Israel at the 1972 Summer Olympics
# Israel at the 1972 Summer Olympics

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 Palestine Liberation 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 |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Shaul Ladani | Athletics | Men's 50 km walk | 19 | 4:24:38.6 (also entered for 20 km walk, but did not start) |
| Esther Shahamorov | Athletics | Women's 100 m | Semifinal (5th) | 11.49 |
| Esther Shahamorov | Athletics | Women's 100 m hurdles | Semifinal | Did not start (left Munich before the semifinal) |
| Dan Alon | Fencing | Men's foil | Second round | W5–L5 (1R 3-2, 2R 2-3) |
| Yehuda Weissenstein | Fencing | Men's foil | Second round | W2–L8 (1R 2-3, 2R 0-5) |
| Yair Michaeli | Sailing | Flying Dutchman | 23 | 28-22-22-19-25-19-DNS = 171 pts (left Kiel before 7th race) |
| Itzhak Nir | Sailing | Flying Dutchman | 23 | 28-22-22-19-25-19-DNS = 171 pts (left Kiel before 7th race) |
| Henry Hershkowitz | Shooting | 50 metre rifle prone | 23 | 593/600 |
| Henry Hershkowitz | Shooting | 50 metre rifle three positions | 46 | 1114/1200 |
| Zelig Shtroch | Shooting | 50 metre rifle prone | 57 | 589/600 |
| Shlomit Nir | Swimming | Women's 100 m breaststroke | Heats (8th) | 1:20.90 |
| Shlomit Nir | Swimming | Women's 200 m breaststroke | Heats (6th) | 2:53.60 |
| David Berger | Weightlifting | Light-heavyweight <82.5 kg | — | J:132.5 C:122.5 S:— T:— |
| Ze'ev Friedman | Weightlifting | Bantamweight <56 kg | 12 | J:102.5 C:102.5 S:125 T:330 |
| Yossef Romano | Weightlifting | Middleweight <75 kg | — | Retired injured on third attempt to press 137.5 kg |
| Gad Tsobari | Wrestling | Freestyle — Light Flyweight <48 kg | Group stage | 0W–2L |
| Eliezer Halfin | Wrestling | Freestyle — Lightweight <68 kg | Group stage | 1W–2L |
| Mark Slavin | 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:

* Yossef Gutfreund — wrestling
* Yakov Springer – weightlifting

## Coaches and officials

The following coaches and officials were in the delegation:

* 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
