European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 23, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Britain s decathlon Star Daley Thompson has won every major championship. Daley Thompson bristling competitor by Mike Collett United press International Daley Thompson would never be mistake for an English adept at turning on that British harm he s often rude to youngsters asking for autographs and can be arrogant argumentative and sometimes downright crude in his behaviour away from the athletic Field. Even when he won the Gold medal and set the world record in decathlon at los Angeles four years ago he did Little to endear himself to staid britons. His jokes about his proposed sexual exploits with a member of the British Royal family and off the Wall to shirt slogans including one that asked the question is the world s second greatest athlete Gay were not looked upon favourably by Many of his countrymen. And they bristled when Thompson whistled his country s National Anthem on the Winner s Rostrum while receiving his Gold medal. Yet on the Field of Competition Thompson is Well liked and respected by his rivals. So much so that when he finished ninth at the world championships in Rome last year they gave him an ovation As he crossed the finish line in the final event of the Competition. He had injured a Groin muscle in training prior to the world championships and was not physically fit for the event but his willingness to compete earned him great respect from his Peers. As american de athlete Gary Kinder said afterwards for me he is still the Champion. Despite All of his problems he helped me throughout the Competition. A Little bit of advice Here an encouraging word there. He is a great competitor a great Thompson s defeat in Rome was his first since he took the Silver in the 1978 european championships As a 20-year-old. From that defeat until last year s setback Thompson reigned supreme. He has won every major championship. He won his first olympic title in Moscow in 1980 and repeated at los Angeles. He won the 1983 world championship and the european titles in both 1982 and 1986. And now Thompson is ready to get Back to the top of the Mountain again. In the 11 months since the world championships Thompson s profile has been distinctly Low key. He became a father for the first time with the birth of his daughter Rachel in january and completed his warm weather training at Irvine calif., in the Winter and Spring. He turned 30 on july 30, and except for occasional appearances in one of the decathlon s disciplines in various meets in Britain he has kept out of the Public Eye. He will compete in Only one decathlon this year the one scheduled for sept. 28-29 in the olympic stadium in Seoul. If Thompson is fit and in his few Public statements recently he has said he is he is Likely to Start As favorite for an unprecedented third Gold decathlon Gold medal. In the european championship of 1982, the world championships of 1983, the olympics of 1984 and the european championships of 1986, Thompson and West germans Juergen Vingsen and Siggi Wentz finished 1-2-3. That changed last year in Rome when Vingsen dropped out with an injury and Wentz finished second behind Torsten Voss of East Germany. Vingsen s fitness since Rome has raised bigger doubts than Thompson s and his Chance of the ultimate olympic prize May have passed. Christian Plazibat of France Walter Kulvet and Richardas Malakhovsky of the soviet Union Voss and Christian Schenk of East Germany and Robert de wit of Holland have All scored Over 8,300 Points in Early season decathlon and All could be challenging for honors. Thompson is Strong in almost All 10 events but the discus and pole vault can cause him problems. He has never been seriously tested Over 1,500 meters the final gruelling event which every de athlete hates. If he is fit and on course for the Gold his first Day Lead should be anywhere Between 100 and 200 Points. Anything less than that and his bid for his third Gold could end in failure. In 1984, he was facing failure head on. The drama came in the seventh event the discus throw. Vingsen s second throw of 166 feet 9 inches was an olympic decathlon record and was almost 40 feet farther than Thompson s Best in the Competition. At that stage Vingsen led by 68 Points. Thompson remembered afterwards that was my moment. It was like everything that had Ever gone on beforehand did t mean anything. This was the moment to go and look Over the goddamned Cliff and face what was Ever Down there. That was the biggest moment for me Ever. That was everything in my life wrapped up into that moment. That particular moment with everyone watching on Telly and All that kind of stuff with everyone there that was my Thompson threw 152 feet 9 inches his Best Ever in a decathlon and put himself Back into first place by 32 Points a swing of 100 Points. It is evident that if anyone wants to take the olympic Gold from a fully fit Thompson he will also have to Deal with his mental toughness. Thompson earns an estimated $500,000 a year from his various endorsements which include soft drinks computers and cars. A third decathlon Gold in Seoul will guarantee that income and confirm his place As the Best de athlete in history. In addition to signing further contracts for lucrative advertising deals he might also Start signing his name in the autograph books of his Young fans. East germans take capitalist Gold by Nesha Starcevic associated press the East German sports machine has turned to the capitalist West for the col Cash needed to keep olympic Gold medal coming to that communist year alone the German democratic Republic will earn $70 million from allowing Western advertising in sports venues according to reports in the official press. And Katarina Witt the two time olympic figure skating Champion and East Germany s most charismatic Star has signed a contract with the american owned Holiday on ice show Worth $3.78 million. About 80 percent of that will go to the East German sports federation. Only one year ago both Witt and state run East German Media ridiculed Holiday on ice. Now it is being described As Good family entertainment. The change in attitude is clearly motivated by Money. No nation produces As Many olympic Gold medals per capita As the German democratic Republic a staggering 116 golds in just four games for a nation of less than 17 million people. But athletic domination is costly in a nation where a wheel for a racing bicycle costs $2,700. East Germany officially allocated $590 million to sports in 1988, about 0.4 percent of the National budget. But sports sources in East Berlin say the state is actually injecting about $5.4 billion dollars into the program. The ministry of Interior for instance sponsors several clubs and gives them More Money in addition to the funds they receive directly from the state budget. East Germany has opened its doors slightly to the