Sapporo Orinpikku (1972) - full transcript

Specially selected by
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Conception by: SAPPORO WINTER OLYMPICS
ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

Realization by
NEWSREEL PRODUCERS ASSOCIATION

SAPPORO WINTER OLYMPICS

GREECE, DECEMBER 28,1971

KYOTO, DECEMBER 31, 1971

JANUARY 1, 1972

The sacred flame, coming via Okinawa,
arrives at the Tokyo National Stadium.

It's winter...

in Sapporo, Hokkaido.

The Ainu people indigenous to this region



called this vast and dry land Sapporo.

Hokkaido, Japan's northern island.

The Siberian winds bring snow.

To this vast, dry land, the sacred flame
has been brought from Athens.

People run through the snow
carrying the flame...

toward the snow festival.

Teams from every country arrive.

Oh! I don't even know what to say.
I want -

I'm very happy I made it to Japan.

I'm here in Sapporo,
and I wish all the people of Sapporo -

What color are your eyes?

- Brown.
- Brown.

Yes.

After the games, would you like
to visit other cities in Japan?



How are you? You're here to win, right?

It's so difficult.
There are so many competitors.

What do you think of the Japanese snow?

- I don't know. I still have to see.
- Is it your first time here?

I've been here once before in the spring,
but not here in Sapporo.

Yes, I've already been in Sapporo in April,
and I really like it.

By the way,
do you have a boyfriend in Austria?

What's your opinion on amateurism?

What can I say? I believe that all athletes
should have an opportunity.

Right. After the games would you like
to visit other cities in Japan?

We don't have any time.
We need to leave straight for America.

And we have to be in the World Cup.

I'm well. How about you? Thank you.

For the kids and the family.

All kinds of genuine Japanese things.

- Paris.
- In Paris, Hamburg.

- Paris, Geneva, Hamburg.
- Hamburg?

- Geneva.
- Okay, Geneva.

The president of the IOC, Avery Brundage,

arrives on January 29
at Chitose Airport, Sapporo.

He immediately holds a press conference.

Mr. Brundage says
that athletes brandishing trademarks

on alpine skis and clothing

have tarnished the amateur spirit
of the Olympic Games.

As a result,

the IOC bars Karl Schranz
from the competition.

This unexpected event
shocks the delegates of every country.

The entire Austrian team,
including Karl Schranz,

was poised to boycott the Games.

The situation becomes chaotic.

The very opening
of the Olympic Games is in doubt.

But in the athletes' village in Makomanai,

the competitors
have already started training.

The snow falls on this sea-bound land,
piling high.

A blanket of snow covers the land.

Mountains, rivers,

plains, roads,

ports, houses.

A land of people.

The snow piles up,

hemming people in.

People must go out into the snow.

They must venture out into the snow
for food,

to seek out friends.

White waves across the undulating land.

A crisp and glittering whiteness.

A vast whiteness
stretching out before human beings,

the obscurity falling away before them.

Human beings running through the snow
which dances down from the sky

onto a field of muted colors.

KOFUKU (HAPPINESS) STATION

A town of snow in a sea-bound land.

Human beings come running,

human beings come sliding.

Sometimes in search of friends,

sometimes in search of game.

Over barren plains
devoid of either campfire or torchlight,

next to deep lakes and through dark woods,

these human beings
have been running for a long time.

Onto this sea-bound land, the snow falls.

And the snow piles up.

The snow falls on the land,

and the snow piles up.

The flame brought from Athens
is separated into three torches in Hokkaido.

One is run through Kushiro,
Akkeshi, Onneto,

Nemuro, Bekkai, Nakashibetsu,

Nijibetsu, Biruwa, Tofutsuko,

Abashiri, Rubeshibe, Obihiro,

Taiki, Kofuku, Ruran,

Chihira, Hyakuninhama, Erimo,

Utabetsu, Fuemai, Samani

and Urakawa to Sapporo.

Another goes via Hakodate, Matsumae,

Kaminokuni, Esashi,

Kumaishi, Oshamanbe,

Abuta, Toya, Kutchan...

and Otaru to Sapporo.

