Israel competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, which began on August 26. On September 5 and 6, in the Munich massacre, 11 members of the Israeli delegation—5 athletes, 2 referees, and 4 coaches (names bolded on this page)—were taken hostage by the Black September Organization terrorists and murdered. The remainder of the team left Munich on September 7.
Shaul Ladany, a Holocaust survivor, competed in the 50-kilometer walk. He had been imprisoned in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp as a child, and wore a Star of David on his warm-up jersey. When he was congratulated by locals on his fluent German, he responded: "I learned it in Bergen-Belsen". He survived the Munich massacre by jumping off a balcony.
Results
Name Sport Event Placing Performance Athletics Men's 50 km walk 19 4:24:38.6Official Report, p.56(also entered for 20 km walk, but did not start)Athletics Women's 100 m Semifinal (5th) 11.49Official Report, p.65 Women's 100 m hurdles Semifinal Did not start (left Munich before the semifinal) Fencing Men's foil Second round W5–L5 (1R 3-2, 2R 2-3)Official Report, pp.247–250 Fencing Men's foil Second round W2–L8 (1R 2-3, 2R 0-5) SailingFlying Dutchman2328-22-22-19-25-19-DNS = 171 pts(left Kiel before 7th race)Official Report, p.506 Shooting 50 metre rifle prone 23 593/600Official Report, p.229 50 metre rifle three positions 46 1114/1200Official Report, p.231 Shooting 50 metre rifle prone 57 589/600Swimming Women's 100 m breaststroke Heats (8th) 1:20.90Official Report, p.344 Women's 200 m breaststroke Heats (6th) 2:53.60 Weightlifting Light-heavyweight <82.5 kg — J:132.5 C:122.5 S:— T:—Official Report, pp.166–7 Weightlifting Bantamweight <56 kg 12 J:102.5 C:102.5 S:125 T:330 Official Report, pp.164–5 Weightlifting Middleweight <75 kg — Retired injured on third attempt to press 137.5 kg Wrestling Freestyle — Light Flyweight <48 kg Group stage 0W–2LOfficial Report, p.131 Wrestling Freestyle — Lightweight <68 kg Group stage 1W–2LOfficial Report, p.135 Wrestling Greco-Roman — Middleweight <82 kg — Did not start (taken hostage before his scheduled event)
Referees The following nominated referees and judges were in the delegation:Official Report, p.537 Yossef Gutfreund — wrestling Yakov Springer – weightlifting
Coaches and officials The following coaches and officials were in the delegation:Official Report, p.534 Shmuel Lalkin — Chef De Mission Micha Shamban — presumably deputy of Chef De Mission Eliyahu Friedlender - sailing team manager Amitzur Shapira — athletics coach Kehat Shorr — shooting coach Tuvia Sokolovsky — weightlifting coach Andre Spitzer — fencing coach Moshe Weinberg — wrestling coach Itzhac Aldubi - chairman of ASA (Academic Sport Association) Werner Nachmann Duel Parrack Josef Szwec Kurt Weigl
References