Israeli Runners Win Gold in Munich Championships, 50 Years After Olympics Massacre
Israeli marathon runners took the gold at the European Championships in Munich, Germany on Monday — nearly 50 years after the Jewish state’s Olympic delegation was massacred in the same city by Palestinian terrorists.
The men’s marathon team won first place with a total time of 6 hours, 31 minutes, and 48 seconds, while Ethiopian-born Israeli runners Marhu Teferi and Gashau Ayale also earned individual silver and bronze medals, respectively. Teferi narrowly lost to first place medalist Richard Ringer of Germany, who crossed the finish line two seconds ahead.
The German men’s team placed second with a time of 6:35:52, while Spain’s team was awarded third with a time of 6:38:44.
Later on Monday, Kenyan-born Israeli runner Lonah Chemtai Salpeter won the bronze in the 10,000 metres run, snagging Israel’s fourth medal in the championships and setting a new Israeli record with her finishing time of 30:36.37.
After the finalists from the men’s marathon race were awarded their medals, Israel’s national anthem Hatikvah was played to applause. Several commentators noted the poignancy of the victory, which came shortly before the 50-year anniversary of the Munich massacre on September 5, 1972, when 11 members of Israel’s Olympic team were murdered in the Bavarian capital by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September. One West German police officer was also killed during a failed rescue attempt.
“In Munich, after everything that happened here in history, to come back and win is something special,” Teferi said after the race, Israeli media reported.
The European Championships are the largest sporting event held in Germany since the Olympics, and utilize the Olympic Park built for the 1972 games.
While the city of Munich has planned programming to commemorate the massacre this year, relatives of the Israeli athletes killed at those games remain locked in a disagreement with the German government over compensation and plan to boycott the main memorial ceremony that will be held at the Olympic Park on September 5.
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