[ PHOTO PROVIDED BY INTERNATIONAL SWIMMING HALL OF FAME ]
chase, immediately worked to cover the story of Johnson’s doping violation, while Johnson boarded a flight out of South Korea. The news of Johnson’s positive test coincided with the last days of the swimming competition, where two storylines stood out. Among the men, Matt Biondi’s march to seven medals—including five gold, a silver and a bronze—drew comparisons to what Mark Spitz achieved at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Although Biondi did not match Spitz’s perfection, he became just the second swimmer to tally seven medals in a single Games. In women’s action, East Germany’s Kristin Otto occupied the spotlight, and headlined her nation’s dominant showing by setting an Olympic standard for individual success. During the eight-day meet, Otto was perfect, her four individual triumphs complemented by a pair of relay victories. If the program had included a women’s 800 freestyle relay, as the men’s schedule did, she almost certainly would have equaled Spitz’s iconic effort from 16 years earlier. Still, her six gold medals set a record for female success at the Olympic Games, a standard that has not been equaled.
East Germany’s Kristin Otto will long be remembered as a highly decorated athlete, and for turning in one of the greatest Olympic outings in history, winning six gold medals at the 1988 Games. But because of the links to her and performanceenhancing drugs, what she accomplished—before and in Seoul—will always be tainted. BY JOHN LOHN
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he image is iconic in Olympic lore. As he crossed the finish line, index finger pointing to the sky, Canadian Ben Johnson was the most-celebrated athlete on the planet. He had just won the 1988 Olympic title in the 100-meter dash, his winning time of 9.79 almost impossible to grasp. How could a human run that fast? It was a legitimate question, and one asked with significant skepticism. An answer arrived within days, and the Seoul Games fell under a tent of controversy. Johnson, in what was an unsurprising revelation to those who raced against him, had tested positive for the use of an anabolic steroid, and was stripped of his gold medal. Journalists, who were hardly stunned by the news they would 26
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SUSPICIONS FOLLOWED But like Johnson, suspicions followed Otto, who was pegged at a young age to attend one of East Germany’s prestigious sports schools. From the early 1970s through the late 1980s, East Germany was the dominant country in the pool, destroying the opposition at the European Championships, World Championships and Olympic Games...and all other competitions in between. Even without official proof in the form of positive doping tests, there was little doubt unethical practices were at play. During the first years of the 1970s, the German Democratic Republic was a modest factor on the global stage. Yet, by the 1973 World Championships, they became a superpower, and that status would remain for the next decade-and-a-half. How did such an ascension take place? It wasn’t difficult to recognize the reason: Fingers pointed to chemistry. Not only was East Germany’s sudden and widespread success enough to activate prolonged skepticism, so were the physical characteristics of the athletes: abnormal musculature, deep voices, acne-covered skin. It was also said that the country’s systematicdoping program was so specific, that athletes were monitored prior to competition and removed from action if there was the slightest possibility they would test positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Otto was used to the allegations levied against her and her teammates. “I have never knowingly taken any banned substances,” Otto said. “I have no knowledge of ever having taken something to help my performance.” There is a key word in Otto’s statement: knowingly. Throughout the duration of East Germany’s doping program, the teenage girls who were used as pharmaceutical guinea pigs and pin cushions simply did as they were told. Swallow this pill. Take this injection. Follow this workout. And...do not ask questions. Kornelia Ender did not question the system. Neither did Barbara Krause. Petra Thumer followed the directives that were prescribed. Petra Schneider was obedient, too. And because these women could not say no—or have their careers instantly washed away—they set
