The chairman of the association Doping-Opfer-Hilfe, Ines Geipel, has announced her resignation. "I am leaving office," said the 58-year-old of the German Press Agency. Earlier, the ARD doping editorial reported on this step. "I did it for five and a half years and achieved a lot," said Geipel.
Successor will be the Heidelberg sports lawyer Michael Lehner, who is one of the founding members of the DOH. He could be elected as the new chairman at the DOH General Assembly in Berlin on Thursday.
In the case of doping victim assistance, there had been internal quarrels and accusations. Claims by victims should not have been thoroughly examined. Therefore, there would have been a danger that self-confessed dophers would have had access to funds intended for the compensation of victims of the DDR doping system.
Prominent anti-doping fighters, such as the former cross-country ski coach Henner Misersky, the molecular biologist Werner Franke and the former athlete Claudia Lepping, had expressed harsh criticism in an open letter. In addition to allegations of potential abuse, they also questioned the association's belief that damage to GDR doping victims could be inherited.
"There were arguments and I believe that they are unworthy of the matter," said Geipel now. Therefore, she wanted to pull herself out of this "field of conflict", however: "I will step aside, but I am not gone."