1973 Maccabiah Games


The 1973 Maccabiah Games were held in Ramat Gan, Israel. Spain and Costa Rica made its first debut in the games. The Games took place ten months after the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, where eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were slain during the events of the Munich Massacre.

History

The Maccabiah Games were first held in 1932. In 1961, they were declared a "Regional Sports Event" by, and under the auspices and supervision of, the International Olympic Committee.

Opening ceremonies

60,000 spectators packed Ramat Gan Stadium as Golda Meir and Abba Eban paid homage to the slain athletes.
Tamara Metal was chosen as torch bearer, but Metal recited the Vow of the Maccabiah Games instead because she was pregnant.

Notable medalists

Israeli Olympian Shaul Ladany, who had competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics, won the 20-km and 50-km walks.
Esther Roth of Israel won the 100-meter race in 11.75, as well as the 200-meter. Maya Kalle-Bentzur of Israel was also a medalist at the Games.
In basketball, Ernie Grunfeld, who three years later won an Olympic gold medal, was the only high school student on the American team's starting five, and led the team in scoring with a 20-point average as the US took the silver medal. Grunfeld later played in the NBA, and became General Manager of the New York Knicks.