Petra Felke
Encyclopedia
Petra Meier, nee Felke (born 30 July 1959, Saalfeld/Saale, Thuringia
) is a former German
track and field
athlete and Olympic champion who represented East Germany.
She trained with Ruth Fuchs
at the Motor Jena sport club. As the sport career of Fuchs came to an end, Felke took over the lead in the javelin throw
. Her first top finish in the East German athletic championship came in 1978 when she took 3rd place, a result she also achieved in 1981. In 1982 and 1983 she was second and from 1984 through 1989 she won the gold medal.
On 9 September 1988 she became the first woman to ever throw the javelin further than 80 metres. Strictly speaking, this world record throw was measured at 80.00m exactly. However, the rules in force at the time dictated that measurements had to be rounded down to the nearest 2cm, so it is almost certain that the throw was indeed further than 80 metres.
Her first world record had come on 4 June 1985 in Schwerin
when she threw 75.26 meters, a result that she beat later that same day with a throw of 75.40 meters. Her next world record came on 29 July 1987 in Leipzig
when she threw 78.90 meters. At the 1988 Summer Olympics
in Seoul she won the gold medal in front of silver medalist Fatima Whitbread
of Britain and bronze medalist Beate Koch
of (East) Germany. At the height of her career she was 1.72 metre tall and weighed 64 kilograms.
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
) is a former German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete and Olympic champion who represented East Germany.
She trained with Ruth Fuchs
Ruth Fuchs
Ruth Fuchs, née Gamm is a German politician and former athlete. Fuchs, representing East Germany, was the winner of the women's javelin at the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games...
at the Motor Jena sport club. As the sport career of Fuchs came to an end, Felke took over the lead in the javelin throw
Javelin throw
The javelin throw is a track and field athletics throwing event where the object to be thrown is the javelin, a spear approximately 2.5 metres in length. Javelin is an event of both the men's decathlon and the women's heptathlon...
. Her first top finish in the East German athletic championship came in 1978 when she took 3rd place, a result she also achieved in 1981. In 1982 and 1983 she was second and from 1984 through 1989 she won the gold medal.
On 9 September 1988 she became the first woman to ever throw the javelin further than 80 metres. Strictly speaking, this world record throw was measured at 80.00m exactly. However, the rules in force at the time dictated that measurements had to be rounded down to the nearest 2cm, so it is almost certain that the throw was indeed further than 80 metres.
Her first world record had come on 4 June 1985 in Schwerin
Schwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
when she threw 75.26 meters, a result that she beat later that same day with a throw of 75.40 meters. Her next world record came on 29 July 1987 in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
when she threw 78.90 meters. At the 1988 Summer Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...
in Seoul she won the gold medal in front of silver medalist Fatima Whitbread
Fatima Whitbread
Fatima Whitbread MBE is a British former javelin thrower and multiple medal-winner.-Early life:...
of Britain and bronze medalist Beate Koch
Beate Koch
Beate Koch is a former German athlete who competed mainly in the women's javelin throw event during her career. She competed for East Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea where she won the bronze medal in the women's javelin throw competition.-Achievements:-References:*...
of (East) Germany. At the height of her career she was 1.72 metre tall and weighed 64 kilograms.