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
1970s in sports team's close victory game. The U.S. complained about errors in officiating but the victory by the Soviet Union was upheld. Among the 1972 Summer Olympic highlights was the performance of swimmer Mark Spitz, who set seven World Records to win a record seven gold medals in one Olympics, bringing his total to nine. Other notable athletes at the 1972 games were sixteen-year-old Olga Korbut, whose success in women's gymnastics earned three gold medals for the Soviet Union, and British athlete Mary Peters, who took home the gold in the women's pentathlon. The 1976 Summer games in Montreal marked the first