The third goes via Wakkanai, Sarobetsu,

Bifuka, Nayoro, Shibetsu,

Wassamu, Haboro, Tomamae,

Rumoi, Asahikawa,

Furano, Ashibetsu, Akabira,

Takikawa, Bibai

and lwamizawa to Sapporo.

The three flames become one...

here in Sapporo.

Mount Eniwa - 4,330 feet high.

It is an active volcano,
emitting sulfurous fumes.

Lake Shikotsu, at the foot of Mount Eniwa,
never freezes,

even in the middle of winter.

At a point overlooking
Eniwa's downhill course,

a film crew has built a high tower.

The downhill racers
have begun their official training.

With speeds reaching over 80 miles per hour
over a course measured in seconds,

nonstop training is essential.

Also, wearing a helmet
is compulsory for the skiers.

The vertical drop is 2,585 feet.

The maximum gradient is 37 degrees,

and the average gradient is 16 degrees.

When 1/100th of a second
can make all the difference,

competitors must get to know the course
before the racing begins.

It was really cold this morning,
wasn't it?

When I got back from Tokyo
and came out of Chitose Airport,

the sight of the snow refreshed me.

I really prefer it here over Tokyo.

- Was it scary flying?
- Not at all.

It's better than being
bumped around on the bus.

Really?
I'd be scared, going up and down like that.

Now we will commence the opening ceremony

of the 11th Winter Olympic Games.

Accompanied by the Sapporo Olympic march,

which praises the young athletes
and their glory on the vast Hokkaido snowfield,

the delegates begin their entrance march
from the east gate.

First comes Greece,

that glorious country
which always leads the Olympic parade.

From South America, comes Argentina.
Third is Australia.

Here comes Austria.

With Schranz's disqualification,
it seemed Austria might withdraw,

but they are marching in high spirits.

Fifth is Belgium, and sixth is Bulgaria.

Then more countries from Europe.

Canada, with the maple leaf emblem
and bright-red duffle coats.

So many bright colors
spilling over the icy surface.

Czechoslovakia
makes its 11th consecutive entry.

They wear the light-brown coats.

Next comes North Korea.

A blue cross on a white background -
Finland, a country of lakes.

A country where skiing is a daily necessity.

The home of Alpine sport - France.

Let's have a look at these outfits.

Very chic in dark blue,
and topped off with a casquette.

The world is watching
the Sapporo Olympics fashions,

and the French team is a feast for the eye.

The festival of snow and ice
is about to reach a climax.

Since the last Winter Games in Grenoble,
there are two German teams.

Third-timer East Germany
has a strong ski jumping squad.

West Germany.

The Summer Olympics
will be held in Munich this year.

In speed skating, Erhard Keller
is aiming for a second gold medal.

With the Union Jack, it's Great Britain.

The flag bearer
is bobsleigher Michael Freeman,

a 34-year-old RAF officer.

There isn't a cloud in the sky.
It's a perfect day for the opening ceremony.

The women in ice blue,
the men in dark blue-and-beige trousers.

Hungary is 16th.

Seventeenth, from the Middle East, is Iran.

A big welcome for the 18th team,
the cheerful and jolly Italians.

Our neighbor, South Korea.
All their athletes are skating competitors.

Twentieth is Lebanon,
followed by Liechtenstein and Mongolia.

The skating kingdom, Holland,
with the great Ard Schenk.

After New Zealand,
it's Norway, the birthplace of skiing.

The ski jumping kingdom,
with beautiful blonde female athletes.

A first entry for the Philippines.

And, from Eastern Europe, Poland.

Following Romania,
Spain's flag bearer is Ochoa, a skier.

Sweden's strengths are speed skating
and cross-country skiing.

Switzerland was the first nation
to enter the Sapporo Olympic Games.

A young, vibrant and colorful team -
and with the biggest delegation -

is America, with 156 top athletes.

The women are key, with figure skaters
Janet Lynn and Julie Holmes,

speed skater Anne Henning
and the slalom skiing Cochran sisters.

A lot is expected of these female athletes.

In alphabetical order
after the USA comes the USSR.

Their voluminous fur coats
seem to fill the stadium.

Yugoslavia is 34th.

