An underdog but fiercely determined Israeli soccer team battled the powerful Bulgarian team to an upset 1-1 tie in yesterday’s Olympic contest only to be declared the loser by a lottery after neither team managed to score in overtime play. The Israelis, plagued by injuries and fatigue, were thus denied a place in the semi-finals of the Olympic soccer tournament and possibly in the finals as well. The undefeated Bulgarians were rated by experts as the strongest soccer squad at the Olympics.
An American-Jewish swimmer, Debbie Meyer, won her first Olympic Gold Medal yesterday when she scored an easy victory over seven competitors in the 400 meter women’s freestyle. Miss Meyer set an Olympic record of 4:31.8 though it was below her own world record mark of 4:24.5. Another American Jew, Mark Spitz, is favored to win the 100 meter men’s butterfly finals next Monday.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
