Poignant medal for Israel
ByReuters
Published 19/08/2004 at 21:50 GMT
For Israeli judoka Ariel Zeevi, the timing of his bronze medal at the Athens Olympics could not have been more poignant. He won the medal on the day Israel's team attended a memorial service in Athens for the 11 Israeli athletes killed at the Munich Olympics by Palestinian guerrillas 32 years ago.
Zeevi was overjoyed as he clutched his medal afterwards but it was also time for sombre reflection on the day that changed the Olympic movement forever.
Deeply moved by the vociferous support given to him by the Athens crowd, he said: "It was a special moment as today was the day the Israeli athletes got killed in 1972."
"There is a lot of security in the athletes' village here in Athens and it makes you remember what happened," he told reporters after the medal ceremony for the men's under 100 kg judo final.
Athens has staged Europe's largest peacetime security operation to protect the first Summer Games since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
Defending the 10,500 athletes has cost one billion euros -- four times the security budget in Sydney at the 2000 Games.
"Terrorism is not just Israel's problem," Zeevi said. "Terrorist acts will always happen but I think it is important that sport should always be pure."
The crowd in the packed Ano Liossia Olympic Hall really lifted Zeevi and he firmly believed that they helped to put him on the medal winners' podium.
"It was unbelievable. I never imagined I would have so many fans. I took the medal because of the wonderful crowd and all their cheering. I am happy to have done it for them. I suddenly feel so good," he said.
"In Israel winning a bronze medal is a big thing. We have only won four medals before. I think the crowd wanted to witness an historic moment."
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