And 35th and last - being the host country -
Japan.

Their uniform combines red and white.

The flag bearer
is ski jumper Mineyuki Mashiko.

Our hopes lie with Kazumi Yamashita
for women's figure skating,

Yuko Otaka for the luge

and men's speed skaters
Hida and the two Suzukis.

Kasaya is the key figure
on the ski jumping team.

Katsuro is a combined skier.

Will any of these be a first-time
Winter Olympics gold medalist?

President of the Sapporo Winter Olympics
Organizing Committee,

Mr. Kogoro Uemura,

steps up onto the stage,
leading Mr. Avery Brundage.

It is my great honor...

to ask His lmperial Majesty
the Emperor of Japan

to declare the 11th Olympic Winter Games
in Sapporo

hereby open.

I hereby...

declare...

that the 11th Olympic Winter Games
in Sapporo...

are now officially open.

The Olympic flag has been delivered
from Grenoble,

host city of the last Winter Olympics,
to Sapporo City.

The Olympic Charter states that the honor
of holding the Olympic Games

is given to a city,
not to a country or a region.

Number one! Fire!

Number two!

Fire!

I promise,
in the name of all the competitors,

that we shall respect and abide
by the rules which govern the Olympics,

that we shall take part in these Olympic Games
in the true spirit of sportsmanship,

for the glory of sport
and the honor of our teams.

Delegate competitor, Keiichi Suzuki.

Downhill skiing.

A skier plunging down
a wall of snow at great speed.

The course like a lightning bolt
on the mountainside of Mount Eniwa.

The skiers adopt a posture
of least resistance,

minimizing the friction
between skis and snow -

calm, yet concentrated -

as they take the shortest path.

They curl themselves into an oval shape,
like an egg.

So as not to display the make of ski,

at the end of the run,

the skier must hand the skis
to the waiting official.

With Schranz gone,

the favorite, wearing Number 4,
is Switzerland's Bernhard Russi.

His time of 1 minute, 51.43 seconds
puts him in the lead.

Second is another Swiss, Roland Collombin.

The other home of Alpine sport,
after France - Austria -

gets third place with Heinrich Messner,

keeping Switzerland
from monopolizing the medals.

The course made
for the downhill competition on Eniwa

is closed two hours
after the competition is over,

giving Mount Eniwa back to nature.

MAKOMANAI INDOOR SKATING RINK

Come on, guys!

Good, good, good! Go on!

CZECHOSLOVAKIA vs. JAPAN

Good. Good!

That was just in front.

Good.

Good!

Yes, that's it! Get back!

Go on, again!

Good, good! Go!

That's dangerous! He's not guarded!

He's not quick enough.

The others are faster. We look tired.

The biathlon.

Shooting in the snow field.

Skiing and shooting.

Does this remind you of something?

The targets popping up out of the snow
could be fleeing animals.

What we see is the humans as hunters.

The origin of the biathlon
is hunting in snow country.

In individual competition,

they ski five laps of the four-kilometer course
and shoot four times.

They first shoot lying flat, then standing.

Then they repeat.

The distance to the target is 50 meters.

The skiing makes them breathless,
and their hands shake when shooting,

but they have no time to rest.

Skiing as quickly as possible,
then shooting with great precision.

Skiing hard makes the body boiling hot.

But shooting requires
the blood to be still.

An instant change from vigorous motion
to tense stillness.

A sport of contradictions.

Wearing Number 28,

Norway's great marksman Solberg
competes fiercely

with his great rival, Number 29,
Tikhonov of the USSR.

Solberg wins.

A town comes to life

A beautiful town

A deluge of flags

Cheering and singing...

This 17-year-old athlete
was unknown before this competition.

Marie-Theres Nadig of Switzerland

appears like a comet
with her dynamic skiing,

immediately taking a gold in the downhill.

How will she perform in the giant slalom?

WOMEN'S GIANT SLALOM STARTING POINT

Yes, the visibility's improving.

W. DREXEL (AUSTRIA)

Ten seconds!

German?

A.M. PRÖLL (AUSTRIA)

B. COCHRAN (USA)

S. POULSEN (USA)

In first place.

Time: 1 minute, 32.35 seconds.

