This Day in Olympic Swimming History: Australian Athlete Bagged 4 Medals Amidst 1972 Massacre

The world of sports sees new talent take over the reins from its predecessors every year, carrying on the eternal flame of the Olympic Torch. But, some athletes deliver such great performances that it’s hard to replicate their flame. One such era of dominance belonged to Australian swimming legend Shane Gould.

The ace swimmer ruled the waters from a very young age. She dropped everyone’s jaw by making it to the Olympics at the age of 15. Not only that, Shane also smashed the competition and won several gold medals. Interestingly, a recent social media post revealed a rare photograph of the aquatics legend. This photograph belongs to the time when Gould was still ticking like a time bomb to blow up at the 1972 Olympics.

Looking back at an evergreen image of the swimming icon

An Australian trivia page uploaded a post on Facebook carrying the vintage image of Shane Gould. Describing the image, the caption said, “#OnThisDay 11 January 1971, Australian Olympic swimmer Shane Gould photographed training at Ryde Swimming Pool. The following year she went on to win three gold medals, a silver medal, and a bronze at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.”

The image carried a 14-year-old Shane Gould happily pedaling in the pool a year before she widened her smile and medal gallery. She was one of the rarest under-16 swimming talents back in the day who had an Olympic gold medal to their name. Her 1972 Olympic Games performance generated a lot of hype and even earned her the prestigious Australian of the Year award.

While the 1972 Munich Olympics are known for this mighty achievement of Shane Gould, unfortunately, it also bears the mark of being one of the darkest in the history of the games. This was the same year when a terrorist group launched an offensive in the West German city and directly targeted the Olympics.

When geopolitics stained the Olympics blood-red

The city of Munich saw a merciless siege by the militant group Black September while hosting the Olympics. The terrorist attack saw a violent chapter in history unfold in one of the most unexpected places. The militant group’s actions led to the deaths of 17 people, five of whom were the terrorists who started the killings. 

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The attack by the terrorists started on 5th September and ended just when 6th September began. The lives lost that day were paid respect during the 2016 and the 2020 Olympics. This led to the foundation of several European nations forming permanent counter-terrorism squads in their countries, which will also be present at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

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