History

The 1972 Olympics were supposed to celebrate peace. But, on Sept. 5, the 11th day of the games, Palestinian terrorists destroyed the illusion of peace by raiding the Olympic Village, killing two Israelis and taking nine others hostage.

The tragedy culminated in a battle at a military airport, where the other hostages were killed, along with five of the terrorists and a German policemen. The Olympics were put on hold while a memorial service was held in the main stadium. After a 34-hour hiatus, they resumed.

Bracketing the bloodshed, the Munich games delivered more than the usual Olympic share of athletic excitement and disappointment.

U. S. swimmer Mark Spitz won a record-setting seven gold medals, giving him nine for his career. Tiny Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut was the television star of the games, winning the nickname "the Munchkin of Munich" as she won two gold medals and a silver.

Liselott Linsenhoff of West Germany became the first woman to win an individual gold medal in an equestrian event when she captured the dressage championship. Finland's Lasse Viren fell while running fifth halfway through the 10,000-meter final. But he picked himself up, quickly moved into second place, and not only won the gold but set a world record by running an incredible 56.4-second final lap. Viren went on to win three more gold medals in subsequent Olympics.

In basketball, the United States' 62-game winning streak came to a controversial end in the gold medal game against the Soviet Union. With three seconds left on the clock, the U. S. led, 50-49. Two seconds after the Soviet team inbounded the ball, the head referee suddenly called an official timeout for a consultation at the scorers' table. The Soviet coach insisted that he had called a timeout while Doug Collins was making the free throw that gave the U. S. its lead.

The timeout was awarded with one second left, and the U. S. team celebrated when time ran out after the Soviets inbounded the ball without getting a shot off.

But the secretary-general of the international federation, R. William Jones of Great Britain, ordered that three seconds be put back on the clock and the Soviet team was given another chance. This time, Aleksandr "Sasha" Belov caught the long inbounds pass and scored after pushing through two U. S. defenders, giving the USSR a victory.

A protest was rejected on a 3-2 vote by a jury of appeal and the U. S. team voted not to accept its silver medals. They are still stored in a Swiss bank vault.

There was further disappointment for the United States in track, as Valery Borzov of the Soviet Union won gold medals in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes. The top two U. S. sprinters failed to reach the 100-meter final because they missed their quarter-final heats due to a coach's error in reading the schedule. However, Borzov won the 200-meter so convincingly that it's doubtful an American runner could have beaten him in the shorter sprint, anyway.

For the record, the Munich Olympics were the biggest ever, up to that time. A record 121 nations and 7,123 athletes competed in a 195 events, also a record. Two former Olympic sports were restored to the program, archery after 52 years and team handball after 36 years. Slalom (whitewater) canoeing was also added.

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