Lebanon at the 1972 Winter Olympics

Lebanon at the 1972 Winter Olympics
IOC code	LIB
NOC	Lebanese Olympic Committee
Website	www.lebolymp.org
in Sapporo
Competitors	1 (man) in 1 sport
Medals	Gold 0 Silver 0 Bronze 0 Total 0
Winter Olympics appearances (overview)
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1994–1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026

Lebanon competed at the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, which were held from 2 February to 13 February 1972. This marked Lebanon's seventh appearance in a Winter Games since their debut in 1948. The delegation consisted of a single male alpine skier, Ghassan Keyrouz, who competed in two events. His best finish was 45th in the giant slalom event, thus failing to win a medal.

Background

The Lebanese Olympic Committee was founded in 1946 and officially recognised by the International Olympic Committee on 22 November 1947. ^[1] A few months later, the nation made its debut in the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland. ^[2] Up to this point, Lebanon had not missed a Games except for the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, which they boycotted along with Egypt and Iraq in protest of the Suez Crisis. ^[3]

The 1972 Winter Olympics were held in Sapporo, Japan, from 2 to 13 February 1972. The Games in Sapporo hosted 1,006 athletes in 35 events from 35 different nations. ^[4] Lebanon's participation marked their seventh consecutive appearance in a Winter Games. ^[2]

Lebanon sent a single athlete for these Games, 20-year old alpine skier Ghassan Keyrouz, returning after appearing in the previous 1968 Winter Olympics. ^[5] In addition, Lebanon sent Michel Samen to serve as an official in the jury of the men's giant slalom event, ^[6] along with two other officials, bringing their delegation to a total of four members. ^[7]

Alpine skiing

Main article: Alpine skiing at the 1972 Winter Olympics

The slalom events took place on Mount Teine in Sapporo

Ghassan Keyrouz represented the nation in two alpine skiing events: the men's giant slalom event and the men's slalom event. In the first run of the giant slalom on 9 February, Keyrouz posted a time of 2 minutes, 5 seconds, ranking 53rd in the field. The following day, he skiied with a time of 2 minutes, 11 seconds. With a total time of 4 minutes, 16 seconds, Keyrouz finished 45th in a field of 48, 1 minute and 7 seconds behind gold-medal winner Gustav Thöni of Italy. ^{[8] [10]} On 12 February, Keyrouz placed 6th in Group E of the classification round after posting a total time of 2 minutes, 10 seconds, after two runs. ^[11] The following day, Keyrouz posted a did not finish in the final of the slalom event. ^[9]

Men

Athlete	Event	Race 1		Race 2		Total
		Time	Rank	Time	Rank	Time	Rank
Ghassan Keyrouz	Giant slalom	2:05.10	54	2:11.20	45	4:16.30	45

Men's slalom

Athlete	Classification		Final
	Time	Rank	Time 1	Rank	Time 2	Rank	Total	Rank
Ghassan Keyrouz	2:10.04	6	DNF	–	–	–	DNF	–

References

Citations

1. "About Us". Lebanese Olympic Committee. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
2. "Lebanon (LBN)". Olympedia. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
3. "Politics and Protest at the Olympics". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
4. "Sapporo 1972". Olympics. International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 28 February 2025.
5. "Ghassan Keyrouz". Olympedia. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
6. The XI Olympic Winter Games 1972 , p. 471
7. The XI Olympic Winter Games 1972 , p. 445
8. The XI Olympic Winter Games 1972 , p. 470–471
9. The XI Olympic Winter Games 1972 , p. 473
10. "Giant Slalom, Men". Olympedia. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
11. "Slalom, Men". Olympedia. OlyMADMen. Retrieved 17 March 2025.

Sources

• The XI Olympic Winter Games (PDF). Sapporo: The Organizing Committee for the XIth Olympic Winter Games. 1972. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2007.

External links

• Results at Olympedia