Maria Sykora

Maria Sykora (born November 10, 1946 in Tulln an der Donau , Lower Austria) is a former Austrian athlete . With a height of 1.72 m, her competition weight was 62 kg.

Life

Maria Sykora, born in Tulln as the daughter of District Captain Hans Sykora, grew up in a sports family as the sixth of seven children. In school she began to play handball and became Lower Austrian regional champion with the UHC Tulln before she switched to running. Professionally, Sykora was an elementary and secondary school teacher in geography and natural history. After her top sport career, Maria Sykora worked as a head teacher at the federal sports center in Südstadt .

At Hypo Niederösterreich she is on the board of directors.

Her sister Liese Prokop was an Austrian athlete and Minister of the Interior . Her brother Ernst's son is Thomas Sykora , a former world-class skier and current ORF commentator.

Championship title

Maria Sykora was Austrian champion in the 400 meter run from 1967 to 1971 . In 1968, 1969, 1971 and 1972 she won the title in the 800-meter run . In 1970 she was champion in the 100 meter hurdles . She also proved her versatility as champion in the pentathlon in 1970 and 1971. In this discipline, however, her sister Liese Prokop was even more successful as European champion in 1969.

Olympic games

Sykora took part in the 1972 Olympic Games . In the 400-meter run and with the 4-by-400-meter relay, she did not get beyond the lead. In the 800-meter run, she was eliminated in sixth place in her semi-finals.

European championships

At the European Championships in 1969 , Austria's 4 x 100 meter relay reached the final and took seventh (and last) place in a national record of 45.8 seconds, after Liese Prokop, Helga Kapfer , Maria Sykora and Erika Kren in the run-up had set a national record with 46.5 s.

In the 400-meter run, Maria Sykora reached the finals in 1969 with a national record of 53.6 s in the run-up and 53.2 s in the semi-finals. In the final, she again set a national record with 53.0 s and won the bronze medal behind the two French women Nicole Duclos and Colette Besson , who both set a new world record with 51.7 s.

At the European Championships in 1971 , Maria Sykora qualified again for the final in the 400-meter run with 53.5 s in the lead and 53.3 s in the semifinals. Behind Helga Seidler (GDR), who won with 52.1 s, there was a close finish, in which the West German Inge Bödding (silver) and Ingelore Lohse (GDR) won the medals with 52.9 s, while Maria Sykora with 53 , 0 s took the "ungrateful" fourth place.

European Indoor Championships

• 1969 in Belgrade: Maria Sikora finished eighth in the 800-meter run in 2: 18.7 minutes. In the 4-by-1 round relay, Austria ranks fourth with Inge Aigner , Maria Sykora, Liese Prokop and Hannah Kleinpeter .
• 1970 in Vienna: Maria Sykora becomes indoor European champion in 2: 07.0 minutes ahead of the Russian Lyudmila Bragina in 2: 07.5 minutes. In the 4-by-1 round relay, Austria wins the bronze medal with Maria Sykora, Brigitte Ortner , Christa Kepplinger and Hanna Burger . In the 1-2-3-4-round relay Austria ranks fourth with Brigitte Ortner, Maria Sykora, Sissy Brandnegger and Monika Bouchal .
• 1971 in Sofia: Maria Sykora wins the bronze medal in the 400-meter run in 54.4 seconds behind Russian Vera Popkowa and Inge Bödding.
• 1972 in Grenoble: Austria wins the bronze medal in the 4-by-1-round relay with Christa Kepplinger, Maria Sykora, Carmen Mähr and Monika Holzschuster .

Top performances

• 100 m: 11.8 s (1970)
• 200 m: 24.0 s (1969)
• 400 m: 52.7 s (1972)
• 800 m: 2: 01.5 min (1972)
• 1500 m: 4: 43.55 min (1974)
• 100 m hurdles 13.6 s (1970)
• 400 m hurdles 57.3 s (1973)
• High jump: 1.77 m (1971)
• Long jump: 6.10 m (1973)
• Shot put: 12.93 m (1973)
• Pentathlon: 5024 points (1971) according to the 1971 table (14.0 s / 12.26 m / 1.75 m / 6.02 m / 24.6 s)

Awards

In 1975 she received the Sports Badge of Honor from the City of St. Pölten.

literature

• Erich Kamper and Karl Graf: Austria's athletics in names and numbers . Graz 1986 ISBN 3-7011-7169-6

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A life under the sign of youth. ( Memento of October 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). PDF, on the occasion of Maria Sykora's 60th birthday, accessed on February 20, 2011.