Speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics

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
Refer to caption
Pictogram for speed skating
VenueMakomanai Open Stadium
Date4–12 February 1972
No. of events8
Competitors118 from 18 nations
← 1968
1976 →
1972 Russian 4 kopeks stamp. Olympic Winter Games Sapporo.

Medal summary

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Medal table

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Netherlands (NED)4329
2  United States (USA)2114
3  West Germany (FRG)2002
4  Norway (NOR)0224
5  Soviet Union (URS)0123
6  Sweden (SWE)0112
Totals (6 entries)88824

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

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
500 metres
details
Erhard Keller
  West Germany
39.44
(OR)
Hasse Börjes
  Sweden
39.69 Valery Muratov
  Soviet Union
39.80
1500 metres
details
Ard Schenk
  Netherlands
2:02.96
(OR)
Roar Grønvold
  Norway
2:04.26 Göran Claeson
  Sweden
2:05.89
5000 metres
details
Ard Schenk
  Netherlands
7:23.61 Roar Grønvold
  Norway
7:28.18 Sten Stensen
  Norway
7:33.39
10,000 metres
details
Ard Schenk
  Netherlands
15:01.35
(OR)
Kees Verkerk
  Netherlands
15:04.70 Sten Stensen
  Norway
15:07.08

Women's events

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Event Gold Silver Bronze
500 metres
details
Anne Henning
  United States
43.33
(OR)
Vera Krasnova
  Soviet Union
44.01 Lyudmila Titova
  Soviet Union
44.45
1000 metres
details
Monika Pflug
  West Germany
1:31.40
(OR)
Atje Keulen-Deelstra
  Netherlands
1:31.61 Anne Henning
  United States
1:31.62
1500 metres
details
Dianne Holum
  United States
2:20.85
(OR)
Stien Kaiser
  Netherlands
2:21.05 Atje Keulen-Deelstra
  Netherlands
2:22.05
3000 metres
details
Stien Kaiser
  Netherlands
4:52.14
(OR)
Dianne Holum
  United States
4:58.67 Atje Keulen-Deelstra
  Netherlands
4:59.91

Records

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Seven 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

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Eighteen nations competed in the speed skating events at Sapporo.

References

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  1. ^ "The XI Olympic Winter Games Sapporo 1972" (PDF). Organizing Committee for the XIth Olympic Winter Games. LA84 Foundation. 1972. Retrieved 28 January 2014.
  2. ^ "Speed Skating at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Games". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  3. ^ "ISU - Speed Skating - Records - World Records". International Skating Union. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  4. ^ "ISU - Speed Skating - Records - Olympic Records". International Skating Union. Retrieved 29 January 2014.