Wolfgang Schmidt

Wolfgang Schmidt ( born January 16, 1954 in Berlin ) is a former German discus thrower, who - starting for the GDR - 1976 won an Olympic silver medal. From 1982, he made ​​headlines by initially failed escape and later moved from East Germany to West Germany. In 1990, he won the European Championship third parties for the Federal Republic of Germany.

Successes in detail

Escape from East Germany

After a disappointing him for fourth place at the 1980 Olympic Games and one missed by a second place in the GDR Championships World Cup start in 1981 in Rome Wolfgang Schmidt decided to make his fortune as an athlete in the Federal Republic. As a member of a police sports clubs ( SV Dynamo ) in the rank of lieutenant in the police he was monitored for State Security of the GDR by the Ministry, and he fell for a fictitious organization of its flight. In the fall of 1982, he was sentenced to one and a half years in prison for attempted escape from the Republic. A year later he was released and set as a coach at the SG Dynamo Adlershof, a sports club guards battalion of national security. Wolfgang Schmidt for an exit visa in order to continue in the Federal Republic of his sporting career. He could end of 1987 to move into the Federal Republic - too late to be nominated for the 1988 Olympics in Seoul. At the last Athletics countries struggle between the GDR and the Federal Republic, there was a scandal, because the winner Jürgen Schult not want to be congratulated by Wolfgang Schmidt.

Other life stages

He became German champion in 1992 and defeated while Jürgen Schult. Since he did not compete at the prescribed qualification competitions for the Olympic Games in Barcelona, ​​he was not considered for the Olympic team. He later moved to San Francisco and became a stockbroker and corporate consultant.

Wolfgang Schmidt started in East Germany with the SC Dynamo Berlin and trained with Joachim Spenke, later he went to the Stuttgarter Kickers and the starting LG VfB Community / Stuttgart Kickers. He is 1.99 m tall and weighed 115 kg in his playing days.