Monika DEBERTSHÄUSER

Monika Debertshäuser had her first major international appearance at the 1974 World Championships, when she was ranked 19th over 10 km. After being placed fourth with the relay in the Pre-Olympics in 1975, her greatest moment came winning a relay bronze at the 1976 Winter Olympics. In 1974 and 1976 she was on the East German champion relay team with her club SC Motor Zella-Mehlis. She was briefly married to her teammate Gerd Heßler and started for his home club SC Dynamo Klingenthal but later divorced. After her divorce she returned to her native Thuringia to become a detective with the people’s police (in German: Volkspolizei) in the town of Sonneberg. Later she worked as an investigator in juvenile delinquency in Suhl.