Amitzur Schapira

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Amitzur Shapira (born July 9, 1932 in Tel Aviv , † September 6, 1972 in Fürstenfeldbruck ) was an Israeli athletics trainer who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in the Munich Olympic attack .

In the 1950s, Shapira was one of the best short distance runners in his country. After his active career, he worked at the Wingate Institute, the Israeli sports university near Netanya , as a trainer and lecturer. Before the Olympic Games in Munich , he prepared sprinter Esther Shachamorov (later Roth-Shachamorov ), who he discovered at the age of 14 as a great talent, for the competitions.

In the run-up to the 100-meter competition, Shachamorov set a new Israeli record in 11.45 seconds and received congratulations from her coach while she was still on the run. Shortly after she had reached the semifinals on September 4, 1972 over the 100-meter hurdles in a new personal best, Shapira wrote an article for the Maariw newspaper in which he predicted a bright future for the runner.

Burial site in the Kiryat Shaul cemetery in Tel Aviv; Israel. (first grave from the right)

However, Shapira did not live to see the article appear again. In the early morning hours of September 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists from the Black September organization broke into the quarters of the Israeli team and killed the trainer Moshe Weinberg and the weightlifter Josef Romano . They took Shapira and eight other members of the Israeli delegation hostage. About 21 hours later, Shapira died in a chaotic attempt at rescue at Fürstenfeldbruck airfield . One of the terrorists threw a hand grenade into the fully fueled helicopter in which Shapira and four other hostages were.

After learning that her trainer had been murdered, Esther Shachamorov immediately left for Israel. Amitzur Shapira left behind his wife and four children. He was buried with four other athletes in the Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv , Israel.

His grandson is the satirical author Shahak Shapira , who emigrated to Germany with his family from Israel.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Amitzur Schapira, Track and Field Coach ( Memento of the original from November 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The 1972 Israeli Olympic Athletes Tribute (accessed December 20, 2009)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / munich11.com
  2. ↑ Esther Roth-Shachamarov (born 1952) ( Memento from November 15, 2004 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Simon Reeve, One day in September, pp. 3-9.
  4. ↑ Simon Reeve, One day in September, pp. 105-124.

literature

  • Simon Reeve , One day in September. The full story of the 1972 Munich Olympics massacre and the Israeli revenge operation "Wrath of God" . Arcade, New York 2000. ISBN 1-55970-547-7 .

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Schapira, Amitzur
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shapira, Amitzur
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Israeli athletics trainer, murder victim of Palestinian terrorists
DATE OF BIRTH July 9, 1932
PLACE OF BIRTH Tel Aviv
DATE OF DEATH September 6, 1972
Place of death Fürstenfeldbruck