Munich Summer Games The Olympic Oath is taken by a referee for the first time. Mark Spitz sets seven world records and wins seven gold medals in swimming events. The Games are overshadowed when members of the Black September terrorist group kidnap eleven Israeli athletes from the Olympic Village, killing two and taking the other nine hostage. During a failed rescue attempt by German authorities, the remaining athletes and all but three of the terrorists are killed. After a day of mourning, the Games continue, although Spitz, a Jew, leaves the country for his own safety. The U.S. basketball team loses a game for the first time, falling to the Soviet Union, but refuses to accept the silver medal, claiming that the clock had been improperly restarted in the final moments. The Soviets lead the U.S. in the medal count, 99 (50 gold) to 94 (33 gold).
