Mark Slavin ( he, מרק סלבין, russian: Марк Славин; 31 January 1954 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli Olympic Greco-Roman

wrestler Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat sport ...

and victim of 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 ...

at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

. He was the youngest of the victims at the age of 18. He was taken

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

with eight other Israeli

athletes An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-develo ...

. Slavin was shot by

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

in a

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

during a botched

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...

attempt. Slavin was born in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Belarus SSR The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, or Byelorussian SSR; be, Беларуская Савецкая Сацыялістычная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Savieckaja Sacyjalistyčnaja Respublika; russian: Белор� ...

, and had taken up wrestling as a youth to defend himself against

anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

attacks. Slavin soon became noted as a talented wrestler, and won the Soviet

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), classic wrestling (Euro English) or French wrestling (in Russia until 1948) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first mod ...

middleweight junior championship in 1971. Slavin had moved to Israel just four months before the Olympic games and he joined Hapoel Tel Aviv and the Israeli Olympic Team. The 1972 Olympics was due to be his first international competition for Israel, and Slavin had been considered Israel's most likely medal winner at the Munich games. He was the youngest Israeli Olympian competing at the games. Slavin had been staying in Unit 3 at 31

Connollystraße The Connollystraße is a street in the Olympic Village and student quarter of the Olympic Park Munich. Description The street was named in 1971 after James Brendan Connolly, the first Olympic champion of the modern era (1896). It leads from t ...

in the Olympic Village, with fellow wrestlers

Gad Tsobari Gad Tsobari ( he, גד צברי sometimes Tsabari, Zobari, or Zabari; born 30 January 1944) is an Israeli-born light-flyweight freestyle wrestler and a member of Israel's 1972 Olympic team. He finished 12th (of 50) in his event, and was considere ...

and

Eliezer Halfin Eliezer Halfin (18 June 1948 – 6 September 1972) was a Latvian-born wrestler with the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Along with 10 other athletes and coaches he was taken hostage and later murdered by Pale ...

, and weightlifters David Berger,

Yossef Romano Yossef Romano ( he, יוסף רומנו; 15 April 1940 – 5 September 1972), also known as Joseph Romano or Yossi Romano, was a Libyan-born Israeli weightlifter with the Israeli team that went to the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Ger ...

and

Ze'ev Friedman Ze'ev Friedman (10 June 1944 – 6 September 1972) was an Israeli flyweight weightlifter. A member of the Israeli Olympic team, he was killed in the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre. Biography Ze'ev Friedman was born in Prokopyevsk, Soviet Unio ...

. Slavin had been due to make his Olympic debut on the day heavily armed terrorists broke into the Olympic Village and captured him while the Olympic athletes were still asleep.

References

External links

Mark Slavin
Munich 11 * 1954 births 1972 deaths Sportspeople from Minsk Jewish Belarusian sportspeople Soviet Jews Soviet emigrants to Israel Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Belarusian male sport wrestlers Israeli male sport wrestlers Jewish wrestlers Victims of the Munich massacre Deaths by firearm in Germany Olympic wrestlers of Israel Wrestlers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Soviet male sport wrestlers Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery {{paramilitary-action-stub