According to Grix (2008): ‘Government involvement in sport is usually motivated by an attempt to seek prestige on behalf of a state, in many cases by showing that a nation’s sporting success is rooted in a specific political system.’
A prime example of this was the former East Germany where, during the Cold War, the government’s desire for international and domestic recognition meant that Olympic sport was seen as a ‘shop window’ in which to demonstrate the strength of the communist regime. Alongside heavy financial investment there were several key factors that led to a systematic talent identification and development programme later described as a ‘sporting miracle’:
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