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Waldemar Cierpinski had originally been a successful steeplechase
runner, but it was when he decided to enter his first marathon in 1974
that he started to lay the groundwork that would eventually lead to him
becoming an Olympic legend. He came to the 1976 Olympic Games in
Montreal virtually unknown and certainly not expected to be bothering
the more fancied runners, including defending champion Frank Shorter
(USA), his fellow countryman Bill Rodgers, and Finn Lasse Viren who was
attempting to emulate Emil Zatopek's feat of winning the 5,000m, 10,000m
and marathon at the one Olympic Games. Shorter and Viren were always at
the front of the pack, but so was the unheralded Cierpinski. Shorter
broke away from the field at 25km and opened a gap, but Cierpinski
chased and caught him, and then opened his own slight lead. He
gradually increased this lead to the finish, beating Shorter by 51
seconds in a new Olympic Record of 2hr 09min 55sec (see photo above). (Ron Casey)
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Waldemar Cierpinski at the end of the 1980 Olympic Games marathon.
Photo George Herringshaw. ©
| Very little was heard about Waldemar Cierpinski between 1977 and 1979,
but in 1980 he returned to the Olympic Games in Moscow to defend his
Olympic title. Rodolfo Gomez (Mexico) tried to break the field up at the
20km mark, running the next 5km in a suicidal 14min 13sec. A number of
the other fancied runners attempted to go with him, but Cierpinski
wisely held back. He slowly made up ground on the leaders and by 35km
had rejoined them. At 36km, Cierpinski surged away and opened a healthy
gap, but in the closing stages this was being gradually reduced by
Gerard Nijboer (Netherlands). In the stadium, Cierpinski put the issue
beyond doubt, sprinting the final 200m in 33.4sec and winning in 2hr
11min 03sec, thus duplicating the feat of the legendary Ethiopian Abebe
Bikila in winning two Olympic marathons. (Ron Casey) |
DID CIERPINSKI TAKE DRUGS ?
It is now well known that East Germany operated a state-sponsored system of providing
performance-enhancing drugs to as many as 10,000 athletes from about 1968 to 1988.
| |
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Marathon {Männer}
Olympische Spiele 1976
|
| |
. |
|
|
|
| 1. Waldemar CIERPINSKI |
|
GDR |
|
2: 09: 55.0 OR |
| 2. Frank SHORTER |
|
USA |
|
2: 10: 45.8 |
| 3. Karel LISMONT |
|
BEL |
|
2: 11: 12.6 |
| 4. Donald KARDONG |
|
USA |
|
2: 11: 15.8 |
| 5. Lasse VIREN |
|
FIN |
|
2: 13: 10.8 |
| 6. Jerome DRAYTON |
|
CAN |
|
2: 13: 30.0 |
| 7. Leonid MOSEYEV |
|
SOV |
|
2: 13: 33.4 |
| 8. Franco FAVA |
|
ITA |
|
2: 14: 24.8 |
|
|
|
Marathon {Männer}
Europameisterschaft 1978
|
| |
|
|
. |
|
| 1. Leonid MOSEYEV |
|
URS |
|
2.11.57.5 |
| 2. Nikolae PENZIN |
|
URS |
|
2.11.59.0 |
| 3. Karel LISMONT |
|
BEL |
|
2.12.07.7 |
| 4. Waldemar CIERPINSKI |
|
GDR |
|
2.12.20.0 |
| 5. Catalin ANDREICA |
|
ROM |
|
2.12.29.4 |
| 6. Massimo MAGNANI |
|
ITA |
|
2.12.45.3 |
|
|
|
Marathon {Männer}
Olympische Spiele 1980
|
| |
|
|
. |
|
| 1. Waldemar CIERPINSKI |
|
GDR |
|
2: 11: 03 |
| 2. Gerard NIJBOER |
|
HOL |
|
2: 11: 20 |
| 3. Satymkul DZHUMANAZAROV |
|
SOV |
|
2: 11: 35 |
| 4. Vladimir KOTOV |
|
SOV |
|
2: 12: 05 |
| 5. Leonid MOSEYEV |
|
SOV |
|
2: 12: 14 |
| 6. Rodolfo GOMEZ |
|
MEX |
|
2: 12: 39 |
| 7. Dereje NEDI |
|
ETH |
|
2: 12: 44 |
| 8. Massimo MAGNANI |
|
ITA |
|
2: 13: 12 |
.
(Das bild oben zeigt den deutsche (DDR) sportler Waldemar Cierpinski.)