MONDAY AUGUST 16.2004
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN 13B
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20th Olympiad parallels games in Greece today
By John Rodden Daily Texan, University of Texas via U-Wire
Thirty-two years ago, it was opening day of the 20th Olympiad in Munich, Germany. In the upcoming several days, the talk of the town is all about the new athletic powerhouse, East Germany. Competing in its first Olympiad as a separate nation, East Germany has won 50 medals by Sept. 5 (as much as the rest of Europe combined). Again and again, East German athletes triumphantly mount the victory platform in Munich's Olympic Stadium, which has just been built on the spot where British Prime Minister Chamberlain
landed in 1938 to meet Hitler.
West Germany is, however, also receiving applause that the "New Germany" of 1972 bears no resemblance to the last German that staged the Olympic Games - Hitler's Reich in 1956. Alas, the West Germans' virtuoso staging of the Games is soon overshadowed by a horrific tragedy as Day 11 of the Games opens..
Sometime after 4 a.m., five Palestinian Arab members of the Black September terrorist group, disuised in track suits and toting gym bags, mount the 6-foot security fence surrounding the Olympic Village. Their ease of entry is assisted by information from secret police agents who were affiliated with the East German Olympic delegation.
The Palestinian Arabs proceed to the third floor of 31 Connolly Street, a pedestrian-only street, where the Israeli athletes are housed. Two Israelis are killed as they tried to block their dormitory door against the terrorists. Then, the Black September members seize nine male Israelis — including three coaches, two officials and four athletes, all of them weightlifters and wrestlers — as hostages, demanding concessions from the Israeli government.
In the next 24 hours, as a billion viewers watch in horror, the Israelis and the five Arabs die in a shootout between terrorists and Israeli commandoes. The International Olympic Committee resumes competition after a one-day pause.
Fast-forward to 2004. The PLO activist believed to have been responsible for planning the attack, Abu Daoud, has still never been apprehended. After the Sept. 5 attack, he was reportedly sheltered by East Germany's secret service and lived there into the late 1980s. He now lives in Ramallah.
"The Games must go on," IOC President Avery Brundage proclaims.
Why did the Munich tragedy happen? What was behind it? Did the Munich killings achieve their goal? According to Israeli officials, the "Munich Massacre"
But one of the terrorists, Abu Iyad, has hailed the Munich "adventure" as a success, for it brought the Palestinian cause to the attention of millions of people who had been only dimly aware of it. And Bruce Hoffman, in his authoritative study, "Inside Terrorism," describes the Munich tragedy as "the premier example of terrorism's power to rocket a
failed because its goal was to detail the peace process permanently — and that hasn't happened. In 1997, Ambassador to Germany Avi Primor called the Munich violence "a symbol of terrorism against Israel" and emphasized that violence has not and will not stop the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
cause from obscurity to renown."
Some observers believe the era of terrorism began 30 years ago during the Munich Olympics. According to Frank Shorter, who garnered a gold medal in the Munich marathon (the first and only American ever to win an Olympic marathon), "There was some hijacking of planes before Munich, but that was the first major international attack by terrorists on an entity or a culture. Then you see 9/11, and you realize in a way how over the last 30 years it has just grown. I think you can almost draw a line from Munich to 9/11. It's not that we in America didn't learn from Munich, it just wasn't here. Now it's here."
ATHENS, Greece — For two years, Carly Patterson had the spotlight all to herself.
Patterson eyes Olympic comeback
The gymnast won all but one meet she entered from 2002 through April 2004, and was anointed as the United States' best chance to win all-around gold at the Athens Olympics.
Associated Press
Bela and Martha Karolyi gave her the ultimate compliment, comparing her to Mary Lou Retton. McDonald's featured her in its Olympic advertising campaign, and she made the rounds of the morning talk shows.
That's an awful lot to heap on the shoulders of a 16-year-old who's only 5 feet tall and weighs less than 100 pounds.
"I tried not to focus on what the media was saying about me because I don't want to feel pressure," she said Thursday. "I just do my job. This is a sport I love to do and I do it because I want to."
