Readers React Strongly To Shirley Babashoff’s Comments About East Germany’s 1976 Systematic Doping of Olympians

PHOENIX, Arizona, March 1. COMMENTS from around the world flooded into Swimming World Magazine after the posting of the exclusive article titled Shirley Babashoff Breaks 30-Year Silence on East Germany’s 1976 Systematic Doping of Olympians

The following are just some of the comments…

Shirley is absolutely right. Those clean female swimmers from the US and elsewhere were cheated of their medals and recognition that they deserved! I hope that the USOC does award them medals for the places that they should have won and the positive recognition for what they earned legally. I was an 18 year old swimmer the summer of ’76 and truly admired the talented US girls. They were amazing! Imagine how their lives could have been enhanced by winning those medals. One only has to look at what winning Olympic Swimming Medals has done for Donna DeVerona, Johnny Weissmuller, Mark Spitz, John Nabor, Rowdy Gaines, Janet Evans, Summer Sanders and others to imagine what it could have done for the 1976 true winners. Especially Shirley Babashoff, the “Golden Girl”, with 5 Golds. To financially compensate 167 swimmers out of the 10.000 athletes is not enough. Shirley is right again. Those who participated in the games without doping and who would have won medals should also be financially compensated and have the results changed as printed in the article. Imagine how much more positive the experience would be in their memory these past 30 years! When the book is written and the movie made, I hope the true winners reap some of the benefits from all of their hard work and dedication so long ago. Thank you for the recognition for those deserving Beautiful (not Ugly) American Swimmers. – Glee

I was near tears reading Shirley Babashoff’s words and feeling her frustration and hurt. I remember those Olympics as if they were yesterday and the infamous quote from one of the DDR coaches after their women’s voices in the locker room caused fright from the other female swimmers (assuming men were in the facility)….”We have come to swim! Not to sing!” Such arrogance….. Babashoff is right. That 1976 team deserves their day of recognition. The United States swimming community must take this banner up and force the USOC to step up and take action ASAP. – Anonymous

Thank you so much for the article on all of our ’76 Olympic Champions. In particular I want to express my heartfelt thanks for remembering Kim. We were friends, at times teammates, and she has always stayed in my heart. One of the saddest days of my life was the day Kim’s Dad called my mother. The news was tragic. Kim had passed away. She was a great woman and a great athlete. Thank you again for remembering her in your article. Best Regards, William

In Women’s 400IM, Canadian Cheryl Gibson would also have set a World Record. – Rob

I have already written to the USA Olympic Committee to try to get something done. I got no answer. I am just a concerned swim coach that feels like if they are going to set some of the record straight, they need to go all the way. If Germany is willing to admit they cheated and erase the records, then the medals should go to the right people. Look at the results this is not just a DDR and USA problem there were a lot of people affected. Thanks! – Eric

Amazing article on the East Germans. It would be interesting to see the statistics on their height and weight as compared to the Americans. Good job! – Laura

Hi! Your article is interesting, in that it brings out what our major media once again will not cover: vindication of American activity. This Olympic debacle smacks of the same kind of reporting that Walter Duranty did for the NY Times on mother Russia. However, like a lot of past wrongs and injustices, I think the offended may be best served by letting it go. Yes, it gnaws at Americans, like the boxing refereeing in those days, and the ice skating judging, and the stolen Olympic men’s basketball game. But a late medal or acknowledgment will probably not assuage the feelings of having been robbed. That’s my take. – Bob

As an Olympian to represent the USA, I am moved, of course. But, as a person who feels grateful to those who represented us, I am so sad for them. I am thankful that this is in the media again and I am even more thankful that you included all the “new” results and the names of those who were there. Nothing too deep coming from me, other than thank you to those young girls who went out and did their best. Their rewards can be in the knowledge that they were clean and can be seen in the thousands of young girls who have raced behind them and were inspired by them, regardless of what the record books say. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Go USA! Crissy (Ahmann) Perham, 1992 Gold and Silver Medalist

Thanks for the article and in particular the interview with Jack Nelson. I was a competitive swimmer, 18 years old, during the ’76 Olympics. The whole affair was extremely demoralizing partly, as you point out, because the media refused to address it. I hope that your work can spawn others to push hard on this issue. Doping, of course, has become fundamental to some sports like cycling and baseball. And I’m very, very concerned that it will be the basis for the Chinese performance in ’08. Will you be investigating that? Thanks again for the work … outstanding. – Anonymous

I was only 10 at the time this happened to our American Women swim team. I can not imagine how these girls felt when they knew they were swimming against cheats. Honestly, all of these swimmers who were victims from these Olympics should be given replacement Gold, Silver or Bronze medals regardless what country they came from. The deep voices of the East German women swimmers should have been a dead give away to officials at these Olympic Games. It is really sad, that not only were the swimmers who may have won Gold Medals cheated, but it also puts a black eye on the part of the Olympic Games. I think, not only should the swimmers who could have won Gold Medals in 1976 should get Gold Medals now, but also the swimmers who were also cheated at the 1988 Olympic Games as well. Thank You. – Jack

Yes the time has come to recognize and award medals to all the young ladies of ’76. And the relay race certainly ranks as perhaps the greatest performances of all time considering the obstacles to be overcome. – Pete

Right on! Too bad this is 30 years too late. Hopefully the appropriate groups will do something to finally pull the dagger out of Shirley’s back! Hope the nay sayers are proud of themselves and their professional demeanor exhibited in 1976. I saw Shirley at Olympic Trails in Long Beach a couple of years ago. How she managed to carry herself with such professionalism and dignity for so many years is unbelievable. She really deserved the tremendous ovation she received when she was introduced. She and every other swimmer, US or other, deserve their reward and the accolades that should go with their accomplishments. – Bob