capitalist West to get added funds. Signs advertising Western products have mushroomed at East German stadiums. Although such products Are virtually unavailable to Ordinary East germans television broadcasts to the West get the message to the people with buying Power. East German sports officials see no contradiction in accepting Western advertising. No single person is profiting from advertising in our stadiums but the entire society All of us said Volker Kluge spokesman for the German democratic Republic s National olympic committee. State run newspapers have said hard currency up Germany s Ace skater Katarina Witt. Earnings from Western advertising were needed to cover some of the growing costs of preparing top class athletes for olympics and other major competitions. Stadium advertising is common internationally said sport Echo the newspaper of the East German sports federation. Sport is thus helping contribute Means to our Republic the newspaper explained in response to a Reader s question about the sudden emergence of advertising billboards. Western advertising signs were prominently displayed at the recent National track and Field and swimming championships. East German athletes Excel in both sports and own Many world records. The communist party newspaper printed photographs of two leading swimmers 200-meter Butterfly Champion Birte Weigang and 400-meter free style Champion Uwe Dassler wearing to shirts with the logo of a Western computer company. The sports federation has set up a special marketing department which is responsible for aiding advertising sponsors in the West. It is this d Oart ment which negotiated Witt s lucrative contract with Holiday on ice the richest Ever paid to one of the show s stars. The introduction of Western advertising Marks a Sharp turn from previous policy when the state run Media routinely criticized the commercialization of sports in the West. We make a Strong distinction Between the useful Side of the commercialization on one hand and the commercial abuse of sports on the other sport Echo explained. As an example of abuse the newspaper criticized the scheduling of some finals at the Seoul olympics for morning hours to accommodate . Television coverage. Jim Heiring left number 907 walking toward a disappointing 23rd place finish because of a bum knee during the 1984 olympics in los Angeles. Striding toward olympic Fame by Doug Fernandes the Sarasota Fla Herald Tribune in Heiring has walked on the wild Side from the soviet Union to South America. He has walked this Way taken a walk in the Park walked the walk of Fame and has never really paid attention to those Don t walk signs. The other Day he was walking the streets of Englewood Fla. Where he has relatives. Mind you when Heiring does his walk it s More like a brisk jog for most of us. His is a precise combination of pumping arms and gyrating hips and it gives him a shot at an olympic medal. When the olympic games begin next month in Seoul South Korea Heiring will be there representing the United states in the Little known and even less appreciated sport of race walking. You May be Able to name three members of the . Swimming or track and Field teams but can you rattle off the three names on the american 20-Kilometer race walking team it s one of the hardest track and Field events Heiring said. They just see the hips and the arms moving. At High Speed it s a very Graceful and powerful sport. If people took More time to understand the sport they would have More respect for it. For the sport to get in the Public limelight it would take something where the Media wanted to make the sport really popular. And for an athlete to come through and win a Heiring has never done that although he has had one Chance and had another snatched from him during a dark time in . Athletics. At the 1984 olympics in los Angeles a bum knee forced Heiring into a disappointing 23rd. And the . Olympic Boycott in 1980 left a sour taste in his Mouth. I was totally against it he said. The athletes had nothing to do with it. We were just pawns for political Heiring said that a race Walker gets stronger As he gets older. Still he realizes that at age 32, this is his last shot. Should he come up empty knowing that he gave it everything possible will be enough. I m not going to worry about meddling he said. I just want to walk the Best race i can. If that takes me to a medal that s great. If in the top 10, that s great there remains the feeling that this event cannot be classified a walk when a mile is covered in 5 40, a world record Heiring previously held. Or two Miles in 12 05, a record he currently holds. The sport is governed by stringent rules. After All this is not a walk to the Corner drugstore. The Walker must pay close attention to form and technique. There Are two major Points to be followed. The athlete s leading foot must touch the ground before his trailing foot leaves the ground. And the knee must be locked if not a condition known As creeping develops. Either creeping or a raised foot can draw the ire of judges stationed along the course. Each infraction brings a red card. Three red cards cause immediate disqualification. Sometimes the athlete can t even Tell he s going so fast Heiring said. There is a very Fine line. The judges watch More for creeping than Heiring has been race walking for 16 years. He ran track and Cross country in High school and at the University of Wisconsin Parkside. Aside from the knee which has twice required surgery Heiring is in prime shape with a body fat Content near 5 percent. When you run it brings about so Many injuries pounding to your Knees and Arch he said. When you walk you get the same cardiovascular benefits As running. At a Low level there Are no injuries in the As a track and Field participant Heiring was forced to qualify for the olympics at the trials in Indianapolis in july. During the Winter he puts in an average of 90-100 Miles a week. He s now at 60 Miles and will gradually taper Down As Seoul approaches. As a team the United states is about fifth or sixth in the world behind Italy Mexico the soviet Union and East Germany. Heiring s Best personal time in the 20-Kilometer is 1 24. The world s Best walk the distance in 1 19 or 1 20, so it might be expecting a lot for Heiring to win a medal it s a sport in which minutes Are pared off grudgingly you won t see anyone with a world record because everyone is cautious in the olympics ii said. But the focus remains this you Hope your body and mind Are prepared to give you the race of your life on the Day of your life. It really just comes Down to that. Just the atmosphere there is great Heiring said. The excitement of the opening ceremonies makes the whole thing Worth it All the years of work and dedication. But this one is extra special because it s my last one. And who knows stranger things have 14 the stars and stripes tuesday August 23,1988 the stars and stripes Page 15
