TRAGIC: Blood in seen on the sidewalk in front of a candy store advertising a Marathon Monday sale, a day after two bombs packed with ball bearings tore through crowds near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing three people. (Reuters)
DPA/Berlin
Olympic supremo Jacques Rogge and women’s world record-holder Paula Radcliffe were among prominent figures in the sports community to express shock and grief following Monday’s Boston Marathon blasts which left three people dead and almost 150 injured.
Organizers of upcoming marathons in London and Berlin announced a review of their security arrangements.
“My thoughts and those of all the Olympic Movement are with the victims, their friends and their families,” International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge said in a statement. “A marathon is a special, almost magical event that unites different communities with one shared goal, and I am sure that this incident will serve to bring together all those who took part and all those who support such an event, with a common resolve.”
Lamine Diack, president of the ruling athletics body IAAF, said the “ghastly and cowardly attack ... sicken(s) us all,” and apart from offering condolences stressed many noble causes at big marathons.
“Millions of dollars are raised for charity every year by participants in road races. The events themselves are administered by thousands of volunteers who freely give their time to operate everything from baggage trucks to water stations to finish lines,” he said. “The streets are lined with countless millions of spectators who selflessly simply wish to applaud, encourage and embrace the best of human endeavour.”
In the US, domestic athletics federation USATF chief executive Max Siegel extended thoughts and prayers to the victims. The Boston Athletic Association, which organizes the oldest city marathon in the world, spoke of “a sad day for the City of Boston, for the running community, and for all those who were here to enjoy the 117th running of the Boston Marathon.”
Statements also poured in on social networks, mostly via Twitter. “Situation looks awful, thoughts with everyone. There are some very sick people out there, who would do something like this?” the Briton Radcliffe tweeted.
German marathon runner Sabrina Mockenhaupt, who had finished the race in 10th place, was in her nearby hotel when the bombs went off some two hours after the winners had crossed the finish line. “Pray for the injured and for the dead and their relatives. I hope that nothing more happens,” Mockenhaupt tweeted.
Brazilian model Gisele Buendchen, who is married to New England Patriots American football star Tom Brady, was among many celebrities to express their sympathy. “My love and prayers to everyone in Boston,” Buendchen tweeted.
Organizers of upcoming major marathons, including Sunday’s race in London, were reviewing their security arrangements in the wake of the Boston events, and British sports minister Hugh Robertson told the BBC that the race should go ahead as planned.
Security arrangements were also planned to be under review at upcoming World Cups and Olympics, with football’s ruling body FIFA saying it has “full confidence in the Brazilian authorities.”
Previous blasts at sporting events...
Sept 5, 1972: Eight members of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) splinter group, Black September, raided the Israeli team’s quarters in the Olympic village in Munich, killing a weightlifter and a wrestling coach almost immediately. They took nine athletes and officials hostage and demanded the release of more than 200 prisoners held in
Israel. Police opened fire and a gunfight erupted. All the hostages were killed and five of the gunmen and a policeman also died.
July 1996: A powerful nail bomb exploded in Centennial Olympic Park on July 27 during the Atlanta Olympics. One person died and more than 100 were hurt. Eric Rudolph, who was sentenced to three life terms without parole in 2005 for Atlanta and other bombings, said the Olympic attack was designed to “confound, anger and embarrass the Washington government in the eyes of the world for its abominable sanctioning of abortion on demand”.
June 1998: An Algerian cell funded by Osama bin Laden planned to attack the World Cup finals in France, targeting the US Embassy in Paris and the US soccer team. The cell also planned a pitch assault on the England team during their group match against Tunisia in Marseilles. Individuals were arrested by French intelligence, foiling the plot.
May 2002: A car bomb exploded in the Pakistani city of Karachi near the hotel where the New Zealand cricket team was staying, killing 13 people including 11 French navy experts. New Zealand called off the tour after the attack.
2002: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Al Qaeda’s operational leader who was arrested in 2003, revealed that the group had intended to carry out attacks in Japan during the soccer World Cup jointly hosted with South Korea. The attacks did not go ahead as the group failed to establish a network there.
May 26, 2006: Gunmen killed the coach of Iraq’s national tennis team and two of his players in Baghdad, days after militants issued a warning forbidding the wearing of shorts.
May 17, 2006: Some 15 athletes and officials from a taekwondo squad were kidnapped from a highway in western Iraq as they travelled to a training course in Jordan. The decomposed bodies of at least 13 of the squad were found in the desert in June 2007.
July 16, 2006: Up to 50 gunmen seized some 30 Iraqi sports officials, including the national Olympic chief Ahmed al-Hadjiya, and their bodyguards, in a brazen daytime raid on a central Baghdad hall. They are still missing.
July 31, 2006: Two suitcases filled with explosives were placed on trains near Hamm and Koblenz and would have killed hundreds during the soccer World Cup in Germany. The detonators were faulty and did not ignite the explosives.
March 3, 2009: Gunmen attacked a bus carrying Sri Lanka’s cricket team outside a Lahore stadium in Pakistan, killing seven people, including six policemen and a driver. Six of the cricketers and a British coach were wounded.
Jan 8, 2010: A Togo soccer team bus, travelling from the Republic of Congo to the African Nations Cup in Angola, had just entered Cabinda province when it came under heavy gunfire from separatists. Team media officer Stanislas Ocloo and assistant coach Amalete Abalo were killed.
Reactions...
“My thoughts and those of all the Olympic Movement are with the victims, their friends and their families. A marathon is a special, almost magical, event that unites different communities with one shared goal, and I am sure that this incident will serve to bring together all those who took part and all those who support such an event with a common resolve.”
—Jacques Rogge, International Olympic Committee President
“This ghastly and cowardly attack strikes at the very core of the freest of human activities. Whether as a fun runner or elite competitor, road running exemplifies the honesty of basic human movement, strength and resilience… What makes this incident so vile and its planning so incomprehensible is that marathons the world over are about selfless acts of human generosity.”
—Lamine Diack, IAAF President
“Situation looks awful, thoughts with everyone… There are some very sick people out there. Who would do something like this?”
—Paula Radcliffe, woman marathon runner, on Twitter¬
“Running brings people together, but what just happened in Boston is terrible. My thoughts are with everybody in Boston.”
—Haile Gebrselassie,
distance running great
“Pray for the injured and for the dead and their relatives. I hope that nothing more happens.”
—Sabrina Mockenhaupt,
German marathon runner,
on Twitter
“We are absolutely confident we can keep the event (London Marathon) safe and secure. This is one of those instances where the best way to show solidarity with Boston is to continue and send a very clear message to those responsible that we won’t be blown off course. It is difficult but we’ve lived with the threat of
terrorism throughout my adult life…”
—Hugh Robertson,
British sports minister
“We must discuss and get information about what happened in Boston.
We will draw our
conclusions in co-operation with the authorities with which we work together well. You can’t secure an entire 42-kilometres course…”
—Mark Milde,
Berlin Marathon director