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

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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