Wolfgang Schmidt in an East Germany-Great Britain match in 1975 – from:wikipedia.org
Article by Giovanni Manenti
Over the course of In the 70s of the 20th century, Eastern Germany experienced exponential growth in sportsin particular with regards to the Olympic Disciplines, a circumstance certified by the Medal Collector which sees East Germany go from a total of 25 laurels won at the 1968 Mexico City Games, 66 four years later in Munich 1972 and finally 90 in the 1976 Montreal edition …
An authentic explosion which finds its consecration – not considering the 126 medals of Moscow 1980, given the absence of the United States and some countries falling within their sphere of interest – at Seoul Olympics 1988, when the German Democratic Republic surpasses, for the first and only time in the history of the Games, the USA (102 to 94) in terms of number of laurels wonbefore, a year later, the collapse of the Berlin Wall brought about its end and the consequent reunification of Germany into a single state.
Without going into the merits of the age-old question of “State doping” imposed by the infamous STASI on its athletes, we want to propose today the story of those who, despite excelling at the top of their specialty, made a very different choice, namely that of fighting for freedom and, in the end, despite costly sacrifices in terms of honors and glory, he managed to win…
This is none other than that Wolfgang Schmidt, born in East Berlin on 16 January 1954 and enrolled in the famous Dynamo Berlin sports clubbegan to stand out during the European Junior Championships which took place in Duisburg at the end of August 1973…
On this occasion, the 18 year old from Berlin is registered for the two Shot Put and Discus Throw testsfinishing the first in second position, preceded (19.65m at 18.45) by his compatriot Udo Beyer – future Gold at the 1976 Montreal Games and twice European Champion in 1980 and 1982 – and then making his the continental title in the Disc with the measurement of 58.16 m.
View the “competition at home” in the Shot Put – with Beyer having inherited the baton from two great specialists such as Hans-Peter Gies and Hartmut Briesenick, and then handing it over in turn to Ulf Timmermann – here Schmidt turns towards the Discus throw, supported in this by the excellent measurement of 64.10 m obtained on 24 August 1974 in Berlin, which paves the way for selection at the European Championships scheduled in Rome in a week’s time…
On the platforms of the “Olympic Stadium”, however, Schmidt does not repeat himself and, after having obtained qualification for the Final, he finishes the same no better than eighth with a best throw of m.59.56 representing an undoubted disappointmentto which he also contrasts a subsequent five-year period at the highest levels.
Already the following year – in which it also inaugurated the streak of six consecutive national titles – Schmidt, con a best throw of 66.80 m obtained on 22 June 1975 in Dresden places him at the top of the end-of-season ranking drawn up by the prestigious US magazine “Track & Field News“, so as to advance its authoritative candidacy for the Olympic podium in view of the 1976 Montreal Games…
Appointment to which the 21 year old East German shows up after having improved his personal limit several times up to 68.60 m achieved on 21 May in Colognehaving no problems obtaining qualification for the Final on the first throw with m.63.14 even though the big favourite, namely the American Mac Wilkins – record holder world championship with m.70.86 (first discus thrower to have broken the “70 meter barrier…) – had “shot” a launch of m.68.28 to shatter the previous Olympic record of compatriot Al Oerter and dating back to Mexico City 1968.
Trying to remove the Gold Medal from the neck of the 26-year-old from Oregon appears to be an almost impossible task, and he claims the top step of the podium with a throw of 67.50 m obtained on the second attemptwith only compatriot and former world record holder John Powell and Schmidt to go beyond 65 metres, with the respective measurements of 65.70 and 65.22 m both achieved in the third test…
Only the last series is missing before declaring the race over and Schmidt pulls out a throw from the hat that gives the world record holder shivers, luckily for him he measured only 66.22 m which however allowed the East German to overtake Powell and secure the silverwith the added belief that the future of the specialty is on his side.
Obviously overtaken by Wilkins in the year-end ranking, Schmidt regains control of the summit in the following two years, which sees him first take revenge on the American surpassing it (m.67.14 to 66.64) on 2 September 1977 in Dusseldorf on the occasion of the first edition of the World Cup and therefore experiencing, in 1978, his undisputed “Season of Glory” …
The Berlin discus thrower, in fact, settles a further “moral slap” to Wilkins improving his world record by throwing the tool to 71.16 m on 9 August 1976 in Berlinand then – in a season which also saw him successfully try his hand at Jetto del Peso, obtaining his career “Personal Best” at the end of May with the measurement of 20.76 m – win by a wide margin the continental title at the European Championships in Prague, preceding the Finnish Markku Tuokko (66.82m to 64.90m)An event which sees Schmidt also complete the podium in the Shot Put, bronze with m.20.30 in the Final won by Beyer.
