Bärbel Wöckel ( Eckert; born 21 March 1955) is a former

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

sprinter. She never ran a world record in the individual disciplines. However, she ran several world records as part of relay teams with Doris Maletzki, Renate Stecher and Christina Heinich over 4 × 100 meters, the last time on September 8, 1974, in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. At the GDR Championships she took first place in the 4 × 100-meter relay in 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981 to 1984. In 1976 she won third place with the team. Documents uncovered after the fall of communism showed that during this time Wöckel, like many of her East German colleagues, was forced to participate in the state-organized doping program. Despite this, her records and medals have been allowed to stand.

Biography

Wöckel won four Olympic

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

s between the 200 metres race and

4 × 100 metres relay The 4 × 100 metres relay or sprint relay is an athletics track event run in lanes over one lap of the track with four runners completing 100 metres each. The first runners must begin in the same stagger as for the indiv ...

, two each in the

1976 Events January * January 2 – 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 18 – Full diplomatic ...

and 1980 Olympics. In each of those years, Wöckel placed first in the 200 m and

races. She won a gold medal at the 1974 European Championships as the anchor of the 4 × 100 m relay, which set a

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 organizatio ...

of 42.50. In Athens, She won the gold in the 200 m and as a part of the 4 × 100 m relay team as well as a

silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

at the 1982 European Championships. Bärbel Wöckel competed for the club SC Motor Jena during her active career. She won 4 national 200 metre championships, as well as an indoor title in 1984. She won 3 European Cup titles in 1981, 200, 4 × 100, 4 × 400 metres. In the IAAF World Cup 1981 she won 2 Gold Medals in 4 × 100 and 4 × 400 relays. Also finishing 3rd in the 200. Her rival,

Marita Koch Marita Koch (later Meier-Koch; born 18 February 1957) is a German former Sprint (running), sprint track and field athlete. During her career she set 16 List of world records in athletics, world records in outdoor sprints as well as 14 world re ...

, complained in a letter that Bärbel received higher doses of steroids than her, because she had relatives in the company Jenapharm.

Awards Selection

* 1974:

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

(German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) in Bronze * 1976: Patriotic Order of Merit in silver * 1980 and 1984: Patriotic Order of Merit in gold * 2018: DLV-Ehrennadel in gold

References

External links

* 1955 births Living people Athletes from Leipzig East German female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for East Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic female sprinters Friendship Games medalists in athletics Athletes from Bezirk Leipzig East German Athletics Championships winners {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub

Biography

Awards Selection

See also

References

External links