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[link]

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,^[1] 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[link]

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.^[2] 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 to 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.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marita Koch

• 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

Yuliya Pechonkina in Osaka 2007.

Yuliya Sergeyevna Pechonkina, née Nosova (Russian: Юлия Сергеевна Печёнкина, born 21 April 1978 in Krasnoyarsk) is a Russian former athlete who specialized in the 400 metres hurdles and 4 x 400 metres relay.

She holds the current world record in both 400 m hurdles (52.34 seconds achieved on 8 August 2003 in Tula) and the rarely contested 4 x 200 metres relay indoor (1:32.41 with Yekaterina Kondratyeva, Irina Khabarova and Yuliya Gushchina).

She had a recurring problem with sinusitis, an illness which caused her to miss both the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.^[1] Given her ill health, she decided to retire from athletics soon after the World Championships and instead took a job in the banking sector.^[2]

Achievements[link]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Russia
2001	World Indoor Championships	Lisbon, Portugal	1st	4 x 400 m relay
	World Championships	Edmonton, Canada	2nd	400 m hurdles
			3rd	4 x 400 m relay
2002	European Indoor Championships	Vienna, Austria	5th	400 m
2003	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, England	1st	4 x 400 m relay
	World Championships	Paris, France	3rd	400 m hurdles
			2nd	4 x 400 m relay
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	8th	400 m hurdles
2005	European Indoor Championships	Madrid, Spain	1st	4 x 400 m relay	3:28.00 CR
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	1st	400 m hurdles
			1st	4 x 400 m relay
	World Athletics Final	Monte Carlo, Monaco	2nd	400 m hurdles
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	2nd	400 m hurdles

Personal bests[link]

• 400 metres - 53.22 s (2001)
• 400 metres hurdles - 52.34 s (2003)

References[link]

External links[link]

• IAAF profile for Yuliya Pechonkina

Sporting positions
Preceded by Nezha Bidouane	Women's 400 m Hurdles Best Year Performance 2002 — 2003	Succeeded by Faní Halkiá
Preceded by Faní Halkiá	Women's 400 m Hurdles Best Year Performance 2005	Succeeded by Lashinda Demus

This biographical article relating to Russian athletics is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Medal record
Women's athletics
Competitor for the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	100 metres
Gold	1984 Los Angeles	4×100 m relay
Gold	1988 Seoul	4×100 m relay
Gold	1992 Barcelona	4×100 m relay
Silver	1988 Seoul	100 metres
Pan American Games
Gold	1979 San Juan	100 metres
Gold	1979 San Juan	200 metres

Evelyn Ashford (born April 15, 1957 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is a retired American athlete, the 1984 Olympic champion in the 100 m. She has run under the 11 second barrier over 30 times and was the first to run under 11 seconds in an Olympic Games.^[1]

As a 19-year-old, Ashford finished 5th in the 100 m event at the 1976 Summer Olympics. After beating the World Record holders in the 100 m and 200 m in 1979, Ashford was one of the potential medalists for the 1980 Summer Olympics, but these Games were boycotted by the United States.

Ashford was ranked #1 in the world by Track & Field News over 100 metres in 1979 and 1981,^[2] and over 200 metres in 1981.^[3] She also was named Track and Field News "Athlete of the Year" twice, in 1981 and 1984^[4]

On July 3, 1983, she set her first World Record (be it at altitude) for the 100 metres, running 10.79 seconds at the National Sports Festival in Colorado Springs, Colorado and was one of the favourites to win the 100 metre title at the inaugural World Championships in Helsinki. In the final, however, she pulled a hamstring muscle and fell. The other main favourite, Marlies Göhr of East Germany (who had already beaten Ashford earlier that year) went on to win.

At the 1984 Summer Olympics, Ashford had a chance to win a gold medal, especially since the East Germans boycotted the Olympics. However, she had to withdraw from the 200 m heats with a minor injury. She competed in the 100 m, winning the event in a new Olympic Record of 10.97 secs. As the anchor runner for 4 X 100 m relay team, she won a second gold medal. In the absence of World Champions and world record holders East Germany, the US team clocked one of the fastest times in history and won by the biggest margin ever at an Olympics, 1.12 seconds.^[1]

Later in the season, she finally defeated her main rival Göhr at the Weltklasse meeting in Zürich, Switzerland. The race saw Ashford make up half a metre or so over Göhr and lower her own World Record to 10.76 secs. See the race on youtube That race proved to be Ashford's personal record. It still ranks as the #8 Individual all-time^[5] and was the record that Florence Griffith-Joyner improved upon to set the still standing current world record. Ashford, unsurprisingly, regained her #1 Track & Field News ranking.^[2]

At the 1988 Summer Olympics, she was the flag bearer for the United States team at the Opening Ceremony. She was beaten in the 100 m by Florence Griffith Joyner, who had broken her World Record earlier in the season at the Olympic Trials. In the 4 x 100 m relay she again ran the final leg, winning her third Olympic gold medal despite a sloppy last exchange that meant she had to make up some ground on Göhr.^[1]

At her last Olympics in Barcelona Ashford, aged 35, was eliminated in the 100 m semi-finals by 1/100th of a second; she went on to win her third straight Olympic 4 x 100 m relay gold, this time running 1st leg. She is one of only four women to have won four gold medals in track and field Olympic history.^[1]

Ashford twice came back from season ending injuries to reach the top of the sport in the following year. After injury in 1983, she became double Olympic Champion in 1984. In 1987 a hamstring pull prevented her from competing at the World Championships, then a season later added an Olympic Silver and third Gold medal to her collection.

On May 30, 1985 she gave birth to her daughter Raina Ashley Washington, and again came back for an excellent 1986, losing only once over both the 100 m and 200 m and earning another #1 ranking by Track & Field News over the shorter distance.

After parting ways with her coach Pat Connolly (herself a 3-time Olympian) in 1985, Ashford was largely self-coached.

In 1997, Ashford was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame,^[6] where she is said to be "one of the greatest track and field runners ever." Ashford went to the University of California, Los Angeles and Roseville High School.

References[link]

External links[link]

• IAAF profile for Evelyn Ashford
• USATF Hall of Fame Bio
• Sports Reference

Olympic Games
Preceded by Edward Burke	Flagbearer for  United States Seoul 1988	Succeeded by Francie Larrieu-Smith
Records
Preceded by Marlies Göhr	Women's 100 m World Record Holder July 3, 1983 – July 16, 1988	Succeeded by Florence Griffith-Joyner
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Ilona Briesenick	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1981	Succeeded by Marita Koch
Preceded by Jarmila Kratochvílová	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 1984	Succeeded by Marita Koch
Preceded by Jackie Joyner-Kersee	Flo Hyman Memorial Award 1989	Succeeded by Chris Evert
Preceded by None	Women's Track & Field ESPY Award 1993	Succeeded by Gail Devers
Sporting positions
Preceded by Bärbel Wöckel	Women's 200 m Best Year Performance 1981	Succeeded by Marita Koch