1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics

Also called: XI Olympic Winter Games, 1972 Winter Olympics

Sapporo in Hokkaido, Japan, hosted the first Winter Olympics in Asia; Japan swept gold, silver and bronze in the normal-hill ski jump.

Thirty-five nations took part from 3 to 13 February. These were the first Winter Games outside Europe and North America, held 32 years after Sapporo had given up the 1940 Games because of the war with China. In the normal hill (70 m) ski jump, Yukio Kasaya led a Japanese sweep of the medals. Austrian Alpine skier Karl Schranz was expelled for breaking the amateur rules, and Canada boycotted ice hockey in protest at the amateur regulations.