East German Dynasty Crumbling -- Powerhouse's Demise Precedes Unification
FEDERAL WAY - Officially, the East German women's swimming dynasty will be dismantled after the world championships next January, when the Germanys will compete separately for the last time.
But the practical often precedes the official. As with the Berlin Wall, the East German women appear to be on their way down, earlier and more spontaneously than anyone dared expect.
The East Germans have offered a number of reasons for how they can be winless in individual events coming into tonight, the final session of the five-day Goodwill Games swimming meet.
But none of those explanations - political, motivational, logistical or physical - has been able to discount the swing in momentum from the East Germans to the Americans, for the first time since the Tracy Caulkins era of the late 1970s.
In the best of Chicago Cub traditions, the East Germans have been resigned to offer the saying:Wait 'till next year.
``I don't know Summer well,'' Olympic gold-medalist Daniella Hunger said last night after American Summer Sanders upset her in the 200-meter individual medley in 2 minutes, 14.06 seconds, ``but my best time is 2:12. At the world championships, we'll have to see again.''
Replied Sanders, 17, sitting next to Hunger at a press-conference table but looking away: ``I guess we will have to see again.''
A ticklish confidence is soaring in the U.S. camp, which tore down another East German institution last night, the 400-medley relay. Undefeated in this event in major meets since 1978, the East Germans never led and placed well behind the U.S. team of backstroker Betsy Mitchell, breaststroker Tracey McFarlane, backstroker Janel Jorgenson and free-
styler Nicole Haislett.
At 4:06.94, the U.S. women broke a 4-year-old American record. But more startling was that the East German group of Dagmar Hasse, Daniela Brendel, Kathleen Nord and Manuella Stellmach finished more than a second behind the U.S. ``B'' team, at 4:11.46.
``It's apparent they are not on to their very best,'' U.S. women's Coach Richard Quick said. ``But you have no control over that. You just control the opportunity to do your best, and that's what our team is doing.''
As much as any swimmer, Hunger symbolized the East German women's stagnation at this meet. Top-ranked in the world last year in the 50 free, she relinquished her country's traditional hold on the event on the opening night, placing behind Americans Leigh Ann Fetter and Jennifer Boyd.
Then, as American Nicole Haislett completed the sweep of sprint freestyle events by edging Stellmach in the 100 and Heike Friedrich placed seventh in her Olympic silver-medal event, the 400 free, Hunger pulled out of the 400 IM duel with Janet Evans.
Hunger said had been feeling ill, and had criticized the new King County Aquatics Center as not up to world-class standards.
But the East German women, who won the first two relay races but have only five bronze medals in individual races, have deeper problems than the pool.
Their financial and training situations back home are uncertain, and with the two Germanys planning to merge teams, several East German swimmers have admitted that their concentration has suffered.
The East Germans also have complained about the lack of training time at sea level. Before coming to Seattle a week ago, the team spent three weeks in Colorado Springs' mile-high altitude. ``We've only been training for this meet for two weeks, so you can't expect optimum results,'' Hunger said.
The political situation, she said, ``has not affected us yet. Our training and practice time has been the same. But we don't know what it'll be like when we get home.''
Said Friedrich, in an interview last week: ``We've heard, by rumors and telephone calls home, that our umbrella sports organization . . . has cut the budget and that it will be very hard for us to have competition and training visits abroad.''
Much of the foundation of the East German team that dominated the 1988 Olympics has retired, including sprinter Kristin Otto, backstroker Kathrin Zimmerman, breaststroker Silke Horner, butterflier Birte Weigang, and IM specialist Ute Geweninger.
But what's left from Seoul has underwhelmed at this meet. While Evans was the only U.S. woman to win an individual race at the Olympics, six Americans have combined for nine of the 11 available golds here.
The United States has 16 combined first- and second-place finishes in individual events. The East Germans have none. Their last chance is tonight, when Stellmach and Nord are the highest-ranked swimmers, respectively, in the 200 free and 200 fly.
``This next competition (world championships) will show who is best,'' Stellmach said. ``At this point, the Americans are better than the Germans.''
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THE MEDALIST
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Women's 200-meter individual medley
Gold: Summer Sanders United States
Silver: Mary Ellen Blanchard United States
Bronze: Daniella Hunger East Germany