‘13 members of the Israeli team as hostages.’ ibid.
They demanded the release of more than 200 revolutionary prisoners. ibid.
‘A crowd estimated between 75-80,000 people.’ ibid. news
At 6 p.m. the Palestinians issued a new demand: they wanted a long-distance jet. ibid.
‘All hell has broken loose our there [airport].’ ibid.
London has been here before and is well versed how to rise to the occasion. Five years have passed since London 2012 but the memory of those golden moments still shines brightly. Never before had Britain been so successful at an Olympics. Day after day of triumph almost blurring into one. But above all others one Saturday will come to be remembered. Britain was transfixed as the minutes ticked by. As one dream-like moment unfolded into another. Heroes of Super Saturday: Jess, Mo & Greg, BBC 2017
Mo Farrah has become a global star … ‘I do average 120 miles a week. ibid.
Beijing offered Mo another opportunity to continue his winning streak. But he had endured a turbulent summer. ibid.
Mo’s ambition on Rio would be to defend an Olympic double in two gruelling long distance events. ibid.
On a sunlit September afternoon in 1988 Ben Johnson stepped up to his blocks for the most important race of his life: the Olympic 100m final. Johnson symbolized the Canadian dream, the shy immigrant from Jamaica whose genius was discovered on the frozen running tracks of Canada. Johnson ran on time but he also ran on a lie: for years he had used steroids to boost his performance. And in 46 strides he guaranteed himself sporting immortality by running faster than any man in history. Two days later Johnson was at the centre of the biggest scandal in the modern Olympiad. Reputations s8e3: Ben Johnson: Lost Seoul, BBC 2001
[Charlie] Francis made an important discovery: performance enhancing drugs were a fundamental part of their [East Germany] success. ibid.
Carl Lewis: he was quicker and smarter. ibid.
[George] Astaphan gave Johnson a new steroid, a veterinary product designed to boost an animal’s body. ibid.
‘This is evil that’s being exposed.’ ibid. Ron Pickering
The more he denied, the bigger the lie became. ibid.
Hicks [1904 Olympic marathon] was ‘kept in mechanical action by the use of drugs that he might bring to America the marathon honours’. Mark Johnson, lecture UCTV 2016, ‘Spitting in the Soup: Inside the Dirty Game of Doping in Sports’
‘The marathon race, from a medical standpoint, demonstrated that drugs are of much benefit to athletes along the road.’ ibid. Dr Charles Lucan 1905
‘The use of a substance or device which improves the physical performance of a man without being injurious to his health can hardly be unethical.’ ibid. Dr Peter Karpovitch 1941
Endurance athletes immediately took to speed. ibid.
To take drugs to do their job was absolutely expected. ibid.
We [US] didn’t even create an anti-doping agency until the year 2000. ibid.
23 June 1969 Sports Illustrated front cover: Drugs: A Threat to Sport. ibid.
Munich Olympics 1972: The East Germans saw this as a real opportunity. ibid.
East Germany’s State Plan Subject 14.25: ‘Just like mission control when an astronaut is sent into space.’ ibid. Kurt Tittel, GDR Sports Medicine Director New York Times 1976
East Germany: 1,500 sports science researchers; 1,000 doctors; 4,700 coaches; 3,000 Stasi agents; 2 million annual doses. ibid.
UCLA lab: 86 Americans positive in pre-Games tests. ibid.
20 American medal winners in Los Angeles had actually tested positive but they never were busted because the spreadsheet went missing. ibid.
The state of fair play and purity is a complete fabrication of the Olympic founders. ibid.
Sports doping: group achievement, not solitary delinquency. ibid.
In 2012 the US men’s boxing team – the team that’s won more than any other country – didn’t win a single medal. Counterpunch, Netflix 2017
At the heart of para-sport lies a system that decides which athletes compete against each other – it’s under pressure. With a greater range of athletes than ever competing, the sport’s governing bodies is accused of overseeing a system that can be deeply unfair. Athletes who have complained say they’ve been warned to stay silent. Paralympics: The Unfair Games? BBC 2021
‘People are appearing almost able-bodied; you are barely able to tell what their disability is.’ ibid. competitor
Spanish Paralympic basketball team, Sydney Olympics: ten of the team pretended to be mentally disabled. ibid.
The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games were a triumph for our nation. But that summer of glory was built on decades of set-backs, innovation and growing ambitions. And on personal sacrifice and ruthless decision-making. Gold Rush: Our Race to Olympic Glory I: Revolution, BBC 2021
Atlanta 1996: But Linford’s [disqualification] nightmare was just the start in Atlanta. By the mid-point of Atlanta the Great Britain team were floundering. Atlanta would become the most disastrous games in British Olympic history .. only one gold. ibid.
Atlanta underlined the stark reality that the world of Olympic sport was changing. The superpowers who had emerged had been professionalising and fully funding their athletes for years. While Britain was still stuck in an era of gung-ho amateurism. ibid.
Change was on the horizon for Britain’s athletes. But from an unexpected route. Conservative prime minister John Major launched Britain’s first national lottery in 1994. ibid.
The Sydney Games would be a major testing ground for all involved in British Olympic sport … The medals kept rolling in for Great Britain in Sydney. ibid.
Four years on from Atlanta, Britain’s team of shame rose from the ashes to triumph in Sydney finishing 10th in the medals table. Gold Rush: Our Race to Olympic Glory II
Team GB had come to Athens on a high. One of Britain’s greatest medal hopes was Kelly Holmes; the middle-distance runner was back for her third Olympic Games. ibid.
Athens: They remained in tenth place treading water. ibid.
The search began for a new generation of Olympic and Paralympic heroes whose talent could be moulded in time for 2012. ibid.
UK Sport had gambled £235 million preparing Team GB for battle in Beijing. ibid.
For Team GB in the [Beijing] Olympics, a total tally of 51 medals, including 19 golds, propelled them to 4th. ibid.
There was now an expectation that we would improve on that performance in 2012. Gold Rush: Our Race to Olympic Glory III *****
The organisers of the Games also had a fight on their hands in convincing the public that rocketing costs would be worth it. ibid.
Five days into the Games and Team GB had yet to win a gold. ibid.
‘The mood, the spirit, the warmth. The positivity. It was the greatest 45 minutes in British Olympic history.’ ibid. Paul Hayward, journalist
When the Games came to an end, Team GB ranked third in the medal tables of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We had won a total of 185 medals, and 63 of them were gold. ibid.
They all had countless bullet wounds, the Israelis. 1972: Munich’s Black September, rozzer, Sky Documentaries 2022
A security detachment made up of border guards and police officers had been assigned to guard the entrances to the Olympics village. 250 guards dressed in civilian uniforms and without guns. ibid. dude
Olympic Village 5th September 4 a.m.: When we got there, everything was quiet. It was four o’clock in the morning. We arrived and jumped over the fence. ibid. Palestinian
After seizing the hostages, the perpetrators issued a leaflet containing a demand that should be familiar to all of you. ibid. Manfred Schreiber, rozzer
That’s when people started hating the Palestinians. ibid. Palestinian
Eleven dead athletes lying one on top of another with their hands tied. ibid.
In 1968 the summer Olympics were held in October in Mexico City. 1968: A Year of War, Turmoil and Beyond, Sky Arts 2018