Itzhak Nir ( he, יצחק ניר; born December 18, 1940) is an Israeli former Olympic competitive sailor.

Sailing career

When he competed in the Olympics, he was 6-5 (196 cm) tall and weighed 187 lbs (85 kg). At an international competition in the Olympic-class Flying Dutchman dinghy in the Netherlands in April 1972, the

Sdot Yam Sdot Yam ( he, שְׂדוֹת יָם, ''lit.'' Sea Fields) is a kibbutz in the Haifa District of Israel. Located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In it had a population of . ...

team of Nir and

Yair Michaeli Yair Michaeli (יאיר מיכאלי; born September 13, 1944) is an Israeli former Olympic competitive sailor. During the Yom Kippur War, he served on an Israeli Navy patrol boat. He is married to Mandy Michaeli. Sailing career When he competed ...

won the right to be the first Israeli sailors to participate in the Olympics. Nir competed for

Israel at the 1972 Summer Olympics Israel competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, which began on August 26. On September 5 and 6, in the Munich massacre, 11 members of the Israeli delegation—5 athletes, 2 referees, and 4 coaches (names bolded on this page) ...

off the coast of

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

, 900 kilometers from Munich, Germany, at the age of 31, with Yair Michaeli in Sailing--Mixed Two Person Heavyweight Dinghy/Flying Dutchman. He and Michaeli did not participate in the final race of the competition, due to the

Munich Massacre The Munich massacre was a terrorist attack carried out during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany, by eight members of the Palestinian people, Palestinian militant organization Black September Organization, Black September, who i ...

in which Arab terrorists from the

Black September Black September ( ar, أيلول الأسود; ''Aylūl Al-Aswad''), also known as the Jordanian Civil War, was a conflict fought in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan between the Jordanian Armed Forces (JAF), under the leadership of King Hussein ...

group killed 11 Israeli Olympians at

Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base (German: "Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck" or "Flugplatz Fürstenfeldbruck") is a former German Air Force airfield near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, near Munich, Germany. Fürstenfeldbruck became famous firs ...

outside of Munich. They came in 26th. The Israeli government then decided to withdraw from the Olympic Games, and bring their remaining Olympians home. Nir, Michaeli, and Israeli racewalker

Shaul Ladany Shaul Paul Ladany ( he, שאול לדני; born April 2, 1936) is an Israeli Holocaust survivor, racewalker and two-time Olympian. He holds the world record in the 50-mile walk (7:23:50), and the Israeli national record in the 50-kilometer walk ...

wanted to stay for the closing ceremony, to show that they were not leaving "with their tails between their legs", but they followed the orders of the government.

References

External links

the-sports bio
Jewish sailors (sport) Sailors at the 1972 Summer Olympics – Flying Dutchman Living people Olympic sailors of Israel 1940 births Israeli male sailors (sport) {{Israel-yachtracing-bio-stub