But Patterson appeared to feel the weight of the expectations at the Olympic trials, where she fell off the balance beam twice. Two
weeks after winning a share of the national title, she finished third at trials.
"This is gymnastics. There's not one person in the world who will go and hit every competition," said Evgeny Marchenko, Patterson's coach. "And I think in a certain way, it was good because we put more focus on certain things."
Two days before the women's competition began, Patterson was solidly back on track. Martha Karolyi, the coordinator of the U.S. team, said Patterson has looked good in practice.
"She'll do the job that's expected of her." Karolyi said.
Even better, there are now five other women to share Patterson's spotlight.
Not only is the U.S. team favored to win gold, but every member has a good story.
ers.
Annia Hatch is a Cuban native who moved to the United States for love and, at 26, she's a rarity in a sport that prizes youth. Mohini Bhardwaj is a fellow "senior citizen" at 25, and she counts former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson as one of her biggest support-
Courtney McCool is a bubbly 16-year-old who burst onto the scene when she won a test event at the Olympic Indoor Hall in March. Terin Humphrey was among the steadiest performers throughout the Olympic qualifying process.
And then there's Courtney Kupets, who blew out an Achilles tendon last August but has come back stronger than ever. She shared the national title with Patterson at nationals and won the Olympic trials outright.
"All of our girls are really, really good," Patterson said. "I don't think anything is just focused on me."
Maybe not. But if the Americans are going to be golden girls, Patterson will play a key role.
Coach Kelli Hill hadn't unveiled her lineups for yesterday's team qualifications by Friday, but Patterson will compete in all four events. If everything goes as planned, her performance there would put her in the all-around, where she'll be among the favorites.
to Russian diva Svetlana Khorkina at last summer's world championships, she discovered she'd competed with two fractures in her elbow. Marchenko has dubbed her "Harley Davidson" because of her toughness, and he's lost track of how many times he's had to stay late in the gym so she can work on something "just one more time."
After finishing a close second
"When she makes a mistake, she's very mad because she's a perfectionist, like most of our gymnasts are," Karolyi said. "So she goes back into the gym to work on the details, to work on the small technical details, and they feel more confident of the outcome."
That's what made Patterson's miscues at trials so stunning. One mistake would have been surprising enough. But she fell off the beam both days, something she hasn't done in years.
"I just went back in the gym and did a lot of routines, a lot of skills. I was never worried about it," she said. "It's like they always say, 'You're getting them out of the way before the real thing.'"
Olympic spectators should have no fear
The Associated Press
ATHENS, Greece — Amid gun-toting police, Patriot missile batteries and circling surveillance planes, fears of a terror attack seemed muted on the eve of the opening ceremony for the Athens Games.
Greek Public Order Minister Giorgos Voulgarakis, who is overseeing efforts to protect Olympic venues, athletes and visitors, said he is convinced the games are in no danger.
Security officials in Europe said the chatter between terror groups has dropped in recent weeks, following the capture of some 50 al-Qaida suspects in Pakistan.
Analysts say that Greece, a low-profile member of the European Union that opposed the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq last year, isn't it itself a prime target for terrorists. But the Olympics provide a tempting terrorist platform.
The $1.5 billion Olympic security package includes about 70,000 personnel and a massive array of
surveillance equipment, including undersea sensors, street cameras and a sensor-laden blimp. NATO also is providing sea patrols and AWACS surveillance planes.
Atop a hill just yards from the Hellenikon Sports Complex where athletes will play softball, baseball and field hockey. Patriot missile launchers are positioned to thwart a potential air attack, with 'the big, black launching tubes pointed at a 45-degree angle. A similar battery squats next to the Olympic Village.
"This is the safest place on the planet," said Martina Navratilova, who, despite her three decades on the pro tour, is making her Olympic debut on the U.S. tennis team.
"It makes you realize the world isn't entirely safe," said former U.S. softball star Dr. Dot Richardson, working the games as a commentator for NBC. "As Americans, sometimes we take our safety at home for granted, but over here you realize that there are people at war."