“Sportsfreund Loetzsch”
October 31st, 2010 by Stefan
A very interesting film with great photography, thanks Lee.
When speaking of the most popular racing sports celebrities of all time, his name is probably this: Wolfgang Lötzsch, born in 1952, grew up in former East Germany – a fact which influenced his career like no other. For an international or even national career had to abandon in his youth the most fleet drivers, although his sporting qualities and performance have always been sufficient to do so. But no matter how hard he scrambles in the Stasi State received the Sport Lötzsch friend just no leg on the ground to establish themselves properly in cycling, because he was considered politically questionable person, which meant, practically from the very early for his professional career.
This promise as it began, then abruptly the career of this exceptional young talent Wolfgang Lötzsch ended when he abruptly at the age of twenty years from his Sportclub Karl-Marx-Stadt, was thrown out because the political officials to oppose the Party line had put forward talented cyclist. Lötzsch It was not politically active, but he maintained contact with relatives in West Germany, where years earlier a cousin fled from him – apparently reason enough to exclude him from the national sport, and thus also of major races. When he gave his growing resentment of the repression on the part of the state and its spies to express Lötzsch Wolfgang was detained for ten months for defamation of the state, but even in prison he found a way to continue to train on the bike – but on indoor very small, sparse room.
For some less spectacular for him accessible to the proscribed race, tenacious athlete could win but quite outstanding sovereign victory that document, put the potential in this man give up his dreams of international competitions and Olympic Games, although needed, but still remained an enthusiastic and obsessed cyclist, who took every opportunity to compete with well-managed professionals, and highly successful – a personal sporting attitude embodies quite a low but active form of resistance.
