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| Event type

Individual, Men

Date4 – 5 February 1972
StatusOlympic
LocationMakomanai Cross Country Events Site, Sapporo / Miyanomori Jump Hill, Sapporo
Participants40 from 14 countries
FormatNormal hill ski jumping and 15 kilometres skiing; placements determined by points table.

Defending champion Franz Keller and reigning World Champion from 1970, Ladislav Rygl were among the contenders, but both showed poor form in the ski jumping and were too far behind to compete for medals. The 19-year old Japanese Hideki Nakano was outstanding in the jumping, with the longest and best jump in all of the three rounds. However, his abilities as a cross-country skier were rather modest, ending last in the cross-country event and placing 13th in the final classification. The great surprise of the event was another 19-year old, the East German Ulrich Wehling, placing fourth in the jumping event. To win, he had to beat his closest rival, the 22-year old Finn Rauno Miettinen by approximately one minute in the cross-country, and the young and unmerited German skied well, achieving the third fastest time of the day and beating Miettinen by almost two minutes. His team-mate Karl-Heinz Luck was fastest in the cross-country and advanced from 17th place in the jumping event to a bronze medal in the final classification.

This was the start of a rather unique career in Nordic Combined for Wehling, ending as the most successful Nordic Combined in the history of the Winter Olympics. He and Miettinen became the dominant figures in Nordic Combined for the rest of the decade. With his three Olympic Gold medals Wehling was the king of the Olympics. Miettinen is one of the few athletes who can claim five victories at the prestigious Holmenkollen.

PosCompetitorNOCPointsSki Jumping, Normal HillCross Country Skiing, 15 km
1Ulrich WehlingGDR413.340200.9 (4)49:15.3 (3)Gold
2Rauno MiettinenFIN405.505210.0 (2)51:08.2 (15)Silver
3Karl-Heinz LuckGDR398.800178.8 (17)48:24.9 (1)Bronze
4Erkki KilpinenFIN391.845185.0 (9)49:52.6 (4)
5Yuji KatsuroJPN390.200195.1 (6)51:10.9 (18)
6Tomáš KučeraTCH387.935191.8 (7)51:04.0 (14)
7Aleksandr NosovURS387.730201.3 (3)52:08.7 (27)
8Kåre Olav BergNOR384.800180.4 (16)50:08.9 (7)
9Günter DeckertGDR382.970183.4 (12)50:41.1 (10)
10Ralph PöhlandFRG381.195174.8 (22)49:55.6 (5)
11Mikhail ArtyukhovURS380.185183.0 (14)50:57.0 (12)
12Kazimierz DługopolskiPOL375.860184.9 (10)51:38.5 (24)
13Hideki NakanoJPN375.055220.5 (1)55:41.2 (39)
14Kjell ÅsvestadNOR374.405183.1 (13)51:36.2 (23)
15Kazuo ArayaJPN374.040199.7 (5)53:29.3 (34)
16Ezio DamolinITA372.220175.2 (21)50:58.1 (13)
17Stefan HulaPOL370.525178.2 (18)51:29.4 (=21)
18Hans HartlebGDR369.505183.9 (11)52:14.2 (28)
19Henning WeidNOR369.320181.3 (15)51:58.1 (25)
20Urban HettichFRG366.775152.1 (32)49:00.4 (2)
21Mike DeveckaUSA362.835157.1 (27)50:00.0 (6)
22Anatoly ZaytsevURS362.475158.3 (26)50:10.4 (8)
23Gjert AndersenNOR360.315173.3 (23)52:04.8 (26)
24Nobutaka SasakiJPN359.945190.3 (8)54:00.6 (37)
25Alfred WinklerFRG357.110175.6 (20)52:41.5 (32)
26Ladislav RyglTCH355.755160.4 (24)51:09.2 (16)
27Jukka KuvajaFIN354.385160.2 (25)51:17.0 (19)
28Jaroslav SvobodaTCH351.605175.9 (19)53:20.2 (33)
29Vyacheslav DryaginURS347.525146.2 (35)50:29.4 (9)
30Fabio MorandiniITA340.680141.5 (36)50:43.7 (11)
31Józef GąsienicaPOL339.125146.8 (34)51:29.4 (=21)
32Janez GorjancYUG337.520155.8 (28)52:40.1 (31)
33Franz KellerFRG336.860154.0 (31)52:32.5 (30)
34Jim MillerUSA334.950139.7 (37)51:09.9 (17)
35Jacques GaillardFRA325.210155.4 (29)53:59.5 (=35)
36Sven-Olof IsraelssonSWE323.300130.3 (39)51:24.9 (20)
37Ulli ÖhlböckAUT320.710150.9 (33)53:59.5 (=35)
38Teyck WeedUSA313.605129.8 (40)52:26.2 (29)
39Bob KendallUSA303.635139.0 (38)54:34.0 (38)
DNFLibor FoltmanTCH155.0 (30)– (DNS)