Biathlon at the 1972 Winter Olympics the competing nations; in parentheses are the number of national competitors. Italy made its Olympic biathlon debut. Biathlon at the 1972 Winter Olympics Biathlon at the 1972 Winter Olympics consisted of two biathlon events, held at Makomanai Biathlon Site. The events began on 9 February and ended on 11 February 1972. Five nations won medals in biathlon, the Soviet Union and Norway leading the medal table with one gold medal each, while East Germany were the only country to win more than one medal. Hansjörg Knauthe, who was part of both East German medals, was the only athlete to win
Mark Spitz 4:10.60 and emerged on the world swimming stage. Spitz swam in his first international competition at the 1965 Maccabiah Games. At age 15 in Tel Aviv, he won four gold medals and was named the most outstanding athlete. He returned to Israel in 1969 following the Mexico Olympics to again compete in the Maccabiah Games. This time, he won six gold medals. He was again named outstanding athlete of the Games. In 1985, Spitz lit a torch to open the Maccabiah Games. In 2005, he was a member of the U.S. delegation at the 17th Maccabiah Games. He spoke at