Speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics, was held from 4 to 12 February. Eight events were contested at Makomanai Open Stadium in Sapporo, Japan.[1] This was the first Olympics at which electronic times were recorded to the hundredth of a second.[2]
| Speed skating at the XI Olympic Winter Games | |
|---|---|
 Pictogram for speed skating | |
| Venue | Makomanai Open Stadium |
| Date | 4–12 February 1972 |
| No. of events | 8 |
| Competitors | 118 from 18 nations |
Medal summary
editMedal table
edit| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Netherlands (NED) | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 |  United States (USA) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 |  West Germany (FRG) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 4 |  Norway (NOR) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 5 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 6 |  Sweden (SWE) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Totals (6 entries) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | |
The Netherlands topped the medal table, with four golds and nine overall, led by Ard Schenk's three gold medals.
Schenk led the individual medal table, winning each of the three longer distance events. The most successful female skater was the Netherlands's Stien Kaiser, who won one gold and one silver medal.
Men's events
edit| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 metres |
Erhard Keller West Germany |
39.44 (OR) |
Hasse Börjes Sweden |
39.69 | Valery Muratov Soviet Union |
39.80 |
| 1500 metres |
Ard Schenk Netherlands |
2:02.96 (OR) |
Roar Grønvold Norway |
2:04.26 | Göran Claeson Sweden |
2:05.89 |
| 5000 metres |
Ard Schenk Netherlands |
7:23.61 | Roar Grønvold Norway |
7:28.18 | Sten Stensen Norway |
7:33.39 |
| 10,000 metres |
Ard Schenk Netherlands |
15:01.35 (OR) |
Kees Verkerk Netherlands |
15:04.70 | Sten Stensen Norway |
15:07.08 |
Women's events
edit| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 500 metres |
Anne Henning United States |
43.33 (OR) |
Vera Krasnova Soviet Union |
44.01 | Lyudmila Titova Soviet Union |
44.45 |
| 1000 metres |
Monika Pflug West Germany |
1:31.40 (OR) |
Atje Keulen-Deelstra Netherlands |
1:31.61 | Anne Henning United States |
1:31.62 |
| 1500 metres |
Dianne Holum United States |
2:20.85 (OR) |
Stien Kaiser Netherlands |
2:21.05 | Atje Keulen-Deelstra Netherlands |
2:22.05 |
| 3000 metres |
Stien Kaiser Netherlands |
4:52.14 (OR) |
Dianne Holum United States |
4:58.67 | Atje Keulen-Deelstra Netherlands |
4:59.91 |
Records
editSeven of the eight events had new Olympic records set, with only the men's 5000 metres record remaining unbroken.[3][4]
| Event | Date | Team | Time | OR | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men's 500 metres | 5 February | Erhard Keller (FRG) |
39.44 | OR | |
| Men's 1500 metres | 6 February | Ard Schenk (NED) |
2:02.96 | OR | |
| Men's 10,000 metres | 7 February | Ard Schenk (NED) |
15:01.35 | OR | |
| Women's 500 metres | 10 February | Anne Henning (USA) |
43.33 | OR | |
| Women's 1000 metres | 11 February | Monika Pflug (FRG) |
1:31.40 | OR | |
| Women's 1500 metres | 9 February | Dianne Holum (USA) |
2:20.85 | OR | |
| Women's 3000 metres | 12 February | Stien Kaiser (NED) |
4:52.14 | OR |
Participating NOCs
editEighteen nations competed in the speed skating events at Sapporo.
Australia (2)
Austria (1)
Canada (10)
Finland (6)
France (1)
East Germany (2)- West Germany (7)
Great Britain (2)
Italy (2)
Japan (13)
North Korea (6)
South Korea (4)
Mongolia (2)- Netherlands (10)
- Norway (14)
- Soviet Union (9)
- Sweden (11)
- United States (16)
References
edit- ^ "The XI Olympic Winter Games Sapporo 1972" (PDF). Organizing Committee for the XIth Olympic Winter Games. LA84 Foundation. 1972. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
- ^ "Speed Skating at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- ^ "ISU - Speed Skating - Records - World Records". International Skating Union. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
- ^ "ISU - Speed Skating - Records - Olympic Records". International Skating Union. Retrieved 29 January 2014.