Speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics
| 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 | 
| Speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics | ||
|---|---|---|
|  | ||
| 500 m | men | women | 
| 1000 m | women | |
| 1500 m | men | women | 
| 3000 m | women | |
| 5000 m | men | |
| 10,000 m | men | |

1972 Soviet Union 4 kopeks stamp. Olympic Winter Games Sapporo.
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]
Medal summary
    
    Medal table
    
| 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 nations) | 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
    
| 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
    
| 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
    
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
    
Eighteen nations competed in the speed skating events at Sapporo.
 Australia (2) Australia (2)
 Austria (1) Austria (1)
.svg.png.webp) Canada (10) Canada (10)
 Finland (6) Finland (6)
 France (1) France (1)
 East Germany (2) East Germany (2)
 West Germany (7) West Germany (7)
 Great Britain (2) Great Britain (2)
 Italy (2) Italy (2)
.svg.png.webp) Japan (13) Japan (13)
.svg.png.webp) North Korea (6) North Korea (6)
.png.webp) South Korea (4) South Korea (4)
.svg.png.webp) Mongolia (2) Mongolia (2)
 Netherlands (10) Netherlands (10)
 Norway (14) Norway (14)
 Soviet Union (9) Soviet Union (9)
 Sweden (11) Sweden (11)
 United States (16) United States (16)
References
    
- "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.
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