Wednesday, September 5, 1972. An Olympic Tragedy

On this day in 1972 the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September attacked the Israeli quarters at the Olympic village in Munich, killing two athletes and taking nine hostages.

Black September was named for the failed Palestinian attempt to overthrow the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in September 1970, an event which was a Palestinian disaster. This event itself led to the Palestinians being expelled from Jordan and going to Lebanon.  The organization's connection with the Palestinian Liberation Organization has never been clear, but it is clear that there was one.  In 1973 the PLO caused the shutting down of the organization, whose violent acts had not been successful in engendering any support for the Palestinian cause.

This is an event I can recall happening, and oddly enough I believe I learned about it after the family went swimming on a Wednesday afternoon, something that was pretty common for us to do.  Indeed, we swam a lot during the summer, and almost always did on Saturday afternoons and often on Sunday afternoons.  It wasn't a tradition I kept up with my own family, but I probably should have.  The day prior Mark Spitz had won his seventh gold medal at the Olympics, the first athlete to do so.

Mark Spitz at the 1972 Olympics.

Spitz, then only 22 years of age, retired from swimming after the 72 Olympics, but competed again in 199w after filmmaker Bud Greenberg offered  him $1,000,0000 if he made the team that year. He failed to do so by only two seconds.

Spitz had intended to become a dentist, but the Olympics interrupted that pursuit, and he did not resume it after 1992, other opportunities having developed.  He married the next year and the couple have two children.