Jürgen May
Encyclopedia
Jürgen May is a former middle-distance runner, who was a successful athlete and Olympic Games
competitor, who escaped from the GDR
to continue his career in the FRG
.
in Budapest
, Jürgen May, on behalf of a footwear company, bribed teammate Jürgen Haase
to wear the company's trainers in the 10,000 metres final. A rival firm in West Germany found out about the incident and made the details public. As punishment, Jürgen was given a lifelong ban from participating on behalf of the GDR. He also lost his job as an unpaid employee at the Erfurt
newspaper Das Volk, and therefore had to work from then on as a sports teacher.
. However, the team boycotted the European Championships and participated only symbolically in the relay competitions.
Jürgen May did not succeed in obtaining a foothold in international competitions again. In 1970 in Stockholm
he pulled out of the European Cup
final at short notice due to a tooth operation. He pulled out of the 1971 European Championships
in Helsinki
in advance. He also pulled out of the 1972 Olympic Games
in Munich
in advance; after this he retired from competitive sport. He later worked as a civil servant in Main-Kinzig-Kreis
.
Jürgen May is 1.74 m tall and had a match weight of 68 kg.
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
competitor, who escaped from the GDR
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
to continue his career in the FRG
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
.
Successes in the GDR
- 1964: Qualified as a GDR representative for the all-German team at the Olympic Games1964 Summer OlympicsThe 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
in TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
; however, the teams split in Semi-final of the 1500 m. - 1965: Jürgen May obtained four records in only a few weeks:
- European record in the 1500 m: 3:36.4 min. on 14 July in ErfurtErfurtErfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
- World record in the 1000 m: 2:16.2 min. on 20 July in Erfurt
- GDR record in the 800 m: 1:46.3 min. on 25 August in PotsdamPotsdamPotsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
- GDR record in the one mile run: 3:56.0 min. on 30 August in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
- 1965: Jürgen May was nominated as GDR sportsman of the year. (GDR statistics show that he came runner-up to Peter DuckePeter DuckePeter Ducke is a Sudeten German and a former East German football player. He was born in Bensen, Sudetenland, Germany during World War II. His older brother Roland was also a successful footballer....
)
- 1965: Jürgen May was nominated as GDR sportsman of the year. (GDR statistics show that he came runner-up to Peter Ducke
Lifelong ban in the GDR
During the 1966 European Athletics Championships1966 European Championships in Athletics
The 8th European Athletics Championships were held from 30 August to 4 September 1966 in the Nép Stadium in Budapest, Hungary.-Men's results:-Women's results:-Medal table:- References :* *...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Jürgen May, on behalf of a footwear company, bribed teammate Jürgen Haase
Jürgen Haase (athlete)
Jürgen Haase is a former track and field athlete and Olympian, who, starting for the German Democratic Republic, was among the world's best long distance track runners in the 1960s and 1970s...
to wear the company's trainers in the 10,000 metres final. A rival firm in West Germany found out about the incident and made the details public. As punishment, Jürgen was given a lifelong ban from participating on behalf of the GDR. He also lost his job as an unpaid employee at the Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
newspaper Das Volk, and therefore had to work from then on as a sports teacher.
New start in the FRG
In 1967 Jürgen took advantage of an offer to move to West Germany, where he was able to continue his career as a sportsman. He was selected by the German Athletics Federation for the 1969 European Championships1969 European Championships in Athletics
The 9th European Athletics Championships were held from 16 September to 21 September 1969 in the Karaiskaki Stadium of Athens, the capital of Greece. New at these championships were the women's 1,500 metres and the women's 4x400 metres relay event....
. However, the team boycotted the European Championships and participated only symbolically in the relay competitions.
Jürgen May did not succeed in obtaining a foothold in international competitions again. In 1970 in Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
he pulled out of the European Cup
European Cup (athletics)
The European Cup is a now defunct athletics competition, replaced by the European Team Championships from 2009 onwards. The Europa Cup saw most of the major nations of Europe compete. Originally known as the Bruno Zauli Cup, it first took place in Stuttgart and Kassel , Germany in 1965...
final at short notice due to a tooth operation. He pulled out of the 1971 European Championships
1971 European Championships in Athletics
The 10th European Athletics Championships were held from 10 August to 15 August 1971 in the Olympic Stadium of Helsinki, the capital of Finland.-Track:1966 |1969 |1971 |1974 |1978-Field:1966 |1969 |1971 |1974 |1978-Track:...
in Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
in advance. He also pulled out of the 1972 Olympic Games
1972 Summer Olympics
The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
in advance; after this he retired from competitive sport. He later worked as a civil servant in Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Main-Kinzig is a Kreis in the east of Hesse, Germany. Neighboring districts are Wetteraukreis, Vogelsbergkreis, Fulda, Bad Kissingen, Main-Spessart, Aschaffenburg, Offenbach and the district-free cities of Offenbach and Frankfurt.-History:...
.
Jürgen May is 1.74 m tall and had a match weight of 68 kg.