Gunhild HOFFMEISTER

Middle-distance runner Gunhild Hoffmeister became the only German Olympian (as of 2014) to win three Olympic medals as a distance runner. She won the bronze medal in the 800 and the silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 1972 München Olympics and again won silver in the 1500 four years later in Montréal. At the European Championships she won five medals: 1971 1500 silver, 1974 800 silver and 1500 gold, and 1972 indoor gold and 1974 indoor bronze in the 800. In 1973 she won the European Cup after placing second in 1970. Domestically she won 15 East German titles and two indoor ones. In 1972 she set a world record in the 1000, adding two 4x800 relay world records in 1969 and 1976.

Hoffmeister was educated as a sports teacher and became deputy chief of the Children and Youth School in Cottbus. She was politically active as a Member of East German Parliament from 1971-76. Until 1990 she was a Board Member of the East German Sports Federation DTSB. After reunification, she worked as a sports rehabilitation therapist in Berlin. Her daughter Kerstin Hoffmeister also became a middle- and long-distance runner.

Personal Bests: 800 – 1:58.61 (1976); 1500 – 4:01.4 (1976).