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Great Athletes

Renate Stecher

by Rusty Wilson

Sport: Track and field (sprints)

Early Life

Renate Meisner was born on May 12, 1950, in Süptitz, East Germany (now in Germany). Renate was an athletic girl who participated in many different sports while growing up. At thirteen, she started to run in cross-country races but soon discovered that she liked the sprint events better. Although she had a better build for the sprints, they did not come easily for her. She had to work extremely hard to learn the finer points of the events.

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The Road to Excellence

Renate became good enough at the sprints to join the Chemie Sports Club in Torgau, an industrial town on the Elbe River. After a short time, she moved on to the larger Sports Club Motor in Jena. Here, she settled and started to bloom as an athlete.

Renate’s first successes came at the age of sixteen, when she took first place in the 100 meters at the 1966 Spartakiad of Children and Young People, a national sports festival conducted in East Germany. Later, during the 1966 European Junior Games, she was a member of the winning East German 4 100-meter relay team. Noted for her extremely strong build—she was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 152 pounds—she drew the attention of national sports administrators and international track officials.

In the 1968 European Junior Games, Renate showed her growing durability by taking silver medals in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, and the 4 100-meter relay. She also began to explore other events, such as the long jump and the pentathlon, where she totaled 4,297 points.

In 1970, Renate exploded into the international track world when she set her first world record by running the 100 meters in 11.0 seconds. The next year she won both the 100 and 200 meters at the European Outdoor Track and Field Championships. She quickly became noted for her strength and consistency. At the same time, Renate began her studies in physical education in hopes of becoming a coach of young athletes.

The Emerging Champion

The year 1971 was remarkable in Renate’s life for a personal reason: she married her Sports Club Motor Jena teammate Gerd Stecher, a 400-meter hurdles champion. Before December, 1971, Renate competed under her maiden name of Meisner, but after that time the name Renate Stecher graced the record books. Gerd quickly joined Renate’s long-time coach Horst-Dieter Hille in Renate’s training. Th trio’s ability to work together ensured Renate’s continued presence on the top pedestal of the winner’s podium.

In 1972, the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) competed in the Olympic Games for the first time as an independent team. Before, the East German athletes had competed as members of a united German team composed of athletes from both East and West Germany. In the 1972 Games, Renate came to world prominence by taking the gold medal in the 100 meters and the 200 meters. She lost out on the gold in the 4 100-meter relay by .14 second.

Continuing the Story

In Ostrava, Czechoslovakia, on a rainy June 3, 1973, Renate became the first woman in history to break the 11-second barrier in the 100 meters with a time of 10.9 seconds. From August, 1970, to June, 1974, Renate won an unprecedented ninety straight individual outdoor races.

As the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games approached, Renate’s record-setting performances became fewer. Her last of fifteen personal records came on July 21, 1973. In the 1974 European Championships, she took second in both the 100- and 200-meter events to Irena Szewinska from Poland. It became apparent to Renate that she could not continue the strenuous regimen needed to remain the world’s fastest woman. Montreal would be her last Olympic Games.

Reflecting on her string of victories in the early 1970’s, Renate gave a clue about the philosophy that kept her on top. “Whoever believes himself unbeatable, has already half lost,” she said.

In Montreal, Renate faced strong competition from younger sprinters. The finals of the 100 meters were on July 26, 1976. With less than 3 feet separating the first three finishers, Renate took the silver medal behind West Germany’s Annegret Richter and ahead of West Germany’s Inge Helten. Renate’s time was 11.13 seconds. In the 200 meters, Renate finished third with a time of 22.47 seconds. On July 31, Renate won her final Olympic medal, a gold for the 4 100-meter relay. The race ended her Olympic career.

Less than a month later, on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Warsaw, Poland, Renate ran her last race. She won the 200 meters in 22.65 seconds, defeating her teammate, Barbel Eckert, who had won the event in Montreal. After the race, the thousands of spectators in the stadium gave her a standing ovation. Her long-time rival Irena Szewinska presented Renate with a red crystal cup in remembrance of their many confrontations.

Summary

Renate Stecher was a quiet champion who let her actions on the track speak for her. She became a living example to many of what can be done with dedication, a positive attitude, and hard work. As a physical-education teacher and track coach, she passed along those same lessons to