Christina Obergföll (; born 22 August 1981) 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 eve ...

athlete who competed in the javelin throw. She was

World Champion 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, ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

. Her personal best throw of 70.20 m is the German record. It also ranks her fifth on the overall list.

Career

At the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first IAAF ...

, Obergföll won the

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, et ...

with a European record (70.03m) by finishing second behind

Osleidys Menéndez Osleidys Menéndez Sáez (; born November 14, 1979) is a retired Cuban track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. She was a World and Olympic Champion, and held the world record from 2001 to 2008. Her personal best of 71.70 m re ...

, who set a new

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 ...

at the same event. Obergföll finished 4th at the

2006 European Athletics Championships The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Champions ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

. With 70.20m, she improved her own European record at the European Cup Super League meeting in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

on 23 June 2007. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, she won the

, but lost the European record to

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 ...

. At the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, she repeated her greatest success, when she won a silver medal. At the

2013 World Championships in Athletics The 14th IAAF World Championships in Athletics (Moscow 2013) () was an international athletics competition held in Moscow, Russia, from 10–18 August 2013. Initially, Russia won the most gold medals to top the table for the first time since 200 ...

, which was held in Moscow, Russia, Obergföll got the gold with a mark of 69.05 meters, reaching the success that she was always fighting for. Also in 2013, she married

Boris Henry Boris Obergföll (' Henry; born 14 December 1973) is a retired German track and field athlete who competed in the javelin throw. He won a bronze medal in the World Championships twice (1995 and 2003). His personal best throw was 90.44 metres, s ...

. Obergföll took 2014 off due to being pregnant, but returned for the 2015 World Championships, where she finished fourth. In 2016, she finished eight at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

and retired thereafter.

Competition record

References

External links

* * * * * * * * 1981 births Living people People from Lahr Sportspeople from Freiburg (region) German female javelin throwers German national athletics champions Olympic athletes of Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany World Athletics Championships medalists European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Germany Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Diamond League winners World Athletics Championships winners {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub