Neues Deutschland. February 27, 1975. During the days of October last year, the Bulgarian press showered Klaus Koste of Leipzig with praise. At the age of 31 - remarkable for the sport - he had traveled to Varna to make one final bid for medals at the World Gymnastics Championships - a bid that would, however, be his irrevocably last. He already possessed a formidable collection of such honors: four Olympic medals, two World Championship medals, six European Championship medals, and thirty-four East German national titles.
Final Destination: The Operating Table
Yet the Olympic champion's hour of farewell was anything but a happy one. During training on the eve of the championships - on October 18, to be precise - he ruptured his Achilles tendon while performing a double somersault on the floor exercise. Withdrawing from the competition was inevitable, and his departure from the global stage of gymnastics was thus, in a sense, consummated on the operating table of Senior Medical Officer Dr. Junemichel in Bad Duben.
"The disappointment was understandably great," Klaus Koste admits even today. "For, following my Olympic victory in 1972, I had decided to stand by our rejuvenated team for another two years. In this situation, it now had to be seen whether the collective was strong and cohesive enough - whether my decision to continue for those two years had been worthwhile." It is worth nothing that, without their captain Klaus Koste, the GDR squad was able to repeat their 1970 bronze-medal finish in Varna.
Delicious Memories
Even today, Klaus Koste speaks with no small measure of satisfaction of the immense outpouring of sympathy he received following his injury in Varna. Letters, cards, telegrams, and flowers arrived in abundance - not only from prominent athletes such as Ruth Fuchs and Erika Zuchold, but also from a gymnastics family in Anklam who sought to cheer him up by enclosing photographs of their son, a young gymnast at SC Empor Rostock.
"School classes sent me lovely drawings; a non-commissioned officer of the National People's Army unceremoniously brought a book to my bedside - 'so you won't get bored,' he remarked - and vanished without giving me his name. And to feel this sense of solidarity from so many people during my medal-less moment of farewell is, arguably, the most beautiful memory of my career, which spanned over two decades," reflects Klaus Koste.
Almost exactly - to the very day - nineteen weeks have passed since his run of bad luck with injuries; and Klaus Koste - who happens to be celebrating his 32nd birthday this very Thursday - can once again be seen several times a week in the Leipzig gymnasium, performing light, easy runs as well as giant swings on the high bar.
A Trophy That Beckons Him
At present, he is working on his diploma thesis - on the subject of men's gymnastics. And he intends to remain faithful to the sport in the future as well. "I'll never be able to give it up!" he asserts passionately. Thus, fans of gymnastics need not fear his absence; eventually, they may encounter him serving as a judge at national competitions, or perhaps very soon, they will be able to watch him compete for the FDGB Cup. For that is one trophy he does not yet possess - this 34-time GDR champion, whose status as a role model for our sporting youth was recently further underscored by his appointment to the GDR's Festival and Spartakiad Committee.
J. HOLZ