WORLD SPORTS SCENE : The East German System Is Crumbling

When people danced on the Berlin Wall, it was inevitable that there eventually would be profound changes affecting virtually every area of East German life, including sports.

But no one could have foreseen that the East German sports system, the so-called miracle machine, would collapse quite this soon. Eventually, it turned out to be about two weeks.

Last Tuesday, President Klaus Eichler, five vice presidents and all members of the executive board of the East German Gymnastics and Sports Federation (DTSB) resigned.

They are believed to have been forced out by East Germany’s new reform-minded prime minister, Hans Modrow. He had said in a speech at an East Berlin sports club the day before that the country will place as much emphasis on providing recreational sports for all citizens as it does in developing elite athletes for international competition.

Sports officials in the past paid lip service to that ideal. But the DTSB’s priority, as defined by the country’s former political leader and No. 1 sports fan, Erich Honecker, was to win Olympic medals.

The price was high both socially and economically. In order to maximize the medal potential of a country with a population of less than 17 million, the DTSB created a system that identified athletes at a young age and then routed them to various sports schools throughout the country for intensified training.

Even if East German parents believed it was not a good idea to allow the government to rear their children, most of them recognized that the young athletes would live much more comfortably if they became successful. Athletes have been rewarded for winning medals with apartments, cars, travel and even Western currency.

Critics of the system contended that everyone in East Germany could live more comfortably if the government did not spend so much money on sports. The government admitted that it spent $590 million, about 0.4% of the national budget, on sports last year, but independent estimates ran considerably higher.

The government got its money’s worth. In the medal count for both the 1988 Winter and Summer Olympics, East Germany was second to the Soviet Union. Since 1968, only the Soviet Union and the United States have won more medals.

Now, the East Germans might be willing to settle for less.

Katarina Witt, two-time Olympic champion in figure skating, predicted as much in separate interviews this week with the Austrian Press Agency and the New York Times. Having often acknowledged that she was successful only because the state provided her with coaching, equipment, ice time and even room-and-board from the time she was in primary school, she did not seem pleased with the prospect.

“The system of developing athletes is going to be abandoned now,” she told the Austrian Press Agency. “For the athletes, that is going to be a catastrophe. I’m pretty sure we’re going to lose our leading role in sports.”

Of course, it could be that Modrow was not sincere when he indicated that elite sports will be de-emphasized. When the DTSB elects new leaders in March, perhaps nothing will change. But that seems unlikely considering the political atmosphere in East Germany.

A series of government scandals have been uncovered that have led to the disgrace of several former political officials, including Honecker. Playing on his name and the Hollywood life styles that he and other leaders allegedly were leading, the East German press is calling the scandals “Hone-wood.” One scandal centers around the DTSB, which is being asked to account for the millions of dollars it has spent.

About $175,000 in Western currency recently was discovered by government investigators in the desk drawer of the DTSB’s vice president for financial affairs, Franz Rydz. A few days later, he committed suicide by drowning himself in a lake at the Kinebaum training center near East Berlin.

The special privileges that athletes have received also are under scrutiny. Although the perks were hardly a secret in East Germany, many have expressed shock and anger upon learning the extravagance of them. A gold medal last year was worth $21,000 in bonuses to an athlete, meaning that swimmer Kristin Otto earned $126,000 for her six gold medals.

Some have taken out their resentment on the athletes. According to the Wall Street Journal, swimmer Heike Friedrich recently returned from a meet to find that her car windows had been smashed. The tires on speedskater Constanze Moser’s car were slashed, the newspaper reported.

The newspaper also said that Witt recently appeared on stage at a rock concert in East Berlin and was jeered each time she tried to speak.

In her interview with the Austrian Press Agency, Witt called the behavior of some of her former fans shameful.

“Right now, a lot of us have to almost apologize because we are competing in sports in this system,” she said. “It hurts to be criticized by the people who applauded only a year ago.”

While it is folly to speculate too far into East Germany’s future, it appears as if the government will follow the recent Soviet model and require its various sports organizations to become financially self-supporting.

Two sports, soccer and ice hockey, already have moved in that direction. Each allowed a player this week to transfer to West German teams--in exchange, of course, for a fee.

As part of its exhibition schedule in preparation for next summer’s World Cup in Italy, the U.S. soccer team will play in the first of four 1990 Marlboro Cups, Feb. 2-4 in Miami.

Three other World Cup teams--Uruguay, Colombia and Costa Rica--have also agreed to play. The United States is scheduled to open against Uruguay.

But U.S. Soccer Federation officials said this week that the national team probably will not compete in the second Marlboro Cup, Feb. 20-22 in Los Angeles. Teams have not been announced, but federation officials said the Soviet Union probably will be included.

The Soviet team, considered a contender to win the World Cup, has a game scheduled Feb. 24 against the United States at Stanford.

The U.S. team would improve considerably with the addition of Roy Wegerle, a forward for the Queens Park Rangers in the English first division. He was born in South Africa but is eligible to play for any of four World Cup teams. Along with his residency status in England, he has an American wife, a West German father and a Scottish mother.

The English have made overtures, but Wegerle said he would prefer to play for the United States. He attended the University of South Florida and played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

U.S. Coach Bob Gansler said he is interested in Wegerle, 25, but only if he can join the team in training camp this winter. His contract with the Rangers does not expire until May. The United States plays its first World Cup game on June 10.