Hildegard Falck (née ''Janze'' on 8 June 1949) is a retired West German runner. At the 1972 Olympics she won a gold medal in the 800 m and a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay with West German team. In the 800 m final she finished 0.1 seconds ahead of

Nijolė Sabaitė Nijolė Sabaitė (born August 12, 1950 in Raseiniai, Lithuanian SSR) is a retired Lithuanian middle distance runner who represented internationally the USSR. She trained at VSS Nemunas in Vilnius. Sabaitė began athletics in 1967 and was a ...

and Gunhild Hoffmeister. On 11 July 1971 Falck ran the 800 m in 1:58.5 minutes in Stuttgart, improving the

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 ...

Vera Nikolic Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarra ...

by two seconds. She was the first woman to clock a time under two minutes if the unratified marks of Sin Kim Dan are discounted. Her record stood until 1973. Before turning to athletics, Falck studied to become a secondary school teacher and trained in handball and swimming. In 1971, besides her 800 m world record, she won a gold medal in the 800 m at the European Indoor Championships and a silver in the 4 × 400 m relay at European Championships; she also helped Ellen Tittel,

Sylvia Schenk Sylvia Schenk (born 1 June 1952) is a German middle-distance runner. She competed in the women's 800 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics for West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of German ...

and Christa Merten to break the 4 × 800 m world record. Domestically she won the 800 m titles in 1970 and 1971 (both indoor and outdoor), and in 1973 outdoor. In 1972, she was awarded the Silver Bay Leaf of the German Track & Field Association. Falck was coached by her husband Rolf Falck. They later divorced, and she married Dr. Klaus Kimmich, a pentathlete with whom she had two children.Hildegard Falck
. sports-reference.com

References

1949 births Living people People from Hameln-Pyrmont Sportspeople from Lower Saxony West German female middle-distance runners German national athletics champions Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of West Germany Olympic bronze medalists for West Germany Olympic gold medalists for West Germany World record setters in athletics (track and field) European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub