Josef Hladky, 24, a prominent swimmer from...

Josef Hladky, 24, a prominent swimmer from Czechoslovakia, has defected and asked for political asylum in West Germany.

According to Werner Poppen, a West German swimming official, Hladky defected during last month’s World Swimming Championships at Madrid.

Poppen said Hladky was apparently still angry over the Communist Bloc boycott of the 1984 Olympic Games.