Olympic Champion Witt to Skate With Ice Shows in West

Olympic figure skating champion Katarina Witt will become a traveling ambassador for East Germany and will make guest appearances with Western ice shows, Communist Party sources said today.

Witt, who won her second Olympic gold medal in Calgary last month, plans to end her competitive career after this week’s World Figure Skating Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

Party sources, who requested anonymity, said talks are going on with several Western ice shows for Witt to make guest appearances over the next two years. They declined to identify the shows, but confirmed that several U.S. groups were taking part in the negotiations.

Witt would be paid in hard currency but would have to turn over the money to the state, which will in turn give her up to 20% of her earnings back in East German currency, one sports official said.