Speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics – Women's 500 metres
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The women's 500 metres in speed skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics took place on 10 February, at the Makomanai Open Stadium.[1][2]
| Women's 500 metres at the XI Olympic Winter Games | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Left-right: Krasnova, Henning, Titova | |||||||||||||
| Venue | Makomanai Open Stadium | ||||||||||||
| Dates | February 10, 1972 | ||||||||||||
| Competitors | 29 from 12 nations | ||||||||||||
| Winning time | 43.33 | ||||||||||||
| Medalists | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
16-year-old Anne Henning produced an upset by defeating her veteran Soviet counterparts and becoming the youngest women's speed skating gold medalist in Olympic history.
Records
Prior to this competition, the existing world and Olympic records were as follows:[3][4]
| World record |  Anne Henning (USA) | 42.5 | Davos, Switzerland | 7 January 1972 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic record |  Lidia Skoblikova (URS) | 45.0 | Innsbruck, Austria | 30 January 1964 |
The following new Olympic and World records was set during the competition.
| Date | Athlete | Country | Time | OR | WR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 February | Monika Pflug |  West Germany | 44.75 | OR | |
| 10 February | Lyudmila Titova | Soviet Union | 44.45 | OR | |
| 10 February | Anne Henning | United States | 43.33 | OR |
Results
| Rank | Athlete | Country | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Anne Henning | United States | 43.33 | OR |
 | Vera Krasnova | Soviet Union | 44.01 | |
 | Lyudmila Titova | Soviet Union | 44.45 | |
| 4 | Sheila Young | United States | 44.53 | |
| 5 | Monika Pflug | West Germany | 44.75 | |
| 6 | Atje Keulen-Deelstra |  Netherlands | 44.89 | |
| 7 | Kay Lunda | United States | 44.95 | |
| 8 | Alla Butova | Soviet Union | 45.17 | |
| 9 | Sachiko Saito |  Japan | 45.35 | |
| 10 | Ellie van den Brom | Netherlands | 45.62 | |
| 11 | Sigrid Sundby-Dybedahl |  Norway | 45.70 | |
| 12 | Paula Dufter | West Germany | 45.77 | |
| 13 | Ruth Schleiermacher |  East Germany | 45.78 | |
| 14 | Cathy Priestner |  Canada | 45.79 | |
| 15 | Ann-Sofie Järnström |  Sweden | 45.83 | |
| 16 | Arja Kantola |  Finland | 46.12 | |
| 17 | Kirsti Biermann | Norway | 46.18 | |
| 18 | Ylva Hedlund | Sweden | 46.24 | |
| 19 | Lisbeth Korsmo-Berg | Norway | 46.33 | |
| 20 | Trijnie Rep | Netherlands | 46.60 | |
| 21 | Ryoko Onozawa | Japan | 46.70 | |
| 22 | Choi Jung-hui |  South Korea | 46.74 | |
| 23 | Sylvia Filipsson | Sweden | 46.78 | |
| 24 | Tuula Vilkas | Finland | 46.85 | |
| 25 | Donna McCannell | Canada | 47.30 | |
| 26 | Lee Gyeong-hui | South Korea | 47.45 | |
| 27 | Monika Stützle | West Germany | 48.15 | |
| 28 | Tak In-suk |  North Korea | 55.80 | |
| - | Sylvia Burka | Canada | DQ |
During her run, Henning had to stop to avoid a collision with Sylvia Burka at the crossover point. She still set the fastest time and a new Olympic record at 43.70. In her re-skate, which she was allowed to take according to the rules, she improved her time to 43.33, breaking the Olympic record.[5]