Marita Koch

Medal record
Marita Koch
Women's Athletics
Competitor for East Germany
Olympic Games
Gold	1980 Moscow	400 m
Silver	1980 Moscow	4x400 m relay
World Championships
Gold	1983 Helsinki	200 m
Gold	1983 Helsinki	4x100 m relay
Gold	1983 Helsinki	4x400 m relay
Silver	1983 Helsinki	100 m

Marita Koch (born 18 February 1957 in Wismar, East Germany, married name Marita Koch Meier), is a former sprint track and field athlete. During her career she collected a remarkable sixteen world records in outdoor sprints, as well as 14 world records in indoor events.

Career

Marita Koch and Silke Gladisch (background) in Karl-Marx-Stadt, June 18, 1983

Koch ran in the 400 metres quarter final at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal (51.87 seconds), but withdrew due to injury.

Koch set her first world record in 1977 in Milan, when she ran 400 metres indoors in 51.8 seconds. The following year, she set her first outdoor record at 400 metres in 49.19 seconds. She topped this with another two world records within a month.

In 1979 Koch became the first woman to run 200 metres in under 22 seconds. Her time of 21.71 seconds set at Karl Marx Stadt stood as the world record for nine years.

At the Moscow Olympics of 1980 she won the gold medal in the individual 400 metres and silver medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay race.

Three weeks before the 1984 Olympic Games she tied her own record, but the East German boycott prevented her from competing in the games.

Koch set the current 400 metres world record of 47.60 seconds, a time considered far out of reach of even the best present athletes, on 6 October 1985 at Bruce Stadium in Canberra, Australia.

Marlies Göhr challenged Marita Koch in indoor sprints. As a result, Marita Koch became one of the most successful runners over 50 and 60 metres, where she set many records between 1980 and 1985.

As a member of East Germany's relay teams, Koch set more world records. With a team led together with Göhr, they set new world records over 4 x 100 metres in 1979 and 1983. The same team, with Koch part of it, that won silver over 4 x 400 metres in the 1980 Olympic Games, set world records over the same distance in 1980, 1982 and 1984.

Marita Koch in Berlin, August 21, 1986

Koch also won the European Championships at 400 metres in 1978, 1982 and 1986, before retiring in 1987 as one of Germany's most successful athletes. She remains the European record holder over 200 metres.

Drug use controversy

Main article: Doping in East Germany

Koch's achievements, along with the extraordinary performances of many other East German female athletes, aroused suspicion that they were achieved with the aid of performance-enhancing drugs. These drugs were and remain illegal, but were not detectable at the time. In 1991 German anti drug activists Brigitte Berendonk and Werner Franke were able to save several doctoral theses and other documents written by scientists working for the East German drug research program. The documents list the dosage and timetables for the administration of anabolic steroids to many athletes of the former GDR, one of them being Marita Koch. According to the sources Koch did use the anabolic steroid Oral-Turinabol from 1981-1984 with dosages ranging from 530 to 1460 mg/year. Koch never publicly admitted to this. However, a letter to the head of the state-owned pharmaceutical company was discovered by researcher Werner Frank, in which Marita Koch complained that Bärbel Wöckel received larger doses of steroids, because she had a relative working in the company.

External links

• IAAF profile for Marita Koch

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Rosemarie Ackermann	East German Sportswoman of the Year 1978 – 1979	Succeeded by Maxi Gnauck
Preceded by Rosemarie Ackermann	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1978 – 1979	Succeeded by Ilona Briesenick
Preceded by Ute Geweniger	East German Sportswoman of the Year 1982 – 1983	Succeeded by Katarina Witt
Preceded by Katarina Witt	East German Sportswoman of the Year 1985	Succeeded by Heike Drechsler
Preceded by Tracy Caulkins	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1979	Succeeded by Hanni Wenzel
Preceded by Chris Evert Lloyd	United Press International Athlete of the Year 1982	Succeeded by Jarmila Kratochvílová
Preceded by Evelyn Ashford	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1982	Succeeded by Jarmila Kratochvílová
Preceded by Evelyn Ashford	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1985	Succeeded by Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Sporting positions
Preceded by Irena Szewińska	Women's 200 m Best Year Performance 1978 – 1979	Succeeded by Bärbel Wöckel
Preceded by Evelyn Ashford	Women's 200 m Best Year Performance 1982 – 1985	Succeeded by Heike Drechsler