Ilke Wyludda, 1996 Olympic discus champion, dies aged 55

German thrower gained gold in Atlanta 1996 plus two European titles within the Nineties and went on to compete within the Paralympics at London 2012

Ilke Wyludda, the 1996 Olympic discus champion and two-time European gold medallist, died on Sunday (Dec 1) aged 55.

She represented East Germany when she gained her first European title in Break up in 1990 however took her second Euro crown for a unified Germany in Helsinki in 1994.

A dominant athlete in the course of the interval, her win in 1990 was a part of a 41 assembly win streak from 1989 to 1991.

In Atlanta in 1996 she additionally threw for Germany to take the Olympic crown with a finest mark of 69.96m.

Ilke Wyludda (centre) in Atlanta 1996 (Mark Shearman)

On the World Championships she completed runner-up in 1991 and 1995. She additionally completed ninth within the 1992 Olympics and seventh on the 2000 Olympics as well as successful her occasion on the World Cup in 1989 and 1994.

“With Ilke Wyludda, a figurehead of German athletics has sadly left us far too early on the age of 55,” stated German Athletics Federation chair Idriss Gonschinska. “The athletics household mourns the lack of a very nice athlete who fought in opposition to accidents and diseases all through her life and but remained dedicated to her sport for many years. The German Athletics Federation and its regional associations want Ilke Wyludda’s household and mates quite a lot of energy in these tough occasions.”

Wyludda’s finest throw of 74.56m sits No.3 on the world all-time rankings. A prodigious teenage thrower, she gained world junior titles in 1986 and 1988 and broke a number of age bests throughout her junior years together with her under-20 better of 74.40m nonetheless the world document for that age group.

Ilke Wyludda (Mark Shearman)

She retired in 2000 after the Sydney Olympics earlier than returning to the aggressive fray in Paralympic sport after having he proper leg amputated in 2011 as a result of sepsis.

In doing so, she grew to become the primary German to compete in each the Olympic Video games and Paralympic Video games in London 2012. She went on to win medals at each the World and European Para Championships earlier than lastly retiring in 2017.

» Subscribe to AW journal right here, try our new podcast right here or signal as much as our digital archive of again points from 1945 to the current day right here

The submit Ilke Wyludda, 1996 Olympic discus champion, dies aged 55 appeared first on AW.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *