Siegfried BALLERSTEDT

As the East German water polo national team won the inter-national qualifying match in 1964 against the West German national team, with a 3-1 win in Magdeburg and a 1-1 tie in Wuppertal, the German Olympic team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics was an East German one that finished sixth. The team was coached by Rolf Bastel.

Siegfried Ballerstedt from SG Dynamo Magdeburg was among the world’s best water polo players in the 1960s and captained the team in Tokyo. He was runner-up with East Germany at the 1966 Europeans. That same year Ballerstedt lost the European Cup final with Magdeburg against Partizan Belgrad. In 1968 he returned to the Olympic Games at Mexico City, then representing East Germany. The team also finished sixth, again coached by Rolf Bastel. Ballerstedt later married breaststroke swimmer Barbara Göbel.

In 1968 the DTSB (East German Gymnastics and Sports Association) ended national support for water polo, field hockey, basketball, and some other sports. Participation in international competitions in the capitalist world was forbidden, training sessions were cancelled, and water polo was no longer allowed in Magdeburg.