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
Speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics Speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics Speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics, was held from 4 to 12 February. Eight events were contested at Makomanai Open Stadium in Sapporo, Japan. This was the first Olympics at which electronic times were recorded to the hundredeth of a second. The Netherlands toppd the medal table, with four golds and nine overall, led by Ard Schenk's three gold medals. Schenk led the individual medal table, winning each of the three longer distance events. The most successful female skater was the Netherlands's Stien Kaiser, who won one gold and one silver medal.