GDR Ski Championships 1968
The 20th GDR ski championships took place from February 27 to March 3, 1968 in Oberhof , Thuringia . In eleven decisions in the Nordic ski disciplines cross-country skiing , ski jumping and Nordic combined , three of which were team competitions, athletes competed. A little over a week earlier, the Nordic skiing competitions at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble had ended. From there, the GDR athletes brought a bronze medal with them, which came as a surprise to the Klingenthal combined athlete Andreas Kunz.
Cross-country skiing
Men
15 km
After it had already been suggested over the 30 kilometers, it became certain with the start of the 15-kilometer run. Gerhard Grimmer had to cancel the championships due to illness. In his absence, Gert-Dietmar Klause was able to achieve his second championship title in 1968. But this time it was nowhere near as clear as over the 30 kilometers. Grimmer's club mate and Olympic starter Axel Lesser missed the championship title by just nine seconds. And before the others, mostly Klingenthal cross-country specialists, the Zinnwald biathlete Dieter Speer won the bronze medal.
Date: Friday March 1, 1968
| space | athlete | team | Time (h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gert-Dietmar Klause | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 49:09 |
| 2 | Axel Lesser | ASK forward Oberhof | 49:18 |
| 3 | Dieter Speer | SG Dynamo Zinnwald | 49:57 |
| 4th | Peter Thiel | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 50:09 |
| 5 | Schubert | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 50:49 |
| 6th | Gerd Hessler | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 51:03 |
| 6th | Günter Stützner | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 51:03 |
| 8th | Rainer Gross | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 51:06 |
| 9 | Jahn | ASK forward Oberhof | 51:09 |
| 10 | Jürgen Wolf | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 51:12 |
30 km
The first men's running competition ended with a three-fold success in Klingenthal. However, Olympic starter Gert-Dietmar Klause was in a class of his own with a lead of almost one and a half minutes. Defending champion Gerhard Grimmer, who had health problems at the Olympics, couldn't get past ninth place.
Date: Wednesday February 28, 1968
| space | athlete | team | Time (h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gert-Dietmar Klause | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 1:49:59 |
| 2 | Peter Lorenz | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 1:51:21 |
| 3 | Günter Stützner | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 1:51:51 |
| 4th | Axel Lesser | ASK forward Oberhof | 1:52:47 |
| 5 | Peter Thiel | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 1:53:00 |
| 6th | Jürgen Wolf | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 1:53:38 |
| 7th | Helmut Unger | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 1:55:42 |
| 8th | king | ASK forward Oberhof | 1:55:54 |
| 9 | Gerhard Grimmer | ASK forward Oberhof | 1:57:02 |
| 10 | Worofka | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 1:58:03 |
50 km
Axel Lesser won the only championship title in men's cross-country skiing for the ASK Vorwärts Oberhof over the longest distance. The three-time champion Gert-Dietmar Klause could not keep up with three competitions in his legs and came in behind the strong biathlete Dieter Speer on the bronze place. For Speer it was already the second individual medal at the championships.
Date: Sunday March 3, 1968
| space | athlete | team | Time (h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Axel Lesser | ASK forward Oberhof | 2:41:48 |
| 2 | Dieter Speer | SG Dynamo Zinnwald | 2:43:08 |
| 3 | Gert-Dietmar Klause | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 2:44:32 |
| 4th | Jürgen Wolf | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 2:46:53 |
| 5 | Georg Kowars | SC resin | 2:47:20 |
4 × 10 km relay
In the absence of Gerhard Grimmer, the relay victory went very clearly to the first relay from Klingenthal, which had two Olympic starters. Only Axel Lesser was able to organize the race openly in the meantime, when he, running in third position, handed over to the final runner as the leader.
Date: Saturday March 2, 1968
| space | team | athlete | Time (h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SC Dynamo Klingenthal I |
Peter Thiel Günther Stützner Peter Lorenz Gert-Dietmar Klause |
2:25:45 |
| 2 | ASK forward Oberhof I | Jahn Albrecht Axel Lesser König |
2:29:12 |
| 3 | SC Dynamo Klingenthal II |
Helmut Unger Rainer Groß Schubert Jürgen Wolf |
2:29:28 |
Women
5 km
There was a rather surprising outcome in the last women's running competition. Karin Scheidel from Oberwiesenthal won the sprint competition by 10 seconds ahead of three Olympic participants.
Date: Sunday March 3, 1969
| space | athlete | team | Time (h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Karin Scheidel | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 19:18 |
| 2 | Anna Unger | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 19:28 |
| 3 | Gudrun Schmidt | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 19:35 |
| 4th | Renate Koehler | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 19:36 |
| 5 | Karin Machalett | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 19:41 |
10 km
There was also a new female champion in the first running competition for women. Olympic starter Gudrun Schmidt from Zella-Mehlis once again proved her good form and won her first championship title. The Olympic starters Christine Nestler and Renate Köhler disappointed, each over three minutes behind.
Date: Wednesday February 28, 1968
| space | athlete | team | Time (h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gudrun Schmidt | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 41:34 |
| 2 | Christel Thiel | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 42:26 |
| 3 | Anna Unger | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 42:32 |
| 4th | Gabriele Nobis | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 42:53 |
| 5 | Karin Scheidel | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 43:35 |
| 5 | Karin Machalett | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 43:35 |
| 7th | Christine Nestler | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 43:48 |
| 8th | Sabine shame | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 44:03 |
| 9 | Renate Koehler | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 44:12 |
| 10 | Petra Rauch | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 44:37 |
3x5 km relay
In the relay, the Oberwiesenthal women who competed with two Olympic starters were able to prevail. With two strong juniors and one strong Gudrun Schmidt, the Zella-Mehliser was able to win the runner-up title.