Hi there, I’d like to know if there is some way in which the members of our local USA Swimming Team could write letters to the surviving members of the Women’s 1976 Olympic Team. Even though we are basically a young team, our swimmers were affected by this story and would like to acknowledge what these young women lived through in 1976 (and, for that matter, since). Perhaps you could contact Shirley and find out what she thinks. Please let me know. Thanks! – Sue

Thanks for revisiting this story. It is an important piece of history and one with which every coach should be familiar. I have Jack’s tape on this event from an ASCA conference. I agree with George Block that we’ll see more of this in Beijing. But, who knows, with the chemistry these days it may be undetectable. It will be interesting to watch the Chinese Trials. Keep up the good work. Always. I think you did a great job of recapturing the strength of Jack (and Shirley’s) indignity about a situation in which they witnessed first hand, but was portrayed back to the U.S. audience as poor form and bad behavior by our team. Thank goodness (thanks in large part to Swimming World Magazine and Phil Whitten) the truth won out – Mike Stott Richmond, VA Swimming World Magazine USA Contributor.

If these athletes are in fact being compensated for doping, then the IOC should strip them of their medals and give those medals to those who actually deserve them. – Anonymous

My married name is Donnnalee Carlson but I am Donnalee Wennerstrom from the 1976 Olympic team. I would have a bronze medal in the 400 IM if the East Germans were disqualified. I think the whole thing is very sad for both the East German women as well as we Americans. I have to agree with Shirley that there should be some acknowledgement given to the American women for what they accomplished! All of us put our hearts and souls into our Olympic races and it was terrible to be cheated out of our medals as well as be vilified for stating the obvious about the DDR women being on steroids. And believe me, it was very obvious that the East German women had been taking performance enhancers! I think it’s fair some of the East German women are being compensated for the crimes committed against them. I’m sure that whatever they get it will never make up for what they suffered. But, the American women’s sorrow and pain has never been acknowledged and has indeed been swept under the rug. Think about the hard work and sacrifice it takes to make the USA Olympic swim team! Then think about the shattered dreams! Now its come out that we were performed as we should have but the attitude is “Oh well, no use crying over spilled milk”. And it is spilled milk but our efforts could and should be acknowledged. Tell Shirley I’m with her! If she wants any help you are free to give her my e-mail address. Thanks for writing about this subject. Sincerely, Donnalee Carlson

She is absolutely right! And justice still needs to be done! – Ralph

In 76 it seems the home team was shafted just as bad in raw numbers, which given Canada’s much smaller population shows the coaches and athletes of that era got it right with respect to training and competition, the Dutch women also got the short end of the stick too. The Russians by their own admission were not as good at nor as systematic as the East Germans in doping their athletes. Suffice it to say that a lot of hard working athletes were cheated of their rightful accolades. Since when have 3 Canadian swimmers swept the medals in one event in the Olympics (when 3 were still allowed). These days it would be monumental for us to sweep an event at Commonwealths or to have more than the average number of medals in one Olympics…. Simpson

Thank you for your excellent article on Shirley Babashoff. I can’t stop re-reading it, as its tone is as haunting as the Games were to our women’s swimming team. I remember that relay event like it was yesterday, having watched it on TV. I’ll never forget the look on Shirley’s face as she mounted the blocks to swim anchor. At that point I knew the USA would win. As a U.S. Masters swimmer, I had the pleasure of going to Montreal in 1994 to attend the World Masters Championships. Of course, it was held in the same venue as the 1976 Games. During the entire time I was in that natatorium, all I could think about was that race. It was like a cloud hanging over; I felt like the room was filled with the ghosts of the people who had cheered for one of the greatest upsets and moral victories in swimming history. We can only hope and pray that those swimmers who deserved medals at those Games will get them. It is too bad that one of the members of that awesome relay is deceased. But at least maybe the others can get what they worked so hard for. – Luanne

This was a great article. I hope the girls who were cheated out of all of there hard work can finally be recognized. – James

Nice article. Shirley and the rest of the female swimmers from those games finally have gotten their due. Shirley is long over due for the recognition she deserves from the swimming community and anything short of a standing ovation at the ’08 Trials is not enough. Again, good job. William

Thank you for the report and comments by Ms. Babashoff. It has taken years for the truth to be revealed. Her honesty and frustration at the time is understandable. Her silence over the years shows more about her character than her earlier statements. If IOC will not award “something” to her and the other women cheated perhaps the international swimming community could come up with an appropriate award to recognize their outstanding efforts. Thank you, – Terry

USA Swimming, as well as the USOC should fund legal counsel to seek Olympic medal redemption for the athletes (Shirley Babashoff, et al) of the 1976 USA Women’s Olympic Swimming Team. The aforementioned organizations, who should represent the best interests of our athletes, as well, place pressure on the IOC to award duplicate medals to all concerned. It is the only right and ethical thing to do for USA Swimming and the USOC to unify in a tour de force against the IOC to bring those medals home to the United States of America. Additionally, there should be a formal ceremony whereby the USOC and IOC award these medals to our heroes of Montreal 1976. A failure to act, immediately, in the best interest of our 1976 Women’s Olympic Team is to be complicit with the illegal and unethical actions of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). – Don

Great work on this article…a shame there is not more restitution from our end, and criminal that the international community has not done something as well. all the best in ’07. Craig

If you would like to add your comment, please contact Brent Rutemiller and include your name, location and permission to publish.

Name*

Email*

Welcome to our community. We invite you to join our discussion. Our community guidelines are simple: be respectful and constructive, keep on topic, and support your fellow commenters. Commenting signifies that you agree to our Terms of Use