| Manfred Ewald | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 17, 1926 Podejuch [1], Germany (now part of Szczecin, Poland) |
| Died | October 21, 2002 (aged 76) Damsdorf |
Manfred Ewald (May 17, 1926 – October 21, 2002) served as German Democratic Republic's (GDR) minister of sport (1961–1988) and president of his country's Olympic committee[2] (1973–1990). However, he is best known for his role as the architect of his East Germany's state-sponsored system of using illicit performance-enhancing drugs to turn his country into an Olympic powerhouse between 1972 and 1988.
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On July 18, 2000, in Berlin, both Ewald and Dr. Manfred Hoeppner, who served as East Germany's top sports doctor, were convicted of being accessories to "intentional bodily harm of athletes, including minors." Both received probation. During the trial Dr. Hoeppner testified that they had approval from the highest level of the government of the GDR. Ewald had earlier defended his role in sports doping in his 1994 book "Ich war der Sport".