Erika Zuchold (''née'' Barth; 19 March 1947 – 22 August 2015) was an

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

who competed at the European, World, and Olympic level from the mid-1960s to early 1970s. She and

Karin Janz Karin may refer to: *Karin (given name), a feminine name Fiction * ''Karin'' (manga) or ''Chibi Vampire'', a Japanese media franchise * Karin Hanazono, title character of the manga and anime ''Kamichama Karin'' * Karin Kurosaki, a character in '' ...

were the two most significant (in terms of medals won at major championships) female German gymnasts of the era, leading the East German team to a bronze medal at the 1968 Olympics and a silver medal at the 1972 Olympics. The highlight of Zuchold's career came at the 1970 World Championships, where she placed second in the individual all-around behind the Soviet

Ludmilla Tourischeva Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva ( Russian: Людми́ла Ива́новна Тури́щева; also transliterated as Ludmilla Turischeva, Ludmilla Tourischcheva, and Ljudmila Turichtchieva, born 7 October 1952) is a former Russian gymnast, Ukr ...

and returned to win gold on both vault and balance beam in event finals. Zuchold is credited as being the first woman to perform a back handspring on balance beam in World or Olympic competition (at the 1966 World Championships), as well as one of the first two women, along with

Věra Čáslavská en, the love of Tokyo ja, 「オリンピックの名花」 en, darling of the Olympic Games , country = Czechoslovakia , formercountry = , birth_date = , birth_place = Prague, Czechoslovakia ( occupied by Germany 1939– ...

at the 1968 Olympics, to complete a front handspring on balance beam. She also had a transition element named after her on uneven bars. In her post-gymnastics career, she was a

trapeze A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes or metal straps from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or flying, an ...

artist, a curator, an educator, and an abstract painter. In 2005, she was inducted into the

International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IGHO ...

. She was married to the cyclist Dieter Zuchold (1937–2014).

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*
International Gymnastics Hall of Fame
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zuchold, Erika 1947 births 2015 deaths People from Altenburger Land German emigrants to Paraguay German female artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts of East Germany Gymnasts at the 1968 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for East Germany Olympic medalists in gymnastics World champion gymnasts Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Sportspeople from Thuringia Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold

See also

References

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