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Olympians argue lack of spiritBy FRED ROTHENBERGMontreal {ap — The Arabterrorists who killed II Israelis four years ago have cast a cloud over the Olympics that may never be lifted. Not only did they blacken the Munich Olympics, they’ve turned the Montreal Olympics a dull shade of gray. “The spirit of the athletes maytake a beating,” William Little, an Olympic official, predicted before the Games began. “But to protect them, we are going to have to restrict their freedom of movement quite a bit.’’Many Olympic athletes, coaches and officials now agree with that assessment, including Monique Berlioux, director of the International Olympic Committee.“These Gamas have no soul and the Olympic spirit is completely lacking,” she said.-“The athletes are penned up in an iron collar and one doesn't feel the kind of holiday spirit that should prevail at such Games.“I preferred the Mexico Games in 1968 and the Munich Games in 1972, because there you could feel the Olympic spirit. In the world of sports you need a bit of anarchy and a bit of freedom.”A police and military force of 16,000, Canada's largest mobiliza-tion since World War U, has been a constant thorn in the side of the athletes. This arsenal is here to prevent another Munich, whenArab ccwiiiuandos' DToOdieS the Peace Games.” Before that raid, the Munich Olympics had no armed security at all. People could come and go as they pleased.That certainly isn’t the case here. “Everywhere I go I get-frisked and checked,” said one male swimmer. “It’s gotten so I don't even bother going out of the Village any more.”Brooks Johnson, assistant track coack for the American women, says the Olympic organizers have done a superb job solving “Herculean problems.”“If the spirit is gone at the expense of saving 11 lives, then I’d rather have an Olympics without spirit,” he said. “That's the price you have to pay.Many athletes who have been to more than one Olympics say these Games are lacking in camaraderie and spirit,“It just doesn’t feel like the Olympics, said A1 Feuerbach, an American shotputter. “I don’t know what it is.
Newspaper Details
Kennebec Journal
Augusta, Maine, US
Sat, Jul 31, 1976
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
WV, USA 06 May 2020
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