In second place.

Time: 1 minute, 30.75 seconds.

The giant slalom is a timed race.

The skiers start at staggered intervals.

There's a lot of waiting while
the other competitors finish the course.

The resulting time decides their fate.

R. MITTERMAIER (WEST GERMANY)

Medals depend on 100ths of a second.

Annemarie Pröll of Austria is Number 2.

She waits, sure that she has won.

Ten seconds!

Nadig's powerful performance
undermines Pröll's confidence.

Let them through, please!

For the 500-meter speed skaters
on the 400-meter track,

the start is absolutely vital.

They hold a race
to practice timing the start.

For Keiichi Suzuki,
the Sapporo Games are his third Olympics.

- Who are you filming? Muratov?
- Yes, Muratov.

Why him?

I didn't choose him personally,
but Soviet skating suits the Japanese.

- Really?
- Yes.

My skating isn't quite right.
My form is a bit off at the moment.

I think the best way to fix it
is by studying the Soviets.

Oh, right.

That's all.

You said your skating isn't quite right?

Yes.

What exactly is wrong?

I wish I knew.

You haven't skated for days.
Aren't you worried?

Yes, I'm worried. I want to get out there.

But I'm holding back.

We old men have our own ways
of doing things.

It could all go down the drain.
Can't be helped.

It's pretty today, all this snow.

Do you prefer racing when it's snowing
or when it's sunny?

- When it's sunny.
- Sunny.

But tricky conditions
can change the outcome of a race.

It would be good like this.

WOMEN'S COMPULSORY FIGURES

B. SCHUBA (AUSTRIA)

Schuba's scores:

4.6, 4.5, 4.8,

4.4, 4.8, 4.6.

J. LYNN (USA)

K. MAGNUSSEN (CANADA)

Schuba of Austria overwhelms her rivals

with her precision in the compulsory.

5.0, 4.6, 4.7,

4.6, 4.6.

Keiichi Suzuki learned his skating
from the Russians.

West Germany's Erhard Keller has said

how it was, after watching
Keiichi Suzuki's 500-meter race in Europe,

that he became a skater.

It looks like they are bound by a friendship
forged on the ice track.

It isn't just the athletes
who have this passion for the ice.

The man responsible for the Games' ice
is Hirokazu Gomi.

Refrigerating pipes
run under a concrete surface.

Water is patiently sprinkled on top
to create the ice.

Worrying about the temperature
and smoothness,

late at night,
he rests his cheek on the ice.

He knows how concerned the athletes are
about the condition of the ice.

Nowadays, the 500-meter race

is usually done in about 40 seconds.

No preliminary heats?

Well, I think that 500-meter speed skating
is more of a mental game.

So there would be no point in heats.

I like the fact that it's over in one race.

I've never thought about the possibility
of preliminaries.

It's a real man's game. A one-game match.

HASSE BÖRJES (SWEDEN)

The first race is under way.

Börjes is on the inside track.

Börjes's 100-meter time is 9.93 seconds.

E. KELLER (WEST GERMANY)

...33, 34, 35, 36,

37, 38, 39 -

Yes, he did it!

He did it! 39.44!

Fantastic!

- Keller's the best!
- He's first!

39.44 seconds. It's an Olympic record.

The fourth race is under way.

9.91 seconds and 9.87 seconds.

V. MURATOV, USSR - HIDA, JAPAN

A. SCHENK (HOLLAND)

Blatchford's time is 9.81 seconds.

Schenk, 12.24 seconds.

L. LINKOVESI (FINLAND)

The sixth race is under way.

Linkovesi on the inside.

Linkovesi's time is 9.75 seconds.

Eberling's time is 10.01 seconds.

The result of the seventh race.

Number 26, Keiichi Suzuki of Japan.

The time is 41.28 seconds.

Number 23, Bruno Toniolli of Italy,

42.67 seconds.

I did it for my own sake.

I was racing to show
that I'm Suzuki the skater.

It was sheer pride.

It was more about pride than the time.

I was just thinking,
"Look at my skating. I'm Suzuki."

I haven't been good enough to win
the Olympics for a couple of years.

But I couldn't give up completely.

