Sport: Grasshopper from Germany

At first glance, the beak-nosed Cologne engineering student seemed too easygoing to be a track champion. He practiced only a couple of hours a week, liked to sack out for a midday nap that lasted until 4, loved to strum his guitar at parties. Watching his relaxed approach to hurdling, West German sportswriters good-naturedly called him "the American from Cologne."

But Hurdler Martin Lauer, 22, knows how to get in shape. His workouts, though short, are incredibly intense. His basic technique is a series of short, full-throttle sprints broken by what he calls Laufhupser...

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