Former East German Coach Admits Doping Athletes
BERLIN, GERMANY – In the latest confession of doping from former East German sports figures, the former national women’s swim coach admitted in court that he secretly gave his athletes banned performance-enhancing drugs. Rolf Glaeser, 58, who has worked as a coach in Austria since 1990, also apologized to his former swimmers. Several former East German coaches and doctors have recently admitted to doping during the former communist country’s state-sponsored drive to produce Olympic champions. In a case last week, two former East German coaches and a doctor were convicted of giving anabolic steroids to unwitting athletes, some as young as 12. The charges carry a maximum of three years in prison, but the sports officials convicted last week received only fines after confessing and apologizing.