Renate Stecher (, ; née Meißner, born 12 May 1950) is a German (former

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 ...

) sprint runner and a triple Olympic champion. She held 34 world records and was the first woman to run 100 metres within 11 seconds.

Biography

Born as Renate Meißner, she was a very talented athlete, also competing in the high jump and pentathlon. She debuted internationally at the 1969 European Championships, where she – as a last minute substitute – won a

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, e ...

in the 200 m and a

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 ...

in the

4 × 100 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 smalles ...

. In 1970 she was the World Student Games Champion in both the 100 and 200 metres. At the next European Championships, in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

, she won both the

100 100 or one hundred (Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and 200 m and the silver in the relay. At that time, she was already competing as Renate Stecher, having married hurdler Gerd Stecher the previous year. 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 ...

, Stecher repeated that performance. She won the 100 m in time of 11.07, which was only in 1976 recognised as

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 organizati ...

, which had been measured in tenths of seconds before (the times in tenths were later corrected). She also equalled the world record in the 200 meters with a time of 22.40. The following year, Stecher set (hand timed) world records in both sprint events, also becoming the first woman to beat 11 seconds. She clocked 10.9 and 10.8 for the 100 metres and 22.1 for the 200 metres. Stecher also won the 200 m.

Wilma van den Berg Wilhelmina Catharina Maria Martina "Wilma" van Gool (née van den Berg on 11 August 1947, commonly known as Wilma van den Berg) is a Dutch former sprinter, two-time Olympian, silver medalist in the European Championships and Universiade, Dutch n ...

of the Netherlands had qualified for the semifinals, and the 23.22 that she ran in the quarterfinals was faster than the time in the quarterfinals of Stecher. However, after the killing of 11 Israeli athletes in the Munich Massacre, and the Olympics not being cancelled, van den Berg withdrew from the competition in sympathy with the Israeli victims. She said that she was leaving in protest of the "obscene" decision to continue with the Olympic Games. In Rome at the 1974 European Championships she was defeated in both the 100 m and 200 m, by

Irena Szewińska Irena Szewińska (née Kirszenstein; Polish pronunciation: ; 24 May 1946 – 29 June 2018) was a Polish sprinter who was one of the world's foremost athletes for nearly two decades, in multiple events. She is the only athlete in history, m ...

of Poland and had to settle for silver in both distances. However the GDR 4 × 100 m relay team, in which Stecher ran the second leg, won the gold medal in a world record time. At the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

, Stecher again competed in the three sprint events, winning medals in all three once again. She was beaten for the 100 m title by

Annegret Richter Annegret Richter (born 13 October 1950) is a German (former West German) athlete and the 1976 Olympic 100 m champion. Biography Born Annegret Irrgang, she won her first international title at the 1971 European Championships, as a part o ...

, and came third in a 200 m race with five German women in the first five positions. With the 4 × 100 m relay team they beat

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, taking revenge for the race four years earlier.

Retirement

Following the release of East German secret service files, it was revealed that many of the country's athletes were involved with a state-sponsored drug program. The files document that Stecher had wanted to step down her drug use after the 1972 Olympics, so that she could safely have children.

Raelene Boyle Raelene Ann Boyle (born 24 June 1951) is an Australian retired athlete, who represented Australia at three Olympic Games as a sprinter, winning three silver medals, and was named one of 100 National Living Treasures by the National Trust of ...

, who had finished second to Stecher in both the 100 and 200 metres at the Olympics, stated that she felt cheated, as she believed it unlikely that Stecher would have beaten her without the use of performance-enhancing drugs.Raelene Boyle

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(26 February 2004). Retrieved on 22 May 2009. In 2011 Stecher was inducted into the Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stecher, Renate 1950 births Living people East German female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of East Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Olympic silver medalists for East Germany Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany World record setters in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade gold medalists for East Germany Medalists at the 1970 Summer Universiade Olympic female sprinters