Margitta Gummel (née Helmbold, 29 June 1941 – 26 January 2021) was a German Olympic gold medal-winning shot putter. She competed for the Unified German team in the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

East Germany 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 ...

in the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

, and East Germany again at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

.Margitta Helmbold-Gummel
sports-reference.com She had a long rivalry with

Nadezhda Chizhova Nadezhda Vladimirovna Chizhova (russian: Надежда Владимировна Чижова, born 29 September 1945) is a retired Russian shot putter who won three Olympic medals and four European titles, and set seven new world records. She b ...

of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

Career

Margitta Gummel did not win any medals in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, where she competed in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

. Later, at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, she won a gold medal in the shot put event, and four years later, a silver medal in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, having been beaten by her rival Nadezhda Chizhova. In the 1968 shot put event, she became the first woman to throw for more than 19 metres. Gummel also competed for East Germany at the

European Athletics Indoor Championships The European Athletics Indoor Championships is a biennial indoor track and field competition for European athletes that is organised by the European Athletic Association. It was held for the first time in 1970, replacing the European Indoor Games, ...

. In

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, in Dortmund, she placed first in the shot put event. In

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

in Madrid, she placed second in the shot put, beaten by Chizhova. At Sofia, in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, she also placed second in shot put, behind Chizhova. She also competed in the

European Athletics Championships The European Athletics Championships is a biennial (from 2010) athletics event organised by the European Athletics Association and is recognised as the elite continental outdoor athletics championships for Europe. Editions First held, for men ...

. At the 1966 Championships, held in Budapest, she placed second in the women's shot put. Chizhova placed first. She later competed in the 1969 Championships, held in Athens, with the same results. She also participated in the 1971 Championships, held in Helsinki, but this time received third as her rival Chizhova placed first. It was later revealed that Gummel was one of the first East Germans to be administered

steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...

s though she was not given her first dose of

Turinabol Chlorodehydromethyltestosterone (CDMT; brand name Oral Turinabol), also known as 4-chloro-17β-hydroxy17α-methylandrosta-1,4-dien-3-one, is an anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS). It is the 4-chloro-substituted derivative of metandienone (dehyd ...

until 28 July 1968, just under three months before the 1968 Games. A 1997 paper from the journal ''Clinical Chemistry'' reproduces charts from a 1973 DVfl scientific report that plot her Turinabol doses and competition distances for 1968, 1969 and 1972. The 1968 results show a two-metre improvement in the space of the three months leading to her Olympic gold, in a trained athlete whose previous results had been consistent. Gummel was administered Turinabol at a dosage of merely 10 mg daily leading up to the 1968 Olympics where her throws improved from 17 m to 19 m in the three-month cycle. In the years following higher dosages of Turinabol were used with performance increasing in a dose dependent manner, and her throws improved to well over the 20m mark. The scientifically produced graphs listed in the 1997 Werner Franke report demonstrate that even when the steroids were stopped there was still a profound "residual" effect from the multiple steroid cycles administered and Gummel's performances were still significantly better off the drugs during breaks compared to 1968 before she had been exposed to them. Simply put, the GDR researchers commented that anabolic steroid use in females produced significant increases in athletic performance that were far superior to years of training naturally. The GDR then began experiments with Turinabol on much younger females at 13–14 years of age, particularly in sports such as swimming.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gummel, Margitta 1941 births 2021 deaths Sportspeople from Magdeburg Sportspeople from the Province of Saxony East German female shot putters German female shot putters Olympic athletes for East Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Olympic silver medalists for East Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Doping cases in athletics German sportspeople in doping cases Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold World record setters in athletics (track and field)

Career

See also

References

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