Gunhild Hoffmeister

Gunhild Hoffmeister (born July 6, 1944 in Forst (Lausitz) , Brandenburg ) is a former German athlete and Olympic medalist who won three Olympic medals in middle-distance running for the GDR : At the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich , she was in the 1,500-meter run Second and third in the 800 meter run . At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal , she finished second again in the 1,500-meter run.

As the only one of all German medium and long-distance runners to date, she has won three Olympic medals. Besides Hans Grodotzki , she is also the only one among the German runners who won two medals in an individual competition at the same Olympic Games.

Gunhild Hoffmeister only started athletics at the age of 20, during her training as a teacher. She competed in her first major competition as a barefoot runner at the forest running championships in the GDR.

She started for SC Cottbus, her trainer was Friedrich Janke (Vice European Champion 1962 over 10,000 meters). In 1967 she became the mother of a daughter. Two years later, in 1969, she took part for the first time in an international highlight, the European Championships in Athens . With a height of 1.73 m, she had a competition weight of 56 kg.

After the Olympic Games in 1976, she ended her athletic career and was deputy director of the children's and youth sports school in Cottbus. Later she worked in the sports and recreation center in Berlin and on the federal board of the DTSB of the GDR. After the end of the GDR, she worked as a rehabilitation sports teacher in Berlin.

More Achievements

1971: European Championships in Helsinki , 2nd place in the 1500 meter run (crashed in the 800 meter run)
1972: European Indoor Championships in Grenoble : 1st place in the 800 meter run; World record in the 1000 meter run : 2: 35.9 min (August 20, Potsdam )
1974: European Championships in Rome : 1st place in the 1,500 meter run, 2nd place in the 800 meter run; European Indoor Championships in Gothenburg : 3rd place in the 800 meter run

Awards (selection)

1972: Patriotic Order of Merit in bronze
1974: Patriotic Order of Merit in silver
1976: Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold

Individual evidence

↑ Schweriner People's Newspaper . Newspaper publisher Schwerin, Schwerin May 10, 1998, p. 8 .
↑ About the honor for the Olympic team of the GDR. Awarded high government awards. Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold. In: New Germany . ZEFYS newspaper portal of the Berlin State Library , September 10, 1976, p. 4 , accessed on April 10, 2018 (free registration required).

personal data
SURNAME	Hoffmeister, Gunhild
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German athlete, Olympic medalist, MdV
DATE OF BIRTH	July 6, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH	Forst (Lausitz)

[1] Schweriner People's Newspaper . Newspaper publisher Schwerin, Schwerin May 10, 1998, p. 8 .

[2] About the honor for the Olympic team of the GDR. Awarded high government awards. Patriotic Order of Merit in Gold. In: New Germany . ZEFYS newspaper portal of the Berlin State Library , September 10, 1976, p. 4 , accessed on April 10, 2018 (free registration required).