BEIJING — Here’s the U.S. count from the first full day of competition at the Olympics: one gold medal, one American dead.
At every Summer Games, worries about unthinkable evil have developed into an unwelcome but undeniable tradition.
From the Palestinian terrorist attacks that bloodied the Munich Games in 1972 to a deadly bombing at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Atlanta Games, tragedy has stalked the world’s biggest sports competition for a generation.
Those five, famous, colorful rings that represent the Olympic family of nations have taken on darker meanings. If red has become a symbol of our fears, then surely black conveys paranoia.
And we all are afraid to ask: What’s next?
Here’s what: In an act of brutal madness, a knife-wielding Chinese man stabbed U.S. citizens at a local tourist attraction in broad daylight Saturday, then committed suicide by jumping off the Drum Tower, a centuries-old landmark in the heart of Beijing.
Killed in the bizarre, unprovoked attack was Minnesota resident Todd Bachman, whose daughter is a former Olympic volleyball player and whose son-in-law is the current coach of the U.S. men’s volleyball team.
“It is so horrible,” said U.S. volleyball player Logan Tom, who cried when talking about the murder that stole a father from Elisabeth Bachman McCutcheon, who competed at the 2004 Games in Athens.
After this tragedy, the same shuddering thought lodged in many American minds since 9/11 demanded a horrible question to be asked.
Was somebody out to get us?
“I get goose bumps talking about it,” U.S. women’s basketball coach Anne Donovan said.
It’s sad but true. In the hours after the murder, the U.S. Olympic delegation and State Department felt the need to stress this dead man and his seriously injured wife were not wearing clothes that would have clearly identified them as being associated with Team USA to the attacker.
The Chinese tried to sweep the ghastly news under the rug as quickly as possible, with acknowledgment of the murder buried deep in the official website operated by the host committee for the Summer Games, although there was the rather callous reminder that Beijing is a safe city.
While China’s totalitarian government tries to dictate the flow of news, it cannot control the fears of visiting athletes.
“Of course it shakes you up. We’re in a foreign place. When something like this happens, it kind of makes you take a step back,” said Tina Thompson, a 33-year-old basketball player competing in her second Olympics as a member of Team USA.
“We’re all here representing our country. If anything happens to any one of us, then we’re all touched by it. We’re definitely going to be a lot more cautious. We’re all hoping it was an isolated incident of violence and nothing bigger or something that was directed at us.”
While China cannot be blamed for one crazy individual killing a tourist, the murder was a harsh reminder to a communist government, which had spent $50 billion on the Games and deployed a security force of 100,000 to keep the peace. All the choreography intended to wow the world and distract from the nation’s flaws could be quickly undone with a single act of madness.
With American blood spilled on the streets of Beijing, the president of the United States expressed sadness, then attended an Olympic basketball game.
George Bush laughed as fans in the arena did the wave. With the American women winning big against the Czech Republic, Bush left the game early, wearing a smile. Nothing stops the Games, not even murder.
But on the worst day of his life, American volleyball coach Hugh McCutcheon was left to deal with a death that will forever be the one souvenir he takes home from the Olympics.
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
