PERTH, Australia -- The coach of the unified German swim team predicts far better things from his swimmers at this week's World Swimming Championships.
'The time of the German trials (in November) was pretty different from what it usually is,' Coach Hans Hartogh said Tuesday, two days before the opening ceremony. 'And we are sure that the results in Perth, because of the training in the interval, are going to show a different picture of the team.'
This is the first unified German swim team to compete at the World Championships, but the poor trial results, particularly from the east women swimmers, seemed to indicate the whole would be less than the previous parts.
Among those who failed to qualify were Heike Friedrich, Olympic champion and world record holder in the women's 200 meter freestyle; Anke Moehring, women's 400-meter freestyle specialist, and Uwe Dassler, men's 400 freestyle world record holder.
One east woman who successfully made the transition to the unified team is Manuela Stellmach, who fielded the inevitable questions Tuesday about drug use in the East German swim program.
'All the swimmers on this team had to sign a contract before they left Germany that they have not taken steroids,' said Stellmach, the European 200-meter freestyle champion.
'I signed that contract with a good conscience. I have been on the national team since 1985, and I have never had a positive (drug test) result. I think that shows I have not used steroids.'
Asked whether she knew of other swimmers who used steroids, Stellmach said, 'I can only speak for myself.'
Questions about drugs and the East German swim team intensified last year when Raik Hannemann, a member of East Germany's 1989 European Championship squad, said in Stern magazine he and his teammates regularly received steroids.
However, West German Michael Gross, the 200-meter butterfly world record holder who is competing in his third World Championships, said he was 'bored' with such allegations, especially since the unified German team had introduced random out-of-competition testing.
'I think there is no (drug) problem at all,' Gross said. 'We have had unexpected drug tests in training since August.'
Gross said it is pointless to repeatedly attempt to prove East Germany's success was based on drugs.
'No one knows,' he said. 'Sure, it's interesting trying to find out, but I think you have to look at the future. And the future is unexpected testing in training and a unified Germany.
Certainly the world's other women swimmers believe they are now at less of a disadvantage.
American Janet Evans, triple Olympic champion and holder of the world records in the 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter freestyle, said she thought the women's competition would be 'more open,' with more countries able to aim for medals.
Canada's Keltie Duggan agreed.
'I'm certainly optimistic for my event, the 100-meter breaststroke,' Duggan said. 'In the past, we've never been quite sure what's been going on, so I believe it's going to be more fair.'
The championships begin Thursday with diving preliminaries and the opening ceremony. The first medals, in the women's 10-meter platform diving, will be awarded Saturday. Competitive swimming starts Monday.
