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Lutz Buschkow (left) at the European Championships in Rome
Photo: IMAGO/Eibner-Pressefoto / Jo Kleindl / IMAGO/Eibner
According to his own statement, the currently released water jump national coach Lutz Buschkow only found out about the allegations of abuse by the former world-class jumper Jan Hempel this August: »In an email request from the production company Eye Opening Media on August 10th, 2022, 3:43 p.m., in which I Jan Hempel's allegations against his coach were reported," said the 64-year-old in an interview with the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung".
In an ARD documentary entitled "Abused - Sexualized Violence in German Swimming", Hempel made the allegations of sexual abuse against his long-time coach Werner Langer, who died in 2001, public for the first time.
Accordingly, from 1982 to 1996 Langer had passed the Olympic silver medalist in Atlanta in 1996, including during the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, immediately before a competition.
In the film, the now 51-year-old Hempel accused the German Swimming Association (DSV) and Buschkow of having known about the allegations in 1997 but not having done anything decisive.
According to Hempel, in 1997 he confided in the then national coach Ursula Klinger, who died in 2006.
This is said to have informed the association management and the DSV trainers.
"I can't confirm that," said Buschkow of the "FAZ".
In 1997 he was the national youth coach and sighting at the federal base in Berlin.
"I did some research for myself and what I can say is that we as DSV coaches at the German Championships in Berlin in 1997 were informed in an official conversation by Ulla Klinger that, due to personal differences, Frank Taubert Jan Hempel will train," said Buschkow.
"We weren't told any more than that."
For him, it was like “that a few Dresdeners were taken into the confidence of Jan Hempel and that there was an agreement between him and Ulla Klinger not to go public because Jan Hempel expressly wanted it that way has,” said Bushkov.
"How would you have reacted?"
Among other things, Hempel had confided in coach Frank Taubert.
Hempel "expressed the wish to me and a few others here in Dresden that it should not be made public in order to protect him and his family," Taubert told the "FAZ".
Then there was a one-on-one conversation between Hempel and Klinger.
It was then agreed to accept Hempel's request.
However, Hempel himself also contradicts the statement in the "FAZ" that it was his express wish not to go public.
»The Springer leadership said to me at the time: If you hang that on the big bell, then it was about the diving, then you can forget your career.
How would you have reacted?' he said.
After Hempel's statement became known that Buschkow was aware of the allegations of abuse early on, the DSV released the national coach during the European Championships in Rome in mid-August.
The DSV board is examining the allegation against Buschkow "currently intensively".
The inspection of files that had been carried out up to that point had given "no such clues," said the August 18 statement.
Buschkow has worked for DSV since 1991 and has been head coach of the water jumpers since 2002.
From 2008 to 2016 he also worked as a competitive sports director.
ngo/dpa/sid