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.
Venues of the 1972 Winter Olympics This campaign proved fruitful when Sapporo was awarded the 1972 Winter Games at the April 1966 IOC meeting in Rome. Venue construction began in 1968 and all but the Tsukisamu Indoor rink was completed in time for the test events at Sapporo in February 1971. Tsukisamu was not completed until late 1971 or early 1972 due to not knowing how many teams would compete at the 1972 Olympic ice hockey tournament. During the men's 5000 m speed skating event, Ard Schenk of the Netherlands won the event despite a snowstorm. It was the first of Schenk's three gold medals at