Biography
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.
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.
Read more about this topic: Marita Koch
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