Petra Schersing (née Müller, born 18 October 1965 in Quedlinburg) is a retired

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 ...

sprinter who specialised in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

. She represented sports club

SC Chemie Halle Hallescher FC, sometimes still called by its former popular name Chemie Halle, is a German association football club based in Halle an der Saale, Saxony-Anhalt. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third highest level in the German footb ...

and was coached by Harold Werner. At the

1988 Olympic Games 1988 Olympics refers to both: *The 1988 Winter Olympics, which were held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada *The 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul ...

in Seoul, she won a silver medal in the 400 metres and a bronze medal in the 4×400 metres relay.

Biography

As Petra Muller, she first achieved international recognition, when she became the 1983 European Junior Champion at 400 metres. She also won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay. In 1986, at the

European Indoor Championships The European Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Berlin, Germany. The event was played as part of the ATP Tour in 1990 and 1991. It was played on indoor carpet courts. Finals Singles Doubles See also * Berlin Open ...

, she won a silver medal behind teammate

Sabine Busch Sabine Busch (later Ascui; born 21 November 1962, in Erfurt) is a retired East German athlete, who specialised in the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles. In 1987, she became the World Champion at 400 m hurdles and the World ...

. Later that year 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 Stuttgart, she won a bronze medal in the individual 400 metres and a gold medal in the relay, with teammates Kirsten Emmelmann, Sabine Busch and

Marita Koch Marita Koch (later Meier-Koch; born 18 February 1957) is a German former sprint track and field athlete. During her career she collected 16 world records in outdoor sprints as well as 14 world records in indoor events. Her record of 47.60 in th ...

. At the 1987 World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, she surprisingly failed to reach the final. At the 1987 World Championships in Rome she won a silver medal in the 400 m behind

Olga Bryzgina Olha Bryzhina ( uk, Ольга Бризгіна, maiden name Olga Arkad'evna Vladykina; russian: Ольга Аркадьевна Владыкина; born June 30, 1963 in Krasnokamsk, Perm Oblast) is a retired athlete who represented Soviet Union ...

as well as another relay gold medal alongside

Dagmar Neubauer Dagmar Neubauer ( Rübsam; born 3 June 1962 in Suhl) is a retired German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres. At the 1982 European Championships she finished sixth in the 400 metres, but won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 metres r ...

, Emmelmann and Busch. Muller won her biggest individual title in 1988, when she became the European Indoor Champion in 50.28 secs, which at the time ranked her fourth on the indoor all-time list. At the 1988 Olympics she won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

in the 400 m, between

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

(

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

) and

Olga Nazarova Olga Vladimirovna Nazarova (russian: Ольга Владимировна Назарова), born 1 June 1965) is a Russian former track and field athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She represented the Soviet Union. She won two Olymp ...

(

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

). She also won the bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay, with teammates Neubauer, Emmelmann and Busch. In 1990, now competing as Petra Schersing, she won a silver medal at the

in Split, finishing behind her teenage teammate

Grit Breuer Grit Breuer (later Springstein, born 16 February 1972 in Röbel, Bezirk Neubrandenburg) is a German former athlete, who competed in the women's 200 metres, 400 metres, 4×100 m relay, and 4×400 m relay events. She has received injuries as ...

and won a gold medal in the relay, with new teammates

Manuela Derr Manuela Derr, married Rödel (born 17 July 1971 in Neubrandenburg) is a retired East German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres. She was banned from competing for doping in 1992. Biography She won most of her medals at the junior l ...

, Annett Hesselbarth and Breuer. Schersing's personal best time in the 400 metres is 49.30 seconds, achieved in June 1988 in

Jena Jena () is a German city and the second largest city in Thuringia. Together with the nearby cities of Erfurt and Weimar, it forms the central metropolitan area of Thuringia with approximately 500,000 inhabitants, while the city itself has a popu ...

, which at that time placed her tenth on the all-time list. She won the East German National 400 m title three times (1986–1988) and twice won the East German indoor 400 m title (1986, 1988). As of 2013, Schersing's Outdoor best (49.30) is 21st on the World all-time list and third on the German all-time list, only behind

and

.,Top 10 lists in German athletics
– Deutschen Leichtathletik-Verband while her indoor best (50.28) is tenth on the World indoor all-time list and second on the German indoor all-time list, behind Sabine Busch. In October 1988, she married fellow Olympic sprinter

Mathias Schersing Mathias Schersing (born 7 October 1964 in Halle) is a retired East German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres. At the 1986 European Championships he won the bronze medal in the 400 metres in a lifetime best of 44.85 seconds and finishe ...

International competitions

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schersing, Petra 1965 births Living people East German female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of East Germany Olympic silver medalists for East Germany Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships athletes for East Germany People from Quedlinburg Sportspeople from Saxony-Anhalt Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) 21st-century German politicians World Athletics Championships winners 21st-century German women