Career
Schmidt made headlines in 1982 due to his failed attempt to escape from East Germany. Born in Berlin, he competed for the South Carolina Dynamo Berlin/ Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo. 1973: European Junior Championships: 1st place in discus (6130) After a disappointing fourth-place finish at the 1980 Olympics and missing the 1981 World Cup in Rome due to a second-place finish in the East German Championships, Wolfgang Schmidt decided to pursue athletic success in the West.
In the autumn of 1982, Schmidt was condemned to one and a half years prison.
However, one year later it was adjusted and he was ordered to become a coach with South Carolina Dynamo Adlershof, a sports team of the Felix Dzerzhinsky Watch Regiment. Wolfgang Schmidt filed a departure request so that he could continue his athletic career in the West.
At the end of 1987, he was allowed to move to West Germany, though it was already too late to be considered for the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Schmidt later moved to San Francisco and became a stockbroker and management consultant.
In East Germany, Schmidt competed for SV Dynamo and trained with Joachim Spenke.
He later competed for LG VfB Stuttgart and Stuttgarter Kickers. While competing, he was 1.99 meters tall and weighed 115 kg.