1972 Summer Olympics medal table American swimmer Mark Spitz won seven events, breaking the record for most gold medals by a single athlete in a single Olympic Games. Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut delivered another memorable performance. She entered the Olympics as an alternate on the Soviet gymnastics team, and replaced an injured teammate before the start of the competition. Korbut performed well during the team competition and captured the global television audience with her personality. She helped the Soviet team win its sixth straight Olympic title and went on to win two more individual gold medals and one silver. Japanese gymnast Sawao Kato won three
Japan at the Olympics Japan at the Olympics Japan first participated at the Olympic Games in 1912, and has competed at almost every Games since then. The nation was not invited to the 1948 Games after World War II, and Japan was part of the American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Japan won its first medals in 1920, and its first gold medals in 1928. Japanese athletes have won 439 medals at the Summer Olympic Games (Except Art competitions at the 1936 Summer Olympics), with the most gold medals won in judo. Japan has also won 58 medals at the Winter