Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1986-0627-048, Silke Gladisch, Sabine Rieger

Sabine Günther (''née'' Rieger; born 6 November 1963, 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 po ...

) 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 competed mainly in the

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

Biography

She won the 200 metres gold medal at the 1981 European Junior Championships. At the 1982 European Championships she won the bronze medal in the

and a gold medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay together with teammates

Gesine Walther Gesine Walther (born 6 October 1962) is a retired German sprinter. Biography In 1982 Walther became the first European indoor champion in the 200 m event. At the 1982 European Championships she finished fifth in the 100 m, fourth in th ...

Bärbel Wöckel Bärbel Wöckel ( Eckert; born 21 March 1955 in Leipzig) is a retired East German sprinter. She never ran a world record in the individual disciplines. However, she ran several world records as part of relay teams with Doris Maletzki ...

and

Marlies Göhr Marlies Göhr (née Oelsner, born 21 March 1958 in Gera, Bezirk Gera) is a former East German track and field athlete, the winner of the 100 metres at the inaugural World Championships in 1983. She ranked in the top 10 of the 100 m world r ...

. The team finished in 42.19 seconds with Günther running the third leg.European Championships medalists, women
/ref> The relay team of Sabine Günther,

Silke Gladisch Silke may refer to: * Silke (actress) a Spanish actress known by her mononym * Silke (given name) * Silke (surname) * Silke, fictional character Samuel Silke in ''Daredevil'' comics * ''Silke'', novel by Lacey Dancer * ''Silke'', comic series p ...

, Marlies Göhr und

Ingrid Auerswald Ingrid Auerswald ( Brestrich, born 2 September 1957 in Jena, East Germany) is a retired German athlete who competed mainly in the 100 metres. Biography Brestrich-Lange competed for East Germany in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Mos ...

set a

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 ...

of 41.37 seconds at the 1985 IAAF World Cup event in Canberra, Australia. The world record stood until 2012. At the 1986 European Championships Günther only placed seventh in the individual distance, but won another gold medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay together with Silke Gladisch, Ingrid Auerswald and Marlies Göhr. Their time was 41.84 seconds, and Günther ran the second leg. At the 1990 European Championships Günther again placed seventh in the individual distance, but won yet another gold medal in the 4 x 100 metres relay, this time with Silke Möller (formerly Gladisch),

Katrin Krabbe Katrin Krabbe (; later Zimmermann, born 22 November 1969) is a German former track and field athlete. She represented East Germany (GDR) at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, and went on to win the 100 metres and 200 metres titles at the 1991 World Cham ...

and

Kerstin Behrendt Kerstin Behrendt (born 2 September 1967 in Leisnig) is a former German athlete, who mainly competed in the 100 m during her career. Behrendt competed for East Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea, where she wo ...

. Günther ran the last leg, crossing the finish line to clock in 41.68 seconds. With united

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Günther helped finish fifth at the 1992 Olympic Games, with a new relay team composed of

Andrea Philipp Andrea Philipp (born 29 July 1971) is a retired German sprinter. A three-time Olympian, she won a bronze medal in the 200 metres at the 1999 World Championships (tied with Merlene Frazer), and a gold medal in the 100 metres at the 1990 Worl ...

, Silke Knoll, Andrea Thomas and Sabine Günther. Günther represented the sports club

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 ...

and won silver medals at the East German championships in 1986 (100 m) and 1990 (200 m). Her personal best times were 11.19 in the 100 metres, achieved in September 1985 in East Berlin, and 22.37 in the 200 metres, achieved in June 1982 in

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exte ...

.World women's all-time best 200m (last updated 2001)
/ref> Günther is 1.70 metres tall; during her active career she weighed 60 kg.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gunther, Sabine 1963 births Living people Sportspeople from Jena People from Bezirk Gera East German female sprinters Olympic athletes of Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze German female sprinters Olympic female sprinters