I think that, somewhere inside me,
I still had some twisted ambition

and wishful thinking that chance
would throw something my way.

So it wasn't that you were forced into competing
for the sake of the younger skaters

or because it was the Olympic Games.

You still wanted to do it for yourself.

- You could say that.
- You still thought you had potential.

How did you feel
when you were racing that day?

In the end, I feel - How can I put it?

I've been doing this for a long time,
and when I reached the finish line,

the first thing I thought -
or that occurred to me - was...

"This 500 meters was a long distance!"

That's what I felt.

It was the culmination of my 23-year career.

It also represented all the problems
I endured in many areas.

But all I could think was,
"This 500 meters was a long distance."

Rather than thinking about the 23 years,
I was thinking about that 500 meters!

Do you mean you're quitting?

Yes, that's right.

I've died at Sapporo.

And at Sapporo
I can be reborn and start a new life.

Keiichi Suzuki, 29

5th, 1964 Innsbruck Olympics
40.7 seconds

1st, 1964 Helsinki World Championships
40.7 seconds

1st, 1965 Oslo World Championships
40.7 seconds

1st, 1967 Oslo World Championships
40.3 seconds

8th, 1968 Grenoble Olympics
40.8 seconds

1st, 1968 Göteborg World Championships
40.8 seconds

1st, 1969 Deventer World Championships
40.1 seconds

1st, 1970 Cortina d'Ampezzo
39.3 seconds

19th, 1972 Sapporo Olympics
41.28 seconds

70-METER SKI JUMP
MIYANOMORI

The first Japanese athlete,
wearing Number 5, is Akitsugu Konno.

Known for his sharp jumping,
his nickname is Razor.

Up he goes.

It's a long one to start with -
82.5 meters.

He scores 120.2.

A very sharp jump.
He's leading for the moment.

Wolf of East Germany.

He manages 77.5 meters.

Aochi is a 29-year-old veteran.

He almost reaches the K-point.

83.5 meters!

He beats Konno.

Kodejska of Czechoslovakia, 24 years old.

Exactly 80 meters.

Low style points but good distance.

80 meters.

Number 38, Takashi Fujisawa, Japan.

Number 38, Takashi Fujisawa.

Although small, he has raised
Japanese ski jumping to world-class level.

A beautiful takeoff.

He gets past the 80-meter line,
reaching 81 meters.

Aochi, Konno and Fujisawa
are the top three.

Mork, the hope of Norway,
the home of ski jumping.

Beautiful style but short.

Only 78 meters.

The wind is starting to pick up.

At last it's Japan's ace jumper,
Yukio Kasaya.

All of the 25,000 spectators
hold their breath and wait.

Take it nice and slow, okay?

Kasaya waits for the sign.

It's a long and tense moment.

The flag still hasn't been waved.

The wind's picking up.

The flag is waved - the go signal!
Kasaya springs out.

How is his takeoff?

The Telemark position - a splendid landing.

The distance is recorded as 84 meters.

For style, he scores 57.

19 points from four judges, 18.5 from one.
A tremendous jump!

His overall score is 126.6 points.
Kasaya takes the lead.

On the electronic scoreboard,
the first four names are all Japanese.

Czech Jiri Raska, a 32-year-old veteran,

manages 78.5 meters.

Mr. Kasaya, how are you feeling?

Mr. Kasaya?

For the second jump,
the starting point was lowered.

The length of the runway is 89.5 meters.

The five style judges.

77.5 meters.

Konno is going for his second jump.

He's been improving
all through the competition.

He's putting his heart into it.

He's off!

He's picking up speed.

79 meters.

Wolf of East Germany.

A jump of 81 meters, but he's fallen.

Number 20, Aochi.

He takes off!

He stays on his feet.
He was straining and lost his balance.

Veteran that he is, he recovered.
But only 77.5 meters.

He scores 47 points for style.

At the moment, he's second to Konno.

At last, it's Kasaya's turn.

Kasaya is off!

He's done it! The distance is 79 meters.

A decisive jump for a gold medal.

That was a splendid jump.
A total score of 244.2 points.

A long-awaited Winter Olympics gold
is confirmed.

