Ruth Fuchs ( Gamm, later Hellmann, born 14 December 1946 in

Egeln Egeln () is a small town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Egelner Mulde. Geography Egeln is situated on the river Bode, approx. nor ...

Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it th ...

) is a German politician and former athlete. Fuchs, representing

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 ...

, was the winner of the women's javelin at the 1972 (Munich) and 1976 (Montreal) Olympic Games. She set the world record for the javelin six times during the 1970s. Her personal best throw was 69.96 metres with the old javelin type, achieved in April 1980 in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

. This ranks her seventh among German old-type-javelin throwers, behind Petra Felke (who held 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 ...

), Antje Kempe, Silke Renk, Beate Koch, Karen Forkel and Tanja Damaske.Microsoft Word – Ewige DLV-Bestenliste.doc
Ruth Fuchs has admitted using steroids during her career, as part of the official East German sports programme. After retirement from track and field, Fuchs became a member of Parliament for the Party of Democratic Socialism (now the Left Party) in the re-united Germany. Since her retirement from public life Fuchs has lived in

Bucha, Saale-Holzland Bucha is a municipality in the district Saale-Holzland, in Thuringia, 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 ...

, in

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

, Germany.

References

Biography from sporting-heroes.net
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuchs, Ruth 1946 births Living people People from Salzlandkreis East German female javelin throwers Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians Members of the 10th Volkskammer Members of the Bundestag for Thuringia Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002 Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998 Members of the Landtag of Thuringia Female members of the Volkskammer Female members of the Bundestag German sportsperson-politicians Sportspeople from Saxony-Anhalt Olympic athletes of East Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics German sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in athletics Olympic gold medalists for East Germany European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold 21st-century German women politicians