1972 Summer Olympics
From WikiRun
| 1972 Summer Olympics | |
| Olympiad | XX |
|---|---|
| Host City | Munich, Germany |
| # Nations | 122 |
| Events | 195 |
| Sports | 21 |
| Males | 6,659 |
| Females | 1,171 |
| Total Athletes | 7,830 |
| Stadium | Olympiastadion |
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, in what was then West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972.
The 1972 Summer Olympics were the second Summer Olympics to be held in Germany, after the 1936 Games in Berlin. The Munich Olympics were intended to present a new, democratic and optimistic Germany to the world, as shown by its official motto, "the Happy Games." The emblem of the Games was a blue solar logo (the "Bright Sun"). The Olympic mascot, the dachshund "Waldi", was the first officially-named Olympic mascot. The Games also saw the introduction of the now-universal sports pictograms designed by Otl Aicher. However, this joyful mood was ruined by the killings of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists in an event known as the Munich massacre.
The Olympic Park (Olympiapark) is based on Frei Otto's plans and after the Games became a Munich landmark. The competition sites, designed by architect Günther Behnisch, included the Olympic swimming hall, the Olympics Hall (Olympiahalle, a multipurpose facility) and the Olympic Stadium (Olympiastadion), and an Olympic village very close to the park. The design of the stadium was considered revolutionary, with sweeping canopies of acrylic glass stabilized by metal ropes, used on such a large scale for the first time.
Contents |
Selection
Munich won its Olympic bid on April 26, 1966 at the 64th IOC Session at Rome, Italy, over bids presents by Detroit, Madrid and Montreal.
Below are the vote results, compliments of the International Olympic Committee Vote History web page.
| 1972 Summer Olympics Bidding Results | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City | NOC Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | |||
| Munich |  West Germany
| 29 | 31 | |||
| Madrid |  Spain
| 16 | 16 | |||
| Montreal, Quebec |  Canada
| 6 | 13 | |||
| Detroit, Michigan |  United States
| 6 | - | |||
Munich massacre
The Games were marred by what has come to be known as the Munich massacre. On September 5 a group of eight Palestinian terrorists belonging to the Black September organization broke into the Olympic Village and took eleven Israeli athletes hostage in their apartment, killing two of the hostages in the apartment after fighting back; the subsequent standoff in the Olympic Village lasted for almost 18 hours.
During a botched German rescue attempt at the military airport of Fürstenfeldbruck, where the captors with their hostages had been transferred by helicopter, ostensibly to board a plane bound for an undetermined Arab country, all the surviving Israeli hostages were killed by a Palestinian who threw a grenade into the helicopter carrying the hostages.
All but three of the Palestinians were killed as well. Two of those three were supposedly killed later by the Mossad. Jamal Al-Gashey is believed to be the sole survivor, and is still living today in hiding in an unspecified Arab country. The Olympic events were briefly suspended but Avery Brundage, the International Olympic Committee president, decided that "the Games must go on." Competition resumed a day later.
The attack prompted heightened security at future Olympics beginning with the 1976 Winter Olympics. The massacre led the German federal government to realize the inadequacy of its post-World War II pacifist approach to combatting terrorism, and to the creation of the elite counter-terrorist unit GSG 9. It also led Israel to launch an aggressive counterterrorism campaign known as Operation Wrath of God. The events of the Munich massacre were chronicled in the Oscar-winning documentary, One Day in September. An account of the aftermath is documented in Steven Spielberg's 2005 film Munich.
Highlights
- Mark Spitz, a swimmer from the United States, set a world record when he won seven gold medals (while on the way to setting a new world record for each of his seven gold medals) in a single Olympics, bringing his lifetime total to nine (he had won two golds in Mexico City's Games four years earlier). Being Jewish, Spitz was forced to leave Munich before the closing ceremonies for his own protection, after fears arose that he would be an additional target of those responsible for the Munich massacre. Spitz's record stood until 2008, when it was bettered by Michael Phelps who won 8 gold medals in the pool.
- Olga Korbut, a tiny Soviet gymnast, became a media star after winning a gold medal in the team competition event, failing to win in the individual all-around after a fall (she was beaten by Lyudmilla Turischeva), and finally winning two gold medals in the Balance Beam and the floor exercise events.
- Valeri Borzov won both the 100 m and 200 m in track and field. The top two US sprinters and medal favorites in the 100 m, Rey Robinson and Eddie Hart, won their first rounds. But they were given the wrong starting time for the next round by their coach and missed the race, eliminating them.
- Also in track and field, two black American 400 m runners, Vincent Matthews and Wayne Collett, acted casually on the medal stand, twirling their medals (gold and silver, respectively) and joking with one another as "The Star-Spangled Banner" was being played during the award ceremony. They were banned from the Olympics for life, as Tommie Smith and John Carlos had been in the 1968 Summer Olympics.
- Dave Wottle won the AAU 800 m title before equalling the world record over 800 m of 1:44.3 at the US Olympic Trials. In the Olympic 800 m final, Wottle immediately dropped to the rear of the field, and stayed there for the first 600 m, at which point he started to pass runner after runner up the final straightaway, finally grabbing the lead in the final metres to win by just 0.03 seconds ahead of the favorite, the Soviet Yevgeny Arzhonov. This gained him the nickname of "The Head Waiter". At the victory ceremony, Wottle subconsciously forgot to remove his golf cap. This was interpreted by some as a form of protest, but Wottle later apologized.
- For the first time, the Olympic Oath was taken by a representative of the referees.
- American Frank Shorter, who was born in Munich, became the first from his country in 64 years to win the Olympic marathon. As Shorter was nearing the stadium, German student Norbert Sudhaus, wearing a track uniform, joined the race for the last quarter-mile as a gag. He entered the stadium and ran part way around the track. Thinking he was the winner, the crowd began cheering him. Officials then realized the hoax and ushered the jokester off the course. Arriving seconds later, Shorter was understandably perplexed to see someone ahead of him and to hear the boos and catcalls meant for Sudhaus. This was the third time in Olympic history that an American had won the marathon — and in none of those three instances (see Johnny Hayes and Thomas Hicks articles for details) did the winner enter the stadium first.
- On September 11 a small plane was stolen in Stuttgart and authorities received information that Arab terrorists were planning to drop a bomb on the final ceremonies. IOC officials and Chancellor Willy Brandt, who were attending the ceremonies, were informed. Defense minister Georg Leber had two fighter planes follow the stolen plane, with the intent of shooting it down should it approach Munich. Radar contact to the plane was lost. A short while later, radar contact to an unknown plane was established, but it turned out to be a civilian passenger aircraft. The stolen plane was never found.
Medal summary
Men's events
Women's events
References
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