| The lowest point in Olympic history occurred in 1972 at the Summer Games in Munich, West Germany, when Palestinian terrorists broke into the athletes' village and killed two Israeli athletes. Nine Israeli hostages taken at the village died later in an airport shoot-out, along with five of the terrorists and a German policeman.
After a memorial service for the victims, competition resumed. A proposed boycott by black African nations caused the IOC to expel Rhodesia from the Games. Mark Spitz (above) of the United States won seven gold medals in swimming. Olga Korbut of the USSR drew raves in winning two gold medals in women's gymnastics after dramatically losing her lead in the all-around. The United States suffered several misfortunes: the poles used by U.S. vaulters were not allowed; Vince Matthews and Wayne Collette were banned from the Games after an alleged "black power" protest; and 16-year-old swimmer Rick DeMont's win in the 400-meter freestyle was disallowed because he had inadvertently taken a banned drug to treat his asthma. The U.S. basketball team suffered its first defeat in Olympic history in a controversial loss to the Soviets when 3 seconds were put back on the clock after an apparent victory for the United States. |
