“The Ice Mother”: Figure Skating Coach Jutta Müller as Contributor and Profiteer of the East German’s Sport Performance System

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper analyses the roles, responsibilities, struggles, constraints, and freedoms of coaches within the German Democratic Republic’s (GDR) hierarchical, performance-focused sport system. The paper focuses on Jutta Müller, one of the most successful figure skating coaches of all time. We show how Müller had to become an actor in political power games within the GDR’s sport system, therewith reproducing existing power relations, shaping them, and using them to her advantage. Based on archival sources collected from the German federal archive, we concentrate on the time period between the late 1960s and mid-1980s, when Müller’s athletes achieved great international success. In revealing how Müller dealt with the challenges of the GDR’s sport system, our results are insightful for current elite coaches, who work within the constraint of national systems.