What was the first Winter Olympics to be held outside Europe and North America?
Answer
Sapporo 1972
Sapporo 1972 was the first Winter Olympics held outside Europe and North America.
The 1972 Games took place in Sapporo, Japan, from 3 to 13 February. They were the first Winter Olympics hosted in Asia and marked a major geographic expansion for the event. Japan had originally been awarded the 1940 Games, but those Olympics were cancelled because of the Second World War.
Sapporo staged 35 medal events, including competitions in alpine skiing, ski jumping, speed skating and figure skating. Japan won its first Winter Olympic gold medal when Yukio Kasaya triumphed in the normal-hill ski jumping event. The next Asian Winter Olympics were held in Nagano in 1998, also in Japan.