Herbert WESSEL

Herbert Wessel was an East German decathlete who participated in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, but retired after the 400 metres at the end of the first day. At the Europeans one year later he claimed the silver medal, and in 1971 he finished ninth. In 1968 and 1971 he won East German Championships and was runner-up in 1969-70.

Wessel was an orphan and a waif of World War II. In 1944 he was found by the Red Army in a ditch near Königsberg. The soldiers brought him to Leningrad, where he was given the name Herbert Wessel and the birth date of 12 March 1944. In 1946 he was handed over to the returning POW Kurt Wessel, who adopted him. Wessel was listed for many years in all sports publications, with the birth date of 12 March 1944. Investigations after German reunification in various search services and card files could not confirm his name nor that date of birth. According to an old children's measuring card he himself registered with the birth date 12 March 1943. With this date of birth he later started as a Senior Athlete for USV Potsdam.

Wessel was a trained machinist, and later an officer in the Nationale Volksarmee (National People’s Army). In 1982, he started teaching sports students at the Institute for Sports Science at the Pedagogics University in Potsdam with the main subject athletics.

Personal Best: Dec – 7869 (1969).