The crowd cheers.
Other Japanese athletes run to him.

Mashiko, Aochi and Konno -
they're hugging each other for joy!

Kasaya has finally done it!

Japan sweeps all three medals.

Kasaya's rival and friend, Mork of Norway,
is genuinely happy for him.

Mork carries Kasaya on his shoulders.

A refreshing example of sportsmanship.

A beautiful friendship between sportsmen.

The awards ceremony.

Mr. Takeda of the IOC
awards Yukio Kasaya his gold medal.

The silver medal for Akitsugu Konno.

And the bronze medal goes to Seiji Aochi.

The three athletes rejoice in their victory.

It's the first time Japan has made
a clean sweep of the medals

in any event in the Winter Olympics.

The excited spectators gaze up admiringly
at the three flying men.

INTERMISSION

Number 14, Janet Lynn, USA.

WOMEN'S SLALOM

Nadig misses out on a third gold.

B. Cochran wins the gold for USA
with a time of 1:31:24.

Get all three of them together!

NORDIC COMBINED

Japan's Yuji Katsuro finishes fifth.

U. Wehling (East Germany)
Wins Nordic Combined.

G. Thöni (ltaly) wins men's giant slalom.

WOMEN'S 1,500-METER SPEED SKATING

D. HOLUM - USA

Olympics, Olympics.

The clock turns in reverse,
the clock turns in reverse.

Olympics, Olympics.

From Paris, New York and London,
telephones ring, telephones ring.

Olympics, Olympics.

Your face, my face.

Someone is filming us with a big camera.

O Olympics, Olympics

There's a phone call from someone,
from someone

O Olympics, Olympics

Once upon a time, the snow fell
and, without reason, our teardrops fell

O Olympics, Olympics

A film to watch all alone,
weeping without knowing why

MEN'S RELAY

1 ST: USSR - 2ND: NORWAY - 3RD: SWITZERLAND

Olympics, Olympics

The clock turns in reverse,
the clock turns in reverse

Olympics, Olympics.

From Paris, New York and London,
telephones ring, telephones ring

Olympics, Olympics

Your face, my face

Someone is filming us with a big camera

O Olympics, Olympics

There's a phone call from someone,
from someone

O Olympics, Olympics

Once upon a time the snow fell,
and we wept without knowing why

O Olympics, Olympics

A film to watch all alone,
weeping without knowing why

Japan and West Germany are tied 6-6
with less than a minute to go.

And now Japan, in red -

Equipment to protect the body...

like ceremonial costumes...

like masks with divine power...

transforming ordinary men into supermen.

Young men in masks go forth to fight.

And in red and white, Czechoslovakia!

FINAL - USSR vs. CZECHOSLOVAKIA

And now, the ice hockey final,

between the USSR and Czechoslovakia.

For the USSR,
Number 2 Davydov has just come on.

"Boys, be ambitious."

When Dr. Clark spoke these words
in Sapporo,

it was the Meiji era.

"Boys, be ambitious."

The slogan resounded in this new land...

in this big city
built in the northern wilderness.

A city of more than a million people,
Sapporo.

1,250 yen. Okay, 1,200.

SALTED SALMON

I'll have two.

Overflowing dreams

Amongst the stars...

Morning, February 10.

The start of the men's
50-kilometer cross-country.

They have to use the right wax
for today's snow temperature and quality.

The air temperature
is minus six degrees centigrade.

Snow temperature,
minus 8.6 degrees centigrade.

Wind velocity, 6.7 miles per hour.

Fine weather.

The course goes through Sapporo's suburbs
along the Tsukisappu River,

over hilly terrain.

The course,
with 201.8- Meter Mount Yake at its center,

is 25 kilometers long.

The skiers do two laps,

climbing, in total, the equivalent
of a 4,900-foot mountain.

Kalevi Oikarainen of Finland,
34 years old, woodcutter.

To win this 50-kilometer race,

they say a racer
needs 15 years' experience

because pacing is so difficult.

Uphill, downhill and flats.

The varied course has one third of each.

Pal Tyldum of Norway,
29 years old, farmer.

Vyacheslav Vedenin of the USSR,
30 years old, in the military.

