result, 1976 silver medallist Frank Shorter has advocated the belief that Cierpinski cheated and has supported official review of past performances, i.e. considering stripping medals from athletes who are found later on to have cheated, as a deterrent to drug-cheats. Fourth-place finisher Don Kardong has also written that he believed Cierpinski was involved in the East German doping program. Shorter's allegations are very similar to those of Shirley Babashoff, who accused the East German women of drug cheating during the swimming events in the same Olympic Games, which was later substantiated by investigators in the PBS documentary, "Secrets of the Dead: Doping for Gold." References External links Cierpinski's personal website 1950 births Living people People from Salzlandkreis Sportspeople from Saxony-Anhalt East German male marathon runners East German male long-distance runners East German male steeplechase runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of East Germany World Athletics Championships athletes for East Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp)