Sport: Dampening the Olympic Torch

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The XX Olympiad appeared to be a triumph for the already entrenched Russians and the rising East Germans. Despite a respectable total in overall medals won, it was a disaster for the Americans—although not for Swimmer Mark Spitz, whose seven victories made him the most gilt-bedecked Olympian in history. It was also a continuing disaster for Founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin's idea of an apolitical contest of individual mettle among the world's most skillful amateur sportsmen. Munich 1972 was sad witness to feats of athletic valor tarnished by bureaucratic joustings and national jealousies, a sublime international event bespattered by the blood of a despicable crime. National prestige has replaced personal merit as the ultimate Olympic goal; for every bona fide amateur, there is another athlete who lives off his ability like any professional. Millions are spent on circus-tent publicity, but there is no money to pay for impartial and knowledgeable officials. All of which raises the serious question of whether the Olympics—glorious though they are as a showcase for the human body in action—ought to continue in their present form.