Werner Geeser of Switzerland,
24 years old, electrician.

He passes the 15-kilometer mark
with the fastest time.

He's still going strong
and leading at 25 kilometers.

Fyodor Simashev of the USSR,
25 years old, student.

They start the second lap.

Along the course
there are four food stations.

The coaches from all the countries
have prepared special drinks.

The coaches
must also pick up the discarded cups.

The skiers hit the maximum climb
for the second time.

As they tire,

they can't keep their skis
as parallel as on the first lap.

Their skis start to splay.

Tyldum's skis aren't splaying yet.

Completing the 50-kilometer course
takes almost three hours.

The spectators relax
as they wait at the finishing line.

Number 5, Tord Backman, of Sweden:

2 hours, 14 minutes, 12.72 seconds.

After still leading at 40 kilometers,
Geeser starts to slip.

It seems the young Geeser
may have miscalculated his pacing.

Having gone too fast too early,
he drops to sixth.

Tyldum accelerates
and catches up with Geeser.

Just behind Tyldum
is Magne Myrmo of Norway,

28 years old, salesman.

Vedenin finishes third.

Myrmo, second.

Tyldum's time
is 2 hours, 43 minutes, 14 seconds.

He wins over Myrmo byjust 15 seconds.

In the history of the 50-kilometer race,

all Olympic golds have gone
to these three Scandinavian countries.

Norway, the very heart of Scandinavia,
keeps its throne.

Pal Tyldum, 29 years old,

Norwegian farmer.

A bobsleigh is an iron sled
with a steering mechanism and a brake.

The sled's maximum speed
can exceed 75 miles per hour.

40 meters: 5 seconds!

The luge is just a wooden sled
with steel runners on the bottom.

No steering mechanism or brake.

You have just a strap and your ankles
to control the sled

at speeds of 50 miles per hour.

Yuko Otaka,
whose nickname is Little Apple,

finishes fifth.

Sled competitions are held
in the early morning or the evening.

As the riders hurtle
down these chutes of ice,

the temperature must be at its lowest.

The ice walls must not be exposed to heat.

In the two-man luge,
Japan finishes fourth.

The bobsleigh and luge courses
were made here for the first time,

for these Olympics.

Sled races are new sports to Japan.

The Kobayashi-Arai pair
put up a brave fight.

WOMEN'S 500-METER SPEED SKATING

One of the seven wonders
of the Winter Olympics

is the appearance
of incredibly talented athletes from the USA.

Sixteen-year-old Anne Henning
is most definitely one of them.

Although obstructed by Canada's Sylvia Burka
at the crossing,

Henning wins the gold medal.

In the outside lane is Number 37,
Ard Schenk, of the Netherlands.

Come on, Netherlands!

MEN'S 10,000 METERS

Schenk, as I think you already know,

is the world record holder,
at 14 minutes, 55.9 seconds.

An incredible world record!

400 meters: Schenk, 38 seconds.

A medical student in Holland, Ard Schenk.

Height: 6'3". Weight: 198 pounds.

Quite literally a giant on the ice!

MEN'S 5,000 METERS

MEN'S 1,500 METERS

Maeda of Japan, who raced
against Schenk in the 1,500 meters,

expressed his astonishment
at Schenk's speed.

"I did my best to keep up,
but no sooner had he overtaken me

than that giant of a man
disappeared from view!"

10,000 meters: 15 minutes, 1.35 seconds -
an Olympic record.

5,000 meters: 7 minutes, 23.61 seconds.

1,500 meters: 2 minutes, 2.96 seconds -
an Olympic record.

Ard Schenk wins all three gold medals.

MOUNT TEINE

Gaston Perrot is a slalom gate setter.

The layout of the gates
decides the character of the slalom,

so the setter
positions the poles carefully.

The layout of the gates are like questions
that should bring out the best techniques

without disturbing the rhythm of the skiing.

The setter prepares a tricky exam.
He is also like a musical composer.

The red and blue flags
are musical notes on the snow,

a musical score composed by the setter.

It is a score which the skiers must play.

First they walk the course in their skis,
one step at a time,

reading the score and memorizing it.

