Jürgen Haase


Jürgen Haase is a former track and field athlete and Olympian, who, competing for East Germany, was among the world's best long distance track runners in the 1960s and 1970s. Twice during this period, in 1966 and 1969, he was European champion in the 10,000 meters.

Career

Haase trained with methods developed by Arthur Lydiard, the New Zealand trainer who was, at the time, still relatively unknown in Europe and was the surprise winner of the 1965 GDR 10,000 metres.
At the European Championships in 1966, his teammate Jürgen May convinced him, with the help of a $500 bribe, not to wear his usual Adidas shoes but rather to wear Puma. This episode became something of a political scandal, in the course of which Haase was pardoned by the GDR Sports authorities. May, on the other hand, was permanently banned from the GDR national team.
Haase missed the 1972 Summer Olympics due to blood poisoning that he received after being injured by the spike of another runner at a competition in Paris.
After retiring from competitions in 1973, Haase was active in customer service and marketing of medical technology. He then graduated from the Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur und Sport and became a coach at SC Dynamo Berlin. His trainees included Kathrin Weßel and Detlef Wagenknecht. After the reunification of Germany, Haase worked at the Deutschen Leichtathletik-Verbandes.

International races