Detlef Wagenknecht (born 3 January 1959) is a German former middle-distance runner. Representing East Germany, he was a finalist in men's 800 metres at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

and the 1982 European Championships and placed third at the

1981 IAAF World Cup The 3rd IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 4–6, 1981, at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. Overall results M ...

Career

At the 1977 European Junior Championships in Donetsk, Wagenknecht won gold in the

4 × 400 m relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures. In mathematics Four is the smallest c ...

(as part of the East German team) and silver in the individual

800 m The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

(behind his teammate Andreas Busse). In 1978 Wagenknecht became East German champion for the first time, running a personal best 1:45.84 at the national championships to defeat Jürgen Straub and Olaf Beyer; at the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

in Prague later that summer he was eliminated in the semi-finals as Beyer won gold. Wagenknecht lost to Beyer in the 1979 East German championships, but regained his title in 1980. At the

in Moscow he won his heat and placed a close second to

Sebastian Coe Sebastian Newbold Coe, Baron Coe, (born 29 September 1956), often referred to as Seb Coe, is a British politician and former track and field athlete. As a middle-distance runner, Coe won four Olympic medals, including 1500 metres gold medal ...

in his semi-final; in the final he placed sixth, the second-best East German after Busse. At the 1981 East German championships in Jena, Wagenknecht again lost to Beyer, but placed second in a personal best 1:44.81. He represented East Germany at the

in Rome, placing third behind Coe and James Robinson; '' Track & Field News'' ranked Wagenknecht a career-best fifth in the world in its 1981 rankings, the second time (after 1978) that he'd been ranked in the top ten. In 1982, Wagenknecht won his third national title, ahead of Beyer; at the

in Athens he placed sixth. He was ranked seventh in the world by ''Track & Field News'', his third and final top ten appearance. In 1983 he was national champion both indoors and outdoors, but was eliminated in the semi-finals at the inaugural

Athletics World Championships Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

in Helsinki; he stayed with the leading group until the end, but was outkicked. Wagenknecht won his final East German titles in 1984, repeating as indoor and outdoor champion. At the

1985 IAAF World Cup The 4th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on October 4–6, 1985, at the Bruce Stadium in Canberra, Australia. Overall results ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

he placed fourth. Nationally, Wagenknecht represented Sports Club Dynamo Berlin. He was coached by former long-distance runner

Jürgen Haase Jürgen Haase (born 19 January 1945) is a former track and field athlete and Olympian, who, competing for East Germany, was among the world's best long distance track runners in the 1960s and 1970s. Twice during this period, in 1966 and 1969, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wagenknecht, Detlef 1959 births Living people Athletes from Berlin German male middle-distance runners East German male middle-distance runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of East Germany World Athletics Championships athletes for East Germany