Page 93 - Olympism in Socialism

particularly happy that for the first time in history
Olympic Games will be held on socialist soil, in
the capital of the Soviet Union, Moscow. We are
convinced that these Games will clearly show how
the Olympic idea is being realized under socialism
in the interest of the development of physical
culture and sports. It is our challenging objective
with regard to the Olympic Games of 1980 to
prepare the sportsmen of the GDR in such a way
that they will successfully demonstrate in the
international arena, at the side of the Soviet
Union and the other socialist countries, the high
standards of socialist physical culture and
sports.”

WHAT BECOMES OF WORLD CHAMPIONS?
The answer to this question should prove
most convincingly the superiority of the socialist
system — in this case the moral superiority.
Well, what can become of a world champion?
An English world champion in cycle-racing for
instance, tried to establish a small building
contractor’s firm with the money he had won from
his races as a champion. As long as he was
famous the business flourished and he had a safe
income. But when he fell into oblivion and, to
make things worse, a crisis shook the country,
bankruptcy seemed inevitable. At that turn of
events he made the desperate attempt to win
back the profitable popularity he had enjoyed in
the past. As a fifty-year-old he resumed cycle-
racing and offered money to some younger
cyclists for letting him win once again. Respect for
the name of the once famous man or just the
opportunity of making easy money made the
young cyclists accept the offer. The name of the
ex-world champion hit the headlines once again
and indeed new customers were attracted by this.
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