Olympics – 1972 Munich
Twenty six years after the Berlin Games – remembered with
such horror – Germany
became the setting for a hostage situation. Once more the Games showed that,
despite themselves, they were the perfect reflection of their time.
These Games were to be the greatest ever; Germany was
determined to erase the shadow cast by the Berlin Games. Yet the nightmare that
unfolded on the night of Tuesday 5 September made the Munich Olympics
synonymous with fear. Masked Palestinian gunmen forced their way into the
building in the Olympic Village housing the Israeli delegation, taking athletes
and officials hostage and murdering two in cold blood.
For the first time in the history of the Olympics, the
Olympic truce had been violated. The tragedy culminated in a shootout at the
airport where the Palestinians had planned to escape with their Israeli
hostages. Nine more Israelis, five Palestinians and a police officer perished.
By comparison, Mark Spitz’s seven Gold medals seemed meaningless and so too did
the performances of two remarkable sixteen – year – olds, high jumper Ulrike
Meyfarth and gymnast Olga Korbut. The 640 kg lifted by the indomitable Soviet
weightlifter Vassily Alekseyev, the cap worn by the exuberant David Wottle in
the 800 meters, and the laughter of the magical Ugandan Akii Bua, 400 meters
hurdle Gold medalist, could do nothing to relieve the sense of shock.
In the words of IOC President Avery Brundage, “Peace must
prevail over violence”. So the Games went on. East
Germany and the USSR pushed Americans to the limit
and the Finns challenged the dominance of their African counterparts. Yet sport
paled into insignificance in the face of tragedy, described as a tragedy in
paradise by 1956 Olympic discus champion Olga Connolly, an intimate witness to
the terror. September 1972 was a black month indeed.
2.16 am: It’s Gone Badly Wrong
On the morning of 05 September, gunmen belonging to the
Palestinian faction Black September burst into the Israeli pavilion in the
Olympic Village. Never before had murder been committed in the Olympic Village.
Palestinian terrorists stormed the Israeli apartment building at 31 Connoly
Strasse, killing wrestling trainer Moshe Weinberger and weightlifter Yossef
Romano. By the next morning nine more Israelis had died. The Fedayeen had taken
hostage members of the Israeli delegation and made a demand for the release of
Palestinian detainees in Israel ,
with a threat to shoot the hostages if their demand was not met. At 9.39 am the
kayak – canoe heats were held and at 10.39 am Avery Brundage, the President of
the IOC announced that the ‘Games must go on’. At 3.39 pm the Egyptian
basketball team refused to play their match against the Phillipines and the
Games were suspended until 10 am the following day. The rescue operation
mounted by the German police went horribly wrong and all the nine hostages were
killed along with four Palestinians.
An Emotional Ceremony at The Olympic
Stadium
The delegations slowly entered the Olympic stadium, which
should have rung with the sounds of athletic competition. Only sorrow filled it
then. The faces of the Israelis were terse. The Munich Philharmonic performed
the Funeral March from Beethoven’s symphony. It was overwhelming. The head of
the Israeli delegation addressed the crowd in Hebrew: “Those who have died were
true sportsmen, cut down in their prime”. He then listed the names of the
victims. The crowd of 80,000 spectators all rose to their feet. “In spite of
this abominable crime, we have decided to continue competing in these Olympic
Games, in a spirit of harmony and integrity.”
Spitz in All Humility
Seven Gold medals, seven world records in swimming. Yet
these outstanding achievements on the part of the American seemed almost
derisory, in light of the tragic events of the past few days – as Spitz himself
was all too aware. Spitz truly was a phenomenon. No man had ever come as close
to embodying the majesty of dolphins as him. Every atom of his being was
efficient. Mark Spitz had dominated the butterfly stroke since 1969. Since
1968, he had favored the 100 and 200 meters double in both free style and
butterfly. This turned out to be the best possible combination for picking up
titles and medals by opening the doors to the relays. Spitz’s exceptional
flexibility and power of recuperation were instrumental in giving his
outstanding performances.
Shane Gould – Superstar at Fifteen
The Australian swimmer finished the Games with three titles,
five medals and three individual world records. From the time she began to
compete at the Games, her timings were without precedent. So it was that the
Americans had to play second fiddle to this Australian, in terms of both their
motivation and their results – in spite, too, of their momentary conviction
that they had escaped her iron rule.
The Fall of The American Empire
For the first time in the history of Olympic sport the
American basketball team had been beaten. However, the eagerly anticipated
final between the USA and USSR
ended in confusion, and in the closing seconds the Americans lost a game they
thought they had won. A score of 50 – 51 meant victory for the Russians and the
Americans outraged, protested against what they considered as daylight robbery!
The main feature of the protest by the Americans was the granting of three
extra seconds as, according to the FIBA rules the match was over.
Nearly half a century later, after the Finns had won the
middle distance races of 1500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters and Paavo Nurmi and
Ville Ritola had achieved success; did they once again dominate the events in Munich , and Pekka Vasala
and Lassie Viren emerged winners. While Pekka won the 1500 meters beating Kip
Keino in the finals, but the race lacked the flavor which it would have had,
had Jim Ryun the winner in 1968 Mexico Games, also been there. Unfortunately,
Jim was eliminated in the fourth qualifying heat as he had fallen on the curb
and injured himself. Lassie Viren achieved the double of winning the 5,000 and
10,000 meters and joined the greats like Hannes Kolehmainen (Finland) in 1912,
Emil Zatopek (Czechoslavakia) 1952 and Volodomyr Kuts (USSR) 1956.
Darling of The Games
Tiny Olga Korbut of USSR gave everything to her sport,
enchanting the public and the media with her charm and the vulnerability that
would cost her the overall victory. Olga, who was leading the pack after the
floor and vault and with two more disciplines to go, fell during her routine in
the assymetrical bars and missed her remount, due more to nerves than lack of
skill. When she was scored 7.5, she burst into tears. A spectator who had
evaded the stewards, handed her a bouquet of dried flowers and she with tears
streaming down her face, stood up, flowers in hand. She received a roaring
ovation.
The Games in Brief
Opening Date 26
August 1972
Closing Date
10 September 1972
Nations Represented 121
Athletes
7,123 (1,058 women, 6,065 men)
Sports
21 (8 open to women)
Events 172
Games Opened By
Gustav Heinemann, President of West
Olympic Flame Lit By
Gunther Zahn (athletics)
Olympic Oath Read By
Heidi Schueller (athletics)
IOC President
Avery Brundage (USA
Officials swore the Olympic oath and a woman athlete took
the oath for the first time, and Archery returned to the Olympic programme
after a 52 year absence.
PS -: Matter researched from the archives of the Olympic
museum in Lausanne .
Brigadier (retd) S D Dangwal
+919410900051
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