Beijing - This day in Olympic history: August 251972 - The Olympic fire arrives in Munich's Koenigsplatz ahead of the Munich Olympics. The Olympics will, unfortunately, always be remembered for an attack on the Israeli team, which ended in a botched German rescue attempt.
Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and one German police officer, as well as five of the eight attackers were killed. The remaining three were later freed after a Lufthansa plane was hijacked. There is speculation that the Germans themselves orchestrated the highjacking to rid themselves of a difficult situation of having to bring the three attackers to court.
1960 - The opening ceremony of the Olympics in Rome are held. The Italian capital was due to hold the Olympics already in 1908, but after Mount Vesuvius erupted in 1906, London was asked to step in. Just under 50 years later, on June 15, 1955, Rome beats Lausanne, Detroit, Budapest, Brussels, Mexico City and Tokyo for the right to host the Olympics.
1920 - American Ethelda Bleibtrey wins the 100m freestyle, becoming the first US woman to win a swimming gold medal. She later adds the 400m freestyle and the 4x100m freestyle gold to her collection, becoming the first American woman to win three gold medals.
Bleibtrey had started swimming as a teenager to help her recover from polio, which she had in 1917. She was also once arrested for - what officials claimed was 'nude swimming'. Her 'nude swimming' consisted of taking off her stockings in a public swimming pool. It was, however, forbidden to bare "the lower female extremities for public bathing."
