1972 Munich Summer Games
7,830 Athletes, 122 Countries, 195 Events
Just as the 1968 Mexico City Games were marked with political
controversy, the 1972 Munich Games were marked by terrorism. On the
morning of the eleventh day of the Olympics, September 5,
Palestinian terrorists killed two Israeli athletes and kidnapped
nine more. The ordeal ended with all nine hostages, five
terrorists, and one policeman being killed in a clash with West
German officials at a military airport. All competition was halted
for 34 hours, but the Games went on.
The Munich Games set records for number of nations,
participants, and events. American swimmer Mark
Spitz captivated the audience in Munich and across the
world by winning seven gold medals breaking seven world records
along the way. Another American, Frank Shorter
(Yale '69) won the marathon in 1972 becoming the first American to
win the race since John Hayes in 1908. Shorter
took the lead early in the race, but he was greeted by boos when he
entered the Olympic stadium. It was not because the Munich crowd
did not like him in fact, Shorter was born in Munich but an
impostor had donned a track uniform and run a full lap around the
stadium during Shorter's entrance. The crowd was not booing
Shorter, as he would soon learn. Shorter returned to the 1976
Games, winning silver in the marathon.
Shorter was joined by 41 other Leaguers in Munich, including
some members of the Harvard heavyweight eight crew that represented
the United States in Mexico City.
Penn swimmer Eleanor S. Daniel '73 followed up
her threemedal performance in Mexico City with a bronze in the
200-meter butterfly.
Several members of the U.S. equestrian team hailed from the
Ancient Eight. Six-time Olympians Frank D. Chapot
(Penn '55) and William Steinkraus (Yale '48) were
on the jumping team that won a silver medal. Kevin
Freeman (Cornell '63) won a silver medal with the
three-day team.
| Name |
School |
Sport |
| Jamie Melcher |
Columbia University |
Men's Fencing |
| Jon P. Anderson |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Kevin Freeman |
Cornell University |
Men's Equestrian |
| Thomas Gage |
Cornell University |
Men's Athletics |
| Michael Staines |
Cornell University |
Men's Rowing |
| John G. Burton |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Kayaking |
| Dwight D. Campbell |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Kayaking |
| William H. Dinneen |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
| Eric M. Evans |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Kayaking |
| Thorsteinn T.D.E. Gislason |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Athletics |
| Wickliffe W. Walker |
Dartmouth College |
Men's Kayaking |
| Anthony Brooks |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| William T. Endicott |
Harvard University |
Men's Kayaking |
| Charles Hewitt |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Frankin Hobbs, IV |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| William Hobbs |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Paul Hoffman |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| J. Cleve Livingston |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Michael Livingston |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| John K. Marshall |
Harvard University |
Men's Sailing |
| David R. Sawyier |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Lawrence Terry, Jr. |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Paul C. Wilson |
Harvard University |
Men's Rowing |
| Thomas W. Butterfoss |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Frank D. Chapot |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Equestrian |
| Eugene H. Clapp, III |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| W. Richard Crooker |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Eleanor S. Daniel |
University of Pennsylvania |
Women's Swimming |
| L. Ernesto Fernandez-Moreno |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| Aaron B. Herman |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Luther H. Jones |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Paul Todd Makler, Jr. |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| Hugh Matheson |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| James E. Moroney, II |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Rowing |
| Steven J. Netburn |
University of Pennsylvania |
Men's Fencing |
| John Allis |
Princeton University |
Men's Cycling |
| Peter Raymond |
Princeton University |
Men's Rowing |
| Eric Fish |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Robert Kasting |
Yale University |
Men's Swimming |
| Rich MacDonald |
Yale University |
Men's Athletics |
| James McEwan |
Yale University |
Men's Kayaking |
| Al Morales |
Yale University |
Men's Fencing |
| Kwaku Ohene-Frempong |
Yale University |
Men's Athletics |
| Robert Ridland |
Yale University |
Men's Equestrian |
| Michael Schoettle |
Yale University |
Men's Sailing |
| Frank Shorter |
Yale University |
Men's Athletics |
| William Steinkraus |
Yale University |
Men's Equestrian |