East Germans Angered by Reports of Athletes’ Perks

East Germans have gone from cheering to loathing top athletes after reports of special privileges appeared in the country’s media.

Citing a report by the East Berlin-based radio station Berliner Rundfunk, the Bild newspaper said today that unknown persons had “demolished world champion swimmer Heike Friederich’s car.”

In addition, the tires on ice speed skater Constanze Moser’s car were slit, and world champion cyclist Uwe Ampler was purposely knocked from his racing bike during training, Bild said.

“First Adored, Now Hated,” Bild said in the story’s headline. The report did not say where in East Germany the attacks against the athletes took place.

Bild said the incidents occurred after East German news reports of huge gifts given to sports figures, including swimming star Kristin Otto and Katarina Witt, the Olympic and world figure skating champion.

Otto reportedly was given more than $30,000 for winning six gold medals at the Seoul Olympics, and Witt received her own villa, Bild said.

On Tuesday, East Germany’s state-run youth newspaper Junge Welt (Young World) criticized the Communist country’s sports program as “wasting millions in foreign exchange” in a blind hunt for medals.

Junge Welt suggested that East Germany consider allowing its top sports figures to earn money through commercialization to help fight the country’s deep economic crisis and not put the burden of supporting them “on the backs of our population.”