[3] The Maccabiah torch had been carried 30 miles to the stadium by a relay of runners from Modi'in in Israel, which is believed to be the burial place of the Maccabees, Jewish warriors of the 2nd century BC in whose memory the Games are named.

[1] Those in the stadium rose for a memorial prayer, inspired by the Biblical text of King David's lament for Jonathan and Saul.

[1] The prayer said: "They were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions when coming to represent Israel before the nations and peoples of the world.

[20][21] Israeli Asian Games champion and Olympian Esther Roth, who withdrew from the 1972 Olympics after the Munich Massacre, won the 100 m race in 11.75, as well as the 200 m and the 100 m hurdles.

[23] In basketball, 18-year-old Ernie Grunfeld, who three years later won an Olympic gold medal, was the only high school student on the American team's starting five, and led the team in scoring with a 20-point average as the US was coached by Hall of Famer Harry Litwack and took the silver medal.

[31] Irwin's brother, American future Olympian Steve Cohen, won a gold medal in judo at 176 pounds.

[37] The organizers of the Games invited two non-Jewish Dutch athletes, who in sympathy with the Israelis had withdrawn from the Munich Olympics after the murders.

[3] Wilma van Gool, who had qualified for the semifinals in the sprints at Munich, raced as a pacer—not as a competitor, and Bert Kops, a heavyweight wrestler, appeared in an exhibition match.

[1] A total of 27 former Soviet Jews who had immigrated to Israel competed, with their strengths being in wrestling, weight lifting, boxing, fencing, and tennis, and pole vault.