Alpine skiing at the 1964 Winter Olympics down by the Austrian army. During a training run for the men's downhill at Patscherkofel on January 25, Ross Milne of Australia lost control and left the course; he hit a tree and later died of a head injury. The Winter Olympics returned to Innsbruck just 12 years later in 1976, after Denver returned its winning bid in November 1972 (Innsbruck was awarded the 1976 games in February 1973). Four nations won medals in alpine skiing, with Austria leading the total medals with seven (three gold, two silver, and two bronze). France also had three gold, with three silver medals.
Olympiapark (Munich) swimmer Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals there during the 1972 Munich Games. This amounted to a remarkable comeback for Mark Spitz, who had fallen short of the 5 gold medals expected of him at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. The venue also saw significant success by the young women's team of the GDR, which was later found - albeit, the matter was essentially an open secret - to be the result of an extensive doping programme. One notable feature of the Munich "Schwimmhalle" is the way in which the cobbled paths leading to the venue continue under the canopy as