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Renate Stecher (, ; née Meißner, born 12 May 1950) is a German (former East Germany) sprint runner and a triple Olympic Games champion. She held 34 world records and was the first woman to run 100 metres within 11 seconds.
In 1970 she was the World Student Games Champion in both the 100 and 200 metres.
Renate won five national 100m titles 1970-75. She also won the 200 on 4 occasions.
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 hurdling 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.
Stecher also won the 200 m. Wilma van den Berg of the Netherlands had qualified for the semifinals, and the 23.22 that she ran in the quarterfinals was faster than the time in the quarterfinals of Stecher. However, after the killing of 11 Israeli athletes in the Munich Massacre, and the Olympics not being cancelled, van den Berg withdrew from the competition in sympathy with the Israeli victims. She said that she was leaving in protest of the "obscene" decision to continue with the Olympic Games.John Bale (2004). Running Cultures; Racing in Time and Space
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.
At the 1976 Summer Olympics, Stecher again competed in the three sprint events, winning medals in all three once again. She was beaten for the 100 m title by Annegret Richter, and came third in a 200 m race with five German women in the first five positions. With the 4 × 100 m relay team they beat West Germany, taking revenge for the race four years earlier.
In 2011 Stecher was inducted into the Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.
Retirement
Following the release of East German secret service files, it was revealed that many of the country's athletes were involved with a state-sponsored drug program. The files document that Stecher had wanted to step down her drug use after the 1972 Olympics, so that she could safely have children.McDonald, Margie (15 April 2009). Too little too late, as Raelene Boyle slams East German drug coaches. The Australian. Retrieved on 22 May 2009. Raelene Boyle, who had finished second to Stecher in both the 100 and 200 metres at the Olympics, stated that she felt cheated, as she believed it unlikely that Stecher would have beaten her without the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Raelene Boyle. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (26 February 2004). Retrieved on 22 May 2009.
Categories: 1950 Births, Living People, East German Female Sprinters, Athletes At The 1972 Summer Olympics, Athletes At The 1976 Summer Olympics, Olympic Athletes For East Germany, Olympic Gold Medalists For East Germany, Olympic Silver Medalists For East Germany, Olympic Bronze Medalists For East Germany, World Record Setters In Athletics, Recipients Of The Patriotic Order Of Merit, European Athletics Championships Medalists, Medalists At The 1976 Summer Olympics, Medalists At The 1972 Summer Olympics, Olympic Gold Medalists In Athletics, Olympic Silver Medalists In Athletics, Olympic Bronze Medalists In Athletics, Universiade Medalists In Athletics, Fisu World University Games Gold Medalists For East Germany, Medalists At The 1970 Summer Universiade, Olympic Female Sprinters, People From Torgau, Athletes From Bezirk Leipzig, East German Athletics Championships Winners
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