Renate Stecher

Personal information

Born

12 May 1950 (age 66)
Süptitz, Saxony-Anhalt, East Germany

Height

1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)

Weight

71 kg (157 lb)

Sport

Athletics

Event(s)

100 m, 200 m

Club

SC Motor Jena

Achievements and titles

Personal best(s)

100 m – 10.8 (1973)
200 m – 22.38 (1973)

Medal record

Representing East Germany
Olympic Games
	1972 Munich	100 m
	1972 Munich	200 m
	1972 Munich	4×100 m relay
	1976 Montreal	4×100 m relay
	1976 Montreal	100 m
	1976 Montreal	200 m
European Athletics Championships
	1969 Athens	4×100 m relay
	1969 Athens	200 m
	1971 Helsinki	100 m
	1971 Helsinki	200 m
	1971 Helsinki	4×100 m relay
	1974 Rome	4×100 m relay
	1974 Rome	100 m
	1974 Rome	200 m

Renate Stecher (née Meißner, born 12 May 1950) is a German (former East German) sprint runner and a triple Olympic champion. She held 34 world records and was the first woman to run 100 m within 11 seconds.

Born as Renate Meißner, she was a very talented athlete, also competing in the high jump and pentathlon. She debuted internationally at the 1969 European Championships, where she – as a last minute substitute – won a silver medal in the 200 m and a gold in the 4 × 100 m relay.

In 1970 she was the World Student Games Champion in both the 100 and 200 metres.

At the next European Championships, in 1971, she won both the 100 and 200 m and the silver in the relay. At that time, she was already competing as Renate Stecher, having married hurdler Gerd Stecher the previous year.

At the 1972 Summer Olympics, Stecher repeated that performance. She won the 100 m in time of 11.07, which was only in 1976 recognised as world record, which had been measured in tenths of seconds before (the times in tenths were later corrected). She also equalled the world record in the 200 meters with a time of 22.40. The following year, Stecher set (hand timed) world records in both sprint events, also becoming the first woman to beat 11 seconds. She clocked 10.9 and 10.8 for the 100 metres and 22.1 for the 200 metres.

In Rome at the 1974 European Championships she was defeated in both the 100 m and 200 m, by Irena Szewińska of Poland and had to settle for silver in both distances. However the GDR 4 × 100 m relay team, in which Stecher ran the second leg, won the gold medal in a world record time.

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Wikipedia