1972 ufffd Munich Olympics: Members of the radical Palestinian Black September group took Israeli athletes and officials hostage at dawn on September 5 during the 1972 Olympic Games to demand the release of 232 Palestinian prisoners.
Two Israeli athletes were killed immediately and in a bungled rescue operation by German police nine other Israelis were killed alongside five of the eight hostage takers and a police officer.
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One of the eight Black September terrorists on a balcony of the Olympic village. PIC/Getty Images
1996 — Atlanta Olympics
Lone attacker Eric Robert Rudolph set off a bomb in Centennial Olympic Park during a music concert on July 27.u00a0A Turkish camerman suffered a heart attack when running to the scene to cover the blast while a 44-year-old woman, Alice Hawthorne, died after being hit in the head by a nail from the bomb. More than 100 were injured.u00a0Rudolph, who set off three more bombs before being detained, claimed his attack was a protest against abortion on demand.
2006 — Iraqi athletes
Since the fall of Saddam Hussein, Iraq has become a dangerous place for athletes with numerous kidnappings and even murders.u00a0In May 2006, 15 athletes and officials of the national taekwondo team were abducted and never seen alive again.u00a0Gunmen also shot and killed the Iraqi tennis coach and two of his players while three years later the national karate coach Izzat Abdullah was gunned down.
Sri Lanka’s Ajantha Mendis
2009 — Sri Lanka cricket team
Up to 12 gunmen attacked the Sri Lanka cricket team’s convoy with rockets, hand grenades and automatic weapons before a Test match against Pakistan in Lahore on March 3. Following a 25-minute gun battle, eight people were left dead, including six security guards protecting the players and two civilians. No cricketers were killed but six team members were wounded.
A billboard showing portraits of the Togo terror attack victims. PIC/AFP
2010 — Togo football team
Two members of the Togo football delegation and an bus driver from Angola were killed when the national football team arrived in Angola for the Africa Cup of Nations on January 8 in 2010.u00a0Their team bus was attacked by separatist rebels as it passed through the restive Cabinda enclave.u00a0Assistant coach Abalo Amelete and official Stanislas Ocloo were killed while Togo goalkeeper Kodjovi Obilale was among the nine people injured.u00a0
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