East German Is Apparent Defector : Swimmer Leaves Teammates at Oklahoma City Airport

An East German swimmer is believed to have defected at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City Monday. Jens-Peter Berndt, 20, apparently left his teammates while they were awaiting a flight to Atlanta on their way home from a meet at the University of Arkansas. Berndt set a short-lived world record in the 400-meter individual medley last summer and has been considered one of East Germany’s best world-class prospects. He is believed to be in the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service office at Oklahoma City, although Bob Barber, a spokesman for that office, told The Times Wednesday: “I can tell you nothing. I can neither confirm nor deny he even exists.” The Oklahoma City FBI office also would not comment on the case. Airport spokesman Tom Morton gave this account of Berndt’s apparent defection: “At approximately 1:35 p.m. Monday, Mr. Berndt left his traveling party at an Eastern Airlines gate and appeared at our airport offices at 1:40 p.m. When we realized what sort of situation this was, we met with him from 1:40 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. in an office. I was present, along with Leroy Hansen, director of airports, and Capt. Jim Hollier, commanding officer of airport police. “Mr. Berndt told us he did not wish to return to East Germany, that he wished to remain in America. He was courteous and spoke English very well. We explained to him that it would be necessary for us to notify the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service in Oklahoma City, and he understood that. “We called them, and they asked that we keep him with us until they arrived. They sent a van to the airport, and we took him to the van. As far as I know, we haven’t seen him since we told him goodby and closed the door to the van.” Morton said that Berndt, 6-6, expressed anxiety several times during the airport meeting, but he was firm in his desire to remain in the United States. Morton wouldn’t relate more from the meeting, saying: “Everything else he talked about was of a personal nature, and it’s probably best that you get it from the Immigration Service.” According to Morton, Eastern Airlines employees reported that the East German delegation’s leaders expressed concern at Berndt’s absence when they prepared to board Eastern Flight 371 to Atlanta. “The Eastern gate people told us the delegation leaders asked them to page Berndt, which they did several times,” Morton said. “One Eastern employee told us she thought two delegation people were going to stay behind and look for him, but in the last moments they boarded the flight.” Berndt and 10 East German teammates had just competed in the four-day United States Swimming International meet at Fayetteville, Ark., where he won the 400-meter individual medley. Said Jeff Diamond, spokesman for the U.S. Swimming Federation at Colorado Springs: “We were surprised when we heard about it. He was the loosest of any East German swimmer we’d seen.” Berndt swam a world-record time of 4 minutes 19.61 seconds in the 400 individual medley last summer, but that was surpassed by Canadian Alex Baumann’s 4:17.41 in the Olympics. Berndt later swam a 4:18.29 at Moscow’s alternative event, the Friendship Games.