Timing Is Right for East German : Schonlebe Runs 400 Meters in 44.99 to Beat Cuban Rival

East Germany’s, Thomas Schonlebe, world champion in the 400 meters, barely satisfied his federation Wednesday night, but he earned a lot of satisfaction for himself in a race against Cuba’s Roberto Hernandez.

Expected by the East German Track and Field Assn. to break 45 seconds by the end of this week to justify his three training sessions this year in Mexico, Schonlebe did that by the slimmest of margins at the Mobil Grand Prix Olympic Day meet, winning in 44.99.

Equally important to Schonlebe, he finished well in front of Hernandez, who had a second-place time of 45.47. During Schonlebe’s most recent visit to Mexico City in May, he ran a 44.62, the fifth-fastest time in the world this year. But he lost to Hernandez, who became the fifth-fastest performer in history with a 44.22.

Those times are not as impressive as they seem because they were run at 7,500 feet above sea level.

Schonlebe’s performance Wednesday, however, was excellent considering that the track had been flooded three hours before by a thunderstorm, which caused the start of the meet to be delayed by 45 minutes. The spectators, estimated to number 35,000 in the recently renovated Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sports Park, retreated under the awnings, where they were consoled by the music of Tina Turner over the public-address system.

Of the five Americans who competed, Robert Cannon was the lone winner. His 55-0 beat a weak field in the triple jump.

“Today, I touched the time it gives me the chance to be nominated for (the East German Olympic team in) Seoul,” Schonlebe said, as if there were a chance that East Germany would leave a world champion at home.

But Schonlebe said too much emphasis was placed on his time. “Of course, 45.0 is the limit,” he said through an interpreter. “If I get 45.01, it is different from 44.99, but the difference is more psychological than (physical). It sounds better.”

Schonlebe, 22, is a Kurt Rambis-look-a-like from Karl-Marx-Stadt, a southern East German city. Although he emerged in 1985 as a sub-45.0 runner, his victory at the World Championships last year in Rome over Nigeria’s Innocent Egbunike and the United States’ Butch Reynolds was considered an upset.

This year, Hernandez, 21, and UCLA’s Danny Everett, 21, who had run two of the world’s three fastest times, have been receiving much of the attention in the 400.

But Schonlebe said he still considers Reynolds, 23, the leading contender in Seoul. The two are supposed to race against each other Saturday night in Oslo, Norway, but Reynolds has been bothered by a hamstring injury and may have to pass.

“There has been a lot of good results up to now,” Schonlebe said. “But there are still two or three months to go before the Olympics. Some people are still not in shape, Butch Reynolds, for example. But he will be the main challenger for me in Seoul.

“Of course, a lot of people think I am the favorite. It’s not very easy to live with the situation. But I think I can manage.”