Thomas Munkelt (born 3 August 1952) 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 ...
athlete
An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance.
Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...
, winner of 110 m hurdles at the
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
.
Born in
Zedtlitz
Borna () is a town in Saxony, Germany, capital of the Leipzig (district), Leipzig district. It is situated approximately 30 km southeast of Leipzig city. It has approx. 19,000 inhabitants. The town is the district seat of the Leipzig (distri ...
,
Bezirk Leipzig
The Bezirk Leipzig was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Leipzig.
History
The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. After 3 October 1 ...
,
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 ...
, Thomas Munkelt was a classic high hurdler who dominated European hurdling in the 1970s and early 1980s. Munkelt was the first athlete to break the 7.50 seconds barrier in the 60m hurdles, when he ran a 7.48 seconds World Record in Budapest in 1983.
Munkelt came into the international athletics scene in 1975 when he won his first of nine East German national championship title and European Cup in 110 m hurdles. Although he finished disappointing fifth 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 Phi ...
, he won both World Cup and European Cup in 1977. The first international championships medal came, when Munkelt finished first at the
1978 European Championships.
Munkelt's career highlight came at the
Moscow Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
, where he beat second placed
Alejandro Casañas
Alejandro Francisco Casañas Ramírez (born January 29, 1954) is a former Cuban hurdler.
At the 1977 Summer Universiade in Sofia he set a new world record in the 110 m hurdles with a time 13.21 seconds. This record would, however, only stand ...
from
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
by 0.01 seconds. He also was a member of fifth placed 4 × 100 m
relay
A relay
Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts
An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off
A relay is an electrically operated switch ...
team.
[Wallechinsky, David.]
The complete book of the summer Olympics
' p. 326 (Athens 2004 ed.) He defended his title successfully at the
1982 European Championships and won silver as a member of a
4x100 relay team. He won again the European Cup in the next year, but finished only fifth at the
first World Championships.
After hearing the East German government's decision to boycott the
1984 Summer 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 ...
, Munkelt decided to retire from athletics.
His personal best was 13,37 seconds, achieved in August 1977 in
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
. This ranks him seventh among German 110 m hurdlers, behind
Florian Schwarthoff
Florian Schwarthoff (born May 7, 1968 in Dortmund) is a former German hurdler best known for winning a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics. Schwarthoff had his best season in 1995 when set a new German record of 13.05 sec. in Bremen. He was ...
,
Mike Fenner
Mike Fenner (born 24 April 1971 in East Berlin) is a retired German hurdler.
His personal best is 13.06 seconds, achieved in June 1995 in Scheeßel. This ranks him second among German 110 m hurdlers, only behind Florian Schwarthoff
Florian Schw ...
,
Eric Kaiser
Eric Kaiser (born 7 March 1971) is a retired Cameroonian-born German athlete who specialised in the sprint hurdles. He represented his country at the 1996 Summer Olympics as well as two World Championships. Earlier in his career he competed in th ...
,
Falk Balzer
Falk Balzer (born 14 December 1973 in Leipzig) is a former German hurdler, the son of former East German hurdler Karin Balzer. He is best known for winning the silver medal at the 1998 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. He repr ...
,
Thomas Blaschek
Thomas Blaschek (born 5 April 1981 in Gera, East Germany) is a German hurdler. His personal best time is 13.31 seconds, achieved in July 2005 in Cuxhaven. This ranks him fifth among German 110 m hurdlers, behind Florian Schwarthoff, Mike Fenn ...
and
Sven Göhler.
References
External links
*
European Indoor Championships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munkelt, Thomas
1952 births
Living people
People from Borna
People from Bezirk Leipzig
East German male hurdlers
East German male sprinters
Sportspeople from Saxony
Olympic athletes of East Germany
Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for East Germany
World Athletics Championships athletes for East Germany
European Athletics Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field)
Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field)
Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver
Universiade bronze medalists for East Germany
Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade
Medalists at the 1979 Summer Universiade
Friendship Games medalists in athletics