Karl-Heinz Kutschke started his Olympic career as an alternate for the German swimming team at the 1960 Roma Olympics. He then turned to modern pentathlon and finished fourth at the 1968 Mexico City Games, only 31 points away from the podium. The East German team came in sixth. Domestically, Kutschke won three national swimming titles in the 1500 m and 4×200 m freestyle events, and then in 1965, 1967 and 1968 won another three national titles in modern pentathlon. In 1969 GDR sports administrators stopped supporting modern pentathlon as the sport did not present enough medal opportunities.
East Germany