SANTA MONICA, Calif. — On Sept. 5, 1972, a brief editorial in The New York Times noted that “nothing that has happened in Munich so far this summer can compare with the awesome feats of Mark Spitz, swimmer extraordinary.”
Between the time the editorial was written and the paper was tossed onto doorsteps in those pre-internet days, Spitz’s seven Olympic gold medals and seven world records were overshadowed. And the long-held notion of the Games as a peaceful gathering of the world’s athletes was unalterably shattered.
Spitz’s career remains forever intertwined with the massacre in Munich because of his unprecedented success in the pool and because of his Jewish faith that, security officials at the time feared, might also make him a target.