Upheaval in Europe More Than Political, Olympics Will Show

As a rule, U.S. men’s cycling Coach Jiri Mainus is loathe to decorate his office walls with monuments to past glory, but by occupational necessity, he yields. There are now half a dozen pictures on display of Mainus as a world-class rider for his native Czechoslovakia in the early ‘70s.

“In the U.S.,” he said, “the athletes need to know their coach has some background; in Europe, the position alone has power.” He shrugs. To him, the pictures are just fluff. Of more significance is the newspaper propped up on his bookcase, bearing the headline “Czechoslovaks Back Strike, Opposition.”

Mainus has lived in the United States for six years and last year became a citizen. But contact with Eastern Europe, home to friends, former competitors and fellow coaches, is frequent. Pavel Dolezal, the Czech national cycling coach, called him last week to tell of his emergency promotion to national federation director, necessitated by the resignation of his predecessor.

“They have no money now, and no support from the government,” Mainus said. “My feeling is that it will be very, very hard for them to compete.”

Mainus sees dramatic changes ahead in the balance of Olympic competition as a result of the current political upheaval in Eastern Europe.

“By the next Olympics,” Mainus said, “you could see the United States win as many medals as in 1984, when the Eastern Bloc did not compete.”

His is the most radical prediction. But the overhauls of political systems, particularly those in East Germany and Czechoslovakia, that have produced state-supported athletes who dominated some sports (East German swimmers, Bulgarian weightlifters and wrestlers, and the like), and were competitive in nearly all others, has whittled at the athletic structure.

As Dennis Pursley, national teams director for USA Swimming, said, “You would have to expect a more competitive situation.”

Change could take one of three forms:

- Total collapse--This is Mainus’ theory, and he says it is already taking place in the cycling federations of Poland, Czechoslovakia and East Germany.

“In all of these countries, in the past,” Mainus said, “the government completely supported the program. I was paid a better salary than most workers and I would only train. Now they will have to go outside for sponsors, like the United States.”

Jill Trenary, a figure skater who finished fourth in the ’88 Olympics, said, “Now, if the East Germans can go into West Germany and see that there are other things in the world besides training, maybe they won’t skate seven or eight hours a day, (but) only four like we do.”

- Gradual weakening--Although the athletic systems would be damaged by a loss of government support, collapse will be more protracted.

“I think at least for a while, you should see status quo,” said Tim Lewis, the top-ranked U.S. 20-kilometer race walker for five of the last six years. “The athletes they have now are so dominant and so dedicated that I see them holding up through the next Olympics, unless they just say ‘This is for the birds,’ and defect. But they know what their (training) programs are; there’s no reason for them to stop.”

LeRoy Smith, U.S. freestyle wrestling coach, said, “I don’t see the machine falling apart completely right away. It’s going to change, there’s no doubt about that. But I think a lot of other things will fall apart before the sports machine does. I don’t think we’ll see an effect until maybe 2000.”

Lewis, in fact, suggested that some of the better athletes in high-profile sports, like track and field, could initially benefit from the erosion of present systems.

“In the past, a lot of money they made went to the federation,” he said. “Now, they’ll make even more and be allowed to keep it. And the European track promoters will pay them dearly because they’re a big draw.

“You think about what (Eastern German long jumper-sprinter) Heike Drechsler has made, compared to Flo-Jo (Florence Griffith Joyner). Now she can make more. Those athletes will stay full time.”

- Emigration--The United States and Western European countries will be strengthened by former Eastern Bloc athletes leaving their countries.

“It’s already happening in figure skating,” said Carlo Fassi, who coaches Trenary and previously coached Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill. “(Soviet) Irena Rodnina has already come to California. They are going to see how much more money they can make in other countries.

Bob Johnson, executive director of U.S.A. Hockey, noted the potential for a strong West German hockey team if it can collect East German players.

“East Germany has qualified for the last three Olympics,” Johnson said. “But they’ve declined to go because they don’t think they can win a medal. If their players go to West Germany, that could really help the West German program. The Czechs are the only ones affected, but their system is so good, I think they’ll stay.” If the system stays in place.

One of the most intriguing possibilities raised by the lowering of borders is a sort of international free agency. “You could see wrestlers just making the best deal for themselves,” Smith said, referring to a system where athletes emigrate to whatever country affords them the best possible support system.

At the genesis of the turmoil, this is nothing but conjecture. Yet there is a common thread to all of the speculation: that the face of competition will be altered. For Lewis, sitting in the office building where he works 40 hours a week as a software engineer, the thought of Eastern European opponents doing likewise cuts to the heart of the issue.

“I think,” Lewis said, “that would make things a little more interesting.”