International recognition of the East German Olympic Committee

The IOC accepts a separate East German Olympic Committee

After 1949, East German athletes wishing to participate in the Olympic Games had to compete in a united team comprising sportsmen and women from West and East Germany. The International Olympic Committee was slow to accept changing realities. It did allow the DDR to form an East German Olympic Committee in 1965, which then sent its own separate East German team to the 1968 Games. Nevertheless, its successes were still counted as belonging to a single German team. It was not until 1972 that medals awarded to East Germans were counted as having been won by the DDR.

Smarting at what it saw as a capitalist insult, the East German government decided that it needed to show the world what its athletes could do, even if that meant using unfair methods. In the 1964 Games, the unified German team came fourth in the medal rankings. Although much smaller than many of the other teams at the 1972 Games, the independent East German team came third in the medal table, improving this performance four years later to come second. The politics of the Cold War meant that the West Germans did not go to Moscow in 1980 and the DDR boycotted Los Angeles in 1984. In 1988, DDR athletes did East Germany proud by finishing in second place; West Germany only managed fifth place. It was only after reunification that it became clear that all of this had been a sham. Not only did the DDR dope nearly all its athletes, it also devised a plan to ensure they would not be caught. Government scientists devised increasingly sophisticated methods to mask the widespread use of performance-enhancing drugs. Many athletes, including minors, were administered the banned substances without their knowledge, and a significant proportion suffered long-term physical or psychological side effects. On average, those affected die at least ten years earlier than the rest of the population, and they can even pass on health conditions to their children.