Olympic deaths

At the modern Olympic Games up to and including 2012, six, possibly seven, athletes have died while either competing in or practicing their sport. In addition, another 14 participants have died at the Olympics from other causes: 11 of these deaths resulted from the Munich massacre of 1972.

Several incidents related to the Olympics have caused the death of non-participants. Large numbers were killed during the Lima football riot of 1964 and the Tlatelolco massacre in Mexico City in 1968. The Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Games caused two deaths.

In competition

• Francisco Lázaro (21), Portugal – Runner – 1912, Stockholm – electrolyte imbalance^[1]
• Knut Jensen (23), Denmark – Cyclist – 1960, Rome – heat stroke^[2]

During practice or after competition

• Nicolae Berechet (20), Romania – Boxer – 1936, Berlin – Berechet died four days after losing his bout against Evald Seeberg. His death was officially recorded as being due to blood poisoning, but it has been suggested that damage caused in the fight may have been a factor in his death^[3][4]
• Ross Milne (19), Australia – Downhill Skiing – 1964, Innsbruck – Ski collision in practice^[5]
• Kazimierz Kay-Skrzypecki, Britain – Luge – 1964, Innsbruck – Luge crash in practice^[6]
• Nicolas Bochatay (27), Switzerland – Speed Skiing (demonstration sport) – 1992, Albertville – Collided with a snow machine in practice^[7]
• Nodar Kumaritashvili (21), Georgia – Luge – 2010, Vancouver – Luge crash in practice^[8]

Other deaths

London 1948

In 1948, during the London Olympics, Eliška Misáková, one of nine members of the Czechoslovak women's team in gymnastics, became ill on arrival in the host city. Diagnosed with polio, she died on the last day of the Olympics, the same day her remaining teammates won the competition.^[9]

Melbourne 1956

Italian rower Arrigo Menicocci was killed in a car crash in Melbourne on the middle Saturday of the Games. He had competed in the eights 5 days earlier.

Munich 1972

In 1972, during the Munich Olympics, 11 members of the Israeli team were killed during a terrorist attack by Palestinian terrorists called Black September.

The 11 Israeli Olympic Team members who died in the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich are:

• Mark Slavin, 18, Wrestler
• Eliezer Halfin, 24, Wrestler
• David Mark Berger, 28, Weightlifter
• Ze'ev Friedman, 28, Weightlifter
• Yossef Romano, 31, Weightlifter
• Andre Spitzer, 27, Fencing coach
• Moshe Weinberg, 33, Wrestling coach
• Amitzur Shapira, 40, Track coach
• Yossef Gutfreund, 40, Wrestling referee
• Yakov Springer, 51, Weightlifting judge
• Kehat Shorr, 53, Shooting coach

Calgary 1988

Between the morning and afternoon runs of the men's giant slalom, Jörg Oberhammer, 47, the Austrian team doctor, was skiing on a recreational slope when he collided with another skier (a CTV technician) and was knocked under a snow-grooming machine, which crushed him instantly.^[10][11]

Deaths of non-participants at Olympic-related events

Lima 1964

In a qualifying match for the Olympic football tournament, home fans began rioting after a late Peru goal was disallowed. Police fired tear gas into the crowd, exacerbating the situation, which ended with 318 deaths.

Mexico 1968

The Mexico 68 protests were part of a worldwide series of leftwing student-led protests. While the protesting National Strike Council claimed not to link its demands to the Olympics, some students protested at the perceived extravagance of hosting the games, and some sought to exploit the increased foreign media presence in the city for publicity. The authoritarian government had a secret "Olympia Battalion" to ensure security during the Games. Ten days before the games, the unit swept through a mass meeting in the Plaza de las Tres Culturas making arrests. Estimates of the number killed in the operation range from thirty to several hundred.

1996 Olympic Park Bombing

On July 27, 1996 (the eighth day of the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games), a bomb exploded at the Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, killing two and wounding another 111 people.

London 2012

On 1 August 2012, a special bus carrying media from the London Olympic Park was involved in a collision in which a cyclist was killed.^[12]

On 3 August 2012, a man died of a heart problem after collapsing in the toilets of the Velodrome in the Olympic park.^[13]

Notes

1. "FORUM OLIMPICO DE PORTUGAL" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 3 June 2011.
2. "Danish Cyclist Died of Heat Stroke, Not Drug". New York Times. 26 March 1961. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
3. Kuningas, Tiit; Tiit Lääne (2005). Olümpiamängude ajalugu II, suvemängud 1920–1944 (en: History of the Olympic Games II, Summer Games 1920–1944) (in Estonian). Tallinn: Maalehe Raamat. ISBN 9985-64-255-4. (Estonian)
4. Kas Eesti poksija löök põhjustas vastase surma? (Did hit from the Estonian boxer caused opponents death?) Eesti Päevaleht (Estonian)
5. John E. Findling, Kimberly D. Pelle, Encyclopedia of the Modern Olympic Movement, Greenwood Press, 2004, ISBN 0-313-32278-3, p. 347.
6. Judd, Ron C. (2009). The Winter Olympics: An Insider's Guide to the Legends, Lore and The Games. The Mountaineers Books. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-59485-063-9.
7. Eskenaz, Gerald (23 February 1992). "Albertville; Swiss speed skier killed during a practice run". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
8. Zinser, Lynn (2010-02-12). "Huge Athlete Killed in Training Crash at Olympics". New York Times (New York City). Retrieved 2010-02-12.
9. "Unhappy Olympic Endings". Past & Present Gymnastics. 8 November 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
10. Special (27 February 1988). "'88 Winter Olympics: Notebook; Death on Slopes Is Ruled Accident". The New York Times. p. 52. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
11. Wurm, H. (March 1988). "IN MEMORIAM DR. JÖRG OBERHAMMER" (PDF). Buko-Info (in German) (BUNDESKONFERENZ DES WISSENSCHAFTLICHEN UND KÜNSTLERISCHEN PERSONALS DER ÜSTERREICHISCHEN UNIVERSITÄTEN UND KUNSTHOCHSCHULEN) (2): 2.
12. "Cyclist dies in Olympic media bus crash". BBC Online. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
13. "Olympic fan Conrad Readman dies after collapsing at velodrome". BBC Online. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2014.