| 1972 Winter Olympics medals | |
|---|---|
| Location | Sapporo,  Japan |
| Highlights | |
| Most gold medals |  Soviet Union (8) |
| Most total medals | Soviet Union (16) |
| Medalling NOCs | 17 |
The 1972 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XI Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event held in Sapporo, 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.[1]
Seventeen NOCs won at least one medal and fourteen of them collected at least one gold. The Soviet Union finished at the top of the gold and overall medal counts with 8 and 16, respectively. Along with Norway, the Soviet team also won the most silver medals (5). East Germany, 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.[2]
Three NOCs won a single medal: Canada (silver), Poland and Spain (gold). For the last two, these were their first-ever gold medals at the Winter Olympics,[3] and in the case of Spain, it was its first medal.[4] This was Canada's weakest result since the 1936 Winter Olympics, when its athletes also brought home a single silver medal.[5] The NOCs from the Republic of China and the Philippines sent athletes to the Winter Olympics for the first time, but failed to win any medals.[6][7]
- ^ "Sapporo 1972 Winter Olympics". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.
- ^ "Japan wins first gold medal; Schenk grabs 2nd". The Modesto Bee. Associated Press. 6 February 1972. p. B-1. Retrieved 29 August 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "1972 Sapporo, Japan". Vancouver Now. CBC. 18 December 2009. Archived from the original on 23 November 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Francisco Fernández Ochoa biography and Olympic results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- ^ "Russian finish on top again". The Gazette. Montreal, Canada. 14 February 1972. Archived from the original on 20 October 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Chinese Taipei". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Philippines". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.