form into her 30s, finishing as a runner\-up four times at the world championships between 1969 and 1972\. So it was incredible when yet again she missed

Christina Baas-Kaiser (NED) - Sapporo 1972

The problem was that the 1,000m was such a high\-speed event that an overly cautious approach in the opening moments could easily prove the difference between winning a medal and going home empty\-handed\.

Pflug clinches victory from jaws of disaster

At the age of 15, he won a bronze at the 1966 European Championships on home ice in Bratislava, and was still in his teens by the time he graduated to gold in 1969\. That was to be the first of five consecutive European titles\.

Teen tyro Nepela claims Olympic crown

The two leading figure skating pairs in Sapporo each hailed from the Soviet Union\.Irina Rodnina and Aleksei Ulanov were the favourites, having taken over from Lyudmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov as their country's most heralded skaters\. The former pair had won the last four European titles and were the reigning

Rodnina and Ulanov win Soviet duel 

Despite his status as reigning champion, Solberg was not the favourite in Sapporo\. The Soviet Union's Aleksandr Tikhonov, who had taken silver behind the Norwegian in Grenoble, had since established himself as biathlon's dominant star, consistently beating Solberg at world championship events\. In fact, Solberg's form ahead of the Games

Solberg makes biathlon history

The East Germans were always likely to be strong\. They would later win both the men's and women's singles events, and with two crews racing in the doubles, a one\-two seemed a real possibility\. But the single\-run format placed extra stress on each athlete to push themselves to the limit\.

Italians and East Germans share doubles title 

However, the early pace was set Sweden's Hasse Börjes, who broke the Olympic record racing in the first pair\. Keller appeared just two pairs later, knowing that he would have to produce something rather special\.

Flying dentist sprints to success 

Perhaps aided by his anonymity and the low expectations, Fortuna rose to the occasion to deliver something rather special\.

Unknown Fortuna takes a big leap for Poland

Marilyn and Bob were in action in the women’s and men’s slalom, giant slalom and downhill respectively, but neither came close to a place on the podium\. Barbara, meanwhile focused her efforts on the giant slalom and slalom\. She took a creditable 11th place in the former, before focusing her

Cochran defends family honour

The slalom specialist, known to just about everyone as Paquito, came to Sapporo with hopes of performing well and finishing in the top ten\. He had never before finished higher than sixth in a major competition and there was little in his pre\-Olympic form to suggest that he was ready

Ochoa blazes Winter trail for Spain

After the first run of the giant slalom in Sapporo, few expected Gustavo Thöni to end the Italian drought\.

Thöni ends Italy’s Alpine drought

The Swiss made his World Cup debut in 1968, at the age of 19, and a year and a half later he was racing on the circuit full\-time\. He only had to wait a few months for his first top\-10 finish, and then claimed the downhill title at the 1970

Russi rises to the top

Kulakova, a physical education teacher, had made her Olympic debut four years earlier in Grenoble, coming away with an individual silver and a team bronze\. However, it is for her exploits in 1972 that she will be best remembered, as she produced a golden clean sweep in the 5km, the

Kulakova strikes double gold

He followed that up with two golds at the 1970 World Championship, confirming himself as one of the best long\-distance cross country exponents on the international circuit, and he arrived in Sapporo as one of the favourites for both the 50km and 30km\.

Vedenin taps into gold reserve

His first opportunity in Sapporo came in the 30km\. Tyldum, who worked as a farmer, was last to start\. In the end he got the better of fellow Norwegian Johs Harviken in the race for silver, though both men finished a long way behind the eventual champion, Vyacheslav Vedenin of

Individual glory for Tyldum

Sapporo 1972 - Stories Mosaic

Half a century ago, the Olympic cauldron was lit for the first time at a Winter Games in Asia. Sapporo 1972 was the first Olympic Winter Games not only in Japan but also in the Asian region. Sapporo, the most northern metropolis of Japan, situated in Hokkaido, welcomed 1,006 athletes

Japanese ice skater Tomoo Kurosawa arrives at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo carrying the Olympic Flame during a rehearsal for the Sapporo Winter Olympics, 11th January 1972. The last batch of torches were defective, causing the flame to die during the relay, and have had to be replaced. (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

GettyImages-52618731

Look to the past: Sapporo 1972, the first Olympic Winter Games in Asia

Martin Stokken's first major sporting victory came in 1946 when he became the Norwegian cross-country champion. Stokken had only recently returned from Sweden, where he had fought in World War II on the side of the Norwegian Resistance.
The 23-year-old didn’t want to return to his previous job as a

Look to the past: Magnar Solberg and the art of shooting on an anthill

Little Josephine Becker was nervous as she took to the ice for her first ever figure skating competition. No matter how the youngster performed at the outdoor rink in New York, however, she was always going to look the part. Her mother is fashion designer and former figure skater, Vera

Musician Justin Bieber reacts during the 2017 NHL All-Star Celebrity Shootout as part of the 2017 NHL All-Star Weekend at STAPLES Center on January 28, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)

Justin Bieber ice hockey pop star

Unexpected people who have a winter sports past

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Olympic Winter Games Sapporo 1972

Sapporo 1972Stories

All Stories

Look to the past: Sapporo 1972, the first Olympic Winter Games in Asia

Look to the past: Magnar Solberg and the art of shooting on an anthill

Unexpected people who have a winter sports past

In Sapporo on 7 February 1972, compulsory figures made for compelling viewing

Historic gold and legendary podium sweep for Japan’s ski jumpers at Sapporo 1972