Confirmed for the third consecutive year at the top of the world ranking also in 1979 (season ended undefeated and in which repeats the success in the World Cup in Montreal by once again getting the better of Wilkins (m.66.02 to 64.92) …)here Schmidt is expected as logical favorite at the 1980 Moscow Gameseven more so given the American’s absence due to the boycott imposed by US President Jimmy Carter…
And instead, despite appearing on the platforms of the “Stadium Lenin” with a best seasonal performance of m.68.48 obtained at the beginning of July 1980the now 25-year-old East German, who took the lead with m.65.64 in the fourth round, is seen shortly after overtaken first by the Czechoslovakian Imrich Bugar and then by the Soviet Viktor Rashchupkin (to the only great success in his career…), with m.66,34 e 66,64 respectively…
Schmidt tries to react but, afterwards a second best throw of m.65.34 in the penultimate test forces the last attempt available to him committing nothing, only to suffer the mockery of seeing each other also taking the bronze from the Cuban Luis Delis, capable of throwing the tool to 66.32 m just two centimeters from the silver.
A bitter disappointment which, in all likelihood, contributes to strengthen in the athlete’s mind the idea of trying to escape from his own country to take refuge in neighboring West Germanywith a first attempt for which he asked for the collaboration of Ludwig Shura, a businessman from West Germany who, unbeknownst to Schmidt, was collaborating with the STASI, as well as his coach Dieter Kollark…
The plan was to take advantage of the third edition of the World Cup scheduled in Rome at the beginning of September 1981, but, having learned of the project, the STASI demands that Armin Lemme be selectedfurthermore favored by the fact that the latter had defeated (m.66.70 to 66.28) Schmidt at the National Championships at the beginning of August in Jena.
Saved, due to his sporting merits, from being sent to trial – and his case was concluded last season under the East German flag, confirming himself in second place in the world ranking as in the previous one – Schmidt “doesn’t learn the lesson”, planning another escape attempt which, revealed by Shura to the STASI, left him This time he was arrested at the beginning of July 1982 and sentenced to a year and a half in prisonin addition to being stripped of all the honors he received…
Obtained a reduction of the sentence of only two months, Schmidt was released from prison in October 1983, able to support himself as a coach of the STASI Sports Clubso that he can be kept under control, but with a ban on participating in any demonstration, both national and international.
Solo in November 1987 – when the communist regime was starting to falter – Schmidt is granted permission to expatriate to the western part of the countrybut although he resumed competing in mid-May 1988 under the new flag, there is no possibility for him to participate in the Seoul 1988 Games, given that the IOC regulations stipulate that at least three years must pass after the new nationalityunless the country of origin grants its own authorization, which the East German government is careful not to issue…
In fact, it would have been too great a joke if the “traitor” had prevented his successor Jurgen Schult, who had taken up his legacy – as well as having established on 6 June 1986 the world record of m.74.08 which still resists – to make it his own Gold Medal, as in fact happens with the measurement of 68.82 mconsidering that Schmidt, in the season of his return to competition, was still able to throw at m.68.22 in the month of June.
This last circumstance means that, seven years later, Schmidt is back in the “Top Ten” of the year-end rankingplaced in sixth position, and then climbed the hierarchies, despite having largely exceeded the threshold of 30 years, in the following two years, which saw him finishing the season in second place in 1989 – by virtue of a better seasonal result of m.70.92 – and even regain the top spot the following yearwhen he wins his only title at the West German National Championshipsalthough not going further the bronze at the Continental Review in Splitwhose victory is still the prerogative of Schult…
Determined to defeat the identity card to try to recover, at least in part, what he had been prevented from conquering, Schmidt has one last gasp on the occasion of the Tokyo 1991 World Championships where, ironically, he replicated the fourth place obtained at the Moscow Games with m.64.76but with the satisfaction of preceding Schult who, now also competing for united Germany, finished no better than sixth with m.63.12, the victory going to Lars Riedel, also East German by birthwhich thus inaugurates a series of innumerable triumphs
Therefore the doubt remains how many and which medals Schmidt has given up with his attempts to “Escape for the Freedom”, given what he was able to do upon returning after seven seasons of inactivity, but when you make certain choices, you cannot take the consequences into account…
Even because, “choosing means giving up, but giving up will be less painful the more the choice represents an achievement…!!” …
And the brave discus thrower of East Berlin paid a heavy price for that freedom he gained…