Date: Saturday March 2, 1968
| space | team | athlete | Time (h) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal |
Renate Koehler Christine Nestler Karin Scheidel |
1:00:24 |
| 2 | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis I |
Karin Machalett Sabine Schande Gudrun Schmidt |
1:01:38 |
| 3 | SC Dynamo Klingenthal I |
Gabriele Nobis Christel Thiel Anna Unger |
1:02:46 |
Nordic combination
Of course, all eyes were on the surprising bronze medalist from Grenoble, Andreas Kunz. But already after the jumping, Johanngeorgenstadt, who was not nominated for the Olympics, had 19 points ahead of Kunz. In the run, Kunz was able to significantly reduce the gap of a good one and a half minutes, but in the end Düring saved a 12-second lead at the finish and surprisingly won ahead of Kunz.
Date: Ski jumping Thursday, February 29, 1968; 15 km Friday 1st March 1968
| space | athlete | team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lothar Düring | SG Dynamo Johanngeorgenstadt | 465.00 |
| 2 | Andreas Kunz | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 443.50 |
| 3 | Günter Münzner | SG Dynamo Johanngeorgenstadt | 431.55 |
| 4th | Roland Weißpflog | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 418.87 |
| 5 | Gerhard Möller | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 396.32 |
| 6th | Heinz wishes | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 389.65 |
| 7th | Ingo Scheibenhof | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 385.08 |
Ski jumping
Normal hill
After no Zella-Mehlis jumper had qualified for the Olympics, one could get the impression that this notch should now be wiped out. Second to sixth place went to Springer from SC Motor, but the title went to Manfred Queck from Klingenthal. Already best placed at the Olympics, the 26-year-old athlete celebrated his first championship title.
Date: Thursday February 29, 1968
| space | athlete | team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Manfred Queck | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 225.8 |
| 2 | Horst Queck | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 222.2 |
| 3 | Peter Lesser | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 220.9 |
| 4th | Veit Kühr | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 218.1 |
| 5 | Josef Tonhauser | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 211.5 |
| 6th | Heinz Schmidt | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 210.2 |
| 7th | Manfred Wolf | ASK forward Brotterode | 209.2 |
| 8th | Christoph Rölz | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 205.7 |
| 9 | Jürgen Dommerich | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 205.3 |
| 10 | Christian Kiehl | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 204.9 |
Large hill
8000 spectators saw a thrilling competition at the ski jump on the Rennsteig with a not necessarily expected outcome. Due to their dominance in the two previous competitions, the jumpers from Zella-Mehlis in particular were the favorites. And after the first round this impression was confirmed, Horst Queck was ahead, Dieter Scharf in 5th place. But with the new hill record of 114.5 m, Scharf caught the Zella-Mehliser and won by 1.2 points.
Date: Sunday March 3, 1968
| space | athlete | team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dieter Scharf | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 254.9 |
| 2 | Horst Queck | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 253.7 |
| 3 | Josef Tonhauser | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 235.6 |
| 4th | Manfred Queck | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 232.5 |
| 5 | Peter Lesser | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 231.0 |
| 6th | Manfred Wolf | ASK forward Brotterode | 230.1 |
| 7th | Dieter Neuendorf | ASK forward Brotterode | 228.9 |
| 8th | Bernd Karwofsky | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 226.8 |
| 9 | Grains | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 219.1 |
| 10 | Wolfgang Stöhr | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 215.2 |
Team jumping
The championship in team jumping, which was held for the second time, showed on the one hand the clear dominance of the Zella-Mehlis jumpers, on the other hand a low level. In the end, Zella-Mehlis troop around Horst Queck celebrated the team championship title by a large margin.
Date: Saturday March 2, 1968
| space | team | athlete | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis IV |
Heinz Schmidt Veit Kört Horst Queck Peter Lesser |
616.7 |
| 2 | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis I | Walter Rainer Schmidt Jürgen Dommerich Josef Tonhauser |
559.6 |
| 3 | SC Dynamo Klingenthal V |
Bernd Karwofsky Körner Wolfgang Stöhr Manfred Queck |
552.5 |
Medal table
Klingenthal athletes won more than a third of all medals, the army athletes from Oberhof and Brotterode had to record a meager yield without their aces Grimmer and Neuendorf.
| Medal table (after all 11 competitions) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| space | team | gold | silver | bronze | total |
| 1 | SC Dynamo Klingenthal | 4th | 4th | 5 | 13 |
| 2 | SC tractor Oberwiesenthal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | SC Motor Zella-Mehlis | 2 | 4th | 3 | 9 |
| 4th | ASK forward Oberhof | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 5 | SG Dynamo Johanngeorgenstadt | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 6th | SG Dynamo Zinnwald | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b BZ of March 2, 1968. p. 6
- ↑ a b Neue Zeit from March 1, 1968 p. 7
- ↑ a b c BZ of March 4, 1968 p. 6
- ↑ a b c ND of March 3, 1968 p. 16
- ^ BZ of March 1, 1968 p. 9
literature
- Manfred Seifert, Roland Singer, Hans-Jürgen Zeume: Great love for skiing . Sportverlag, Berlin 1979, p. 207