Petra Meier ( Felke; born 30 July 1959) is a retired German

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

athlete who competed in the

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

. Representing

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 ...

, she became the Olympic Champion in 1988 and broke the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

four times between 1985 and 1988. She is the only woman to throw a javelin 80 metres or more, with her world record of 80.00 m (262 ft 5 1⁄2 in). This throw was the world record from 1988 until 1999, when a new javelin design was implemented. She also won the javelin title at the

1989 IAAF World Cup The 5th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event sponsored by the International Association of Athletics Federations, held on September 8–10, 1989, at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Spain. ...

and silver medals at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

in 1987 and 1991.

Career

Born Petra Felke in

Saalfeld Saalfeld (german: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the S ...

, she trained with

Ruth Fuchs Ruth Fuchs ( Gamm, later Hellmann, born 14 December 1946 in Egeln, Saxony-Anhalt) is a German politician and former athlete. Fuchs, representing East Germany, was the winner of the women's javelin at the 1972 (Munich) and 1976 (Montreal) Olymp ...

SC Motor Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia. Formed in 1903 and initially associated with the Carl Zeiss AG factory, they were one of the strongest clubs in East Germany from the 1960s to the 1980s, winning the DDR-Obe ...

. She won the silver medal in the javelin at the 1977 European Junior Championships, and went on to succeed Fuchs as her country's top javelin thrower. She finished third at the GDR Championships in 1978 and 1981, and second in 1982 and 1983, before winning the first of six consecutive titles in 1984. She finished ninth in the final at the 1983 World Championships in Helsinki, but was prevented from competing at the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

due to the Soviet-led boycott. 10 days after the 1984 Olympic javelin final, Felke won the

Friendship Games The Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (russian: Дружба-84, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other socialist states which boycotted the 1984 Su ...

title with a throw of 73.30 metres. Her first world record came on 4 June 1985, when she broke the record twice on the same day, with throws of 75.26 and 75.40 metres. She ended the 1985 season throwing 66.22 metres to finish second behind Olga Gavrilova at the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in Canberra. A year later at the 1986 European Championships, she threw 72.52 m to win the silver medal behind Great Britain's

Fatima Whitbread Fatima Whitbread (' Vedad; 3 March 1961) is a British retired javelin thrower. She broke the world record with a throw of in the qualifying round of the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, and became the first British athle ...

. Her third world record came on 29 July 1987, when she threw 78.90 metres, but five weeks later at the

in Rome, she again finished second to Whitbread, who won with 76.64 m to Felke's 71.76 m. On 9 September 1988, Felke broke the world record for the fourth time and became the first woman to ever throw the javelin further than 80 metres. The world record throw was officially measured at 80.00 m, exactly. However, the rules in force at the time dictated that measurements had to be rounded down to the nearest 2 cm, so it is almost certain that the throw was indeed further than 80 metres. Two weeks later, she won the gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics with a throw of 74.68 metres, with Whitbread winning the silver medal and compatriot

Beate Koch Beate Koch (born 18 August 1967) is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. She represented East Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of ...

winning the bronze. She went on to win the 1989 World Cup title in Barcelona, as well as a bronze medal at the 1990 European Championships. In 1991, now competing for a unified Germany and as Petra Meier, she won silver at the

in Tokyo with a 68.68 m throw. She concluded her international career at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, where she finished seventh with a disappointing 59.02 m. The javelin specifications were changed in 1999 and the records were restarted, thus Meier's record became eternal. As of 2017,

Barbora Špotáková Barbora Špotáková (; born 30 June 1981) is a former Czech track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. She is a two-time Olympic Champion and three-time World Champion, as well as the current world record holder with a throw of ...

is the new world record holder with a throw of 72.28 m.

International competitions

All results regarding Javelin

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Felke, Petra 1959 births Living people People from Saalfeld People from Bezirk Gera East German female javelin throwers German female javelin throwers Sportspeople from Thuringia Olympic athletes of East Germany Olympic athletes of Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for East Germany World Athletics Championships athletes for Germany World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Goodwill Games medalists in athletics Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Universiade gold medalists for East Germany Medalists at the 1981 Summer Universiade Competitors at the 1986 Goodwill Games Friendship Games medalists in athletics