Later, as they pass the flags
in an instant,

they will remember the rhythm,

racing down the hill
to this scary and thrilling music.

Besides, there will be no rehearsals
for this performance.

G. THÖNI (ITALY)

T. PALMER (USA)

J. N. AUGERT (FRANCE)

R. THÖNI (ITALY)

The slalom is a speciality
of France and Austria.

But suddenly, here comes Ochoa of Spain!

He wins Spain's first gold.

Francisco Fernandez Ochoa.

In this event,
as in every event in the Olympics,

all the records are rechecked byjudges

and are thereafter officially recognized.

Where we lived,
there wasn't a ski slope with a lift.

In order to ski for any distance...

we had to walk to a mountain far away.

And then it was hard work to climb up.

If all we wanted was to jump,

there were hills nearby
which were high enough.

As you start jumping higher and higher,

I imagine that,
even before you reach the 90-meter stage,

there must come a moment
when you first feel fear, right?

It's surprising, but you can get up
to 30 or 50 meters quite easily.

At 50 meters - "Oh!"
When you master the 50-meter jump,

then you can do 80 meters quite safely
and without being afraid.

MOUNT OKURA - 90-METER JUMP

At the old Okura ski jump -

I was a freshman in high school
the first time I was made to jump it.

As I was climbing up the stairs...

I was crying with fear for the first time
in my entire jumping career.

When you start - when you take off -

you don't know
whether it's a good jump or not.

Not at that moment.

After you've taken off into the air

and you feel enveloped by the air,

that's when you know
you've done a good one.

That sort of thing.

The newspapers say
that the Japanese jumpers are tense.

I don't agree with that.

Actually, I'd like to see an athlete
who isn't tense in that situation!

If you weren't on edge, you couldn't
sustain the competitive spirit, right?

Yeah, right.

Climbing up there, the excitement,

feeling enveloped by the air,

managing a safe landing and skiing down -

it's hard to express the feeling
when you've done it.

Being "enveloped" by the air -

I understand what you mean,
but could you explain that a bit more?

- For example, like being in water.
- Yes.

Stretching your body out...

you get a similar sort of feeling,
I think.

Like the air is rushing all around your body
and pressing against it.

Yes.

TAKASHI FUJISAWA (JAPAN)

HIROSHI ITAGAKI (JAPAN)

AKITSUGU KONNO (JAPAN)

What happens next surprises everyone.

Fortuna of Poland jumps 111 meters.

Wojciech Fortuna barely made the grade
to qualify for his country's Olympic team.

M. WOLF (EAST GERMANY)

J. RASKA (CZECHOSLOVAKIA)

Kasaya.

Coming after Fortuna, he jumps 106 meters.

G. NAPALKOV (USSR)

I. MORK (NORWAY)

The second round will now begin.

W. STEINER (SWITZERLAND)

RAINER SCHMIDT (EAST GERMANY)

The wind picks up,

causing Switzerland's Hans Schmid
to lose his balance.

The wind is nature's way
of testing ski jumpers.

Number 50, Yukio Kasaya, Japan.

The flag man signals to the athletes.

Releasing the tension...

he waves his flag.

Nobody knows
what the next moment will bring.

First is Wojciech Fortuna of Poland.

Second, Walter Steiner of Switzerland.

Third, Rainer Schmidt of East Germany.

Dear people of Sapporo,

thank you very much for your hospitality.

Thanks to -

Thanks to your kindness,

we have had an excellent Olympics.

And now, to everyone I say,

sayonara!

Sayonara

Snowflakes trembling on fingertips

Sayonara

Snowflakes glancing on shoulders

Sayonara

Snowflakes drifting in the sky...

The competition only lasts a few seconds,
doesn't it?

You've been concentrating
on this game of a few seconds

for ten years now.

Now, as you rejoin the ordinary world,

Mr. Kasaya, what are your thoughts
on this body you've created over the years?

I'm standing on a pair of skis.

If I have to take these skis off.

I'll have to learn how to stand
on my own two legs!

Do you feel anxious
about joining normal society?

I feel fear.

Producer: SUKETARO TAGUCHI

Supervising Director: MASAHIRO SHINODA

THE END