For many athletes, success doesn't get much better than winning an Olympic gold medal. However, biathlete Antje Misersky Harvey was recently inducted into the German Sports Hall of Fame in addition to her previous gold medal achievements.
A resident of Heber City, Utah, and a German native, Sister Harvey traveled to Berlin with her family to receive the award on May 25. Held at the historic hotel, the Adlon, Sister Harvey was joined in the Hall of Fame award by her father, Henrich Misersky, and two other athletes who not only excelled in athleticism, but who each triumphed over some test of character within their sport.
Sister Harvey's trial came as a youth during the Cold War when Germany was divided between the democratic West and communistic East. Though she is known for competing in biathlon during the 1992 Olympics, Sister Harvey found her first passion and talent in cross-country skiing. At 16 years old she made it to the Junior World Championships on Germany's national team, where she did very well. But for the controlling government of East Germany, it wasn't good enough.
To improve performance, she and her teammates were ordered by the team training coaches each night to take a small pill, which she knew to be a steroid. She was aware of the effects that such a drug could have on her body and that taking the pill would be cheating the sport. It was wrong, so she refused to comply. Because taking the drug was required to be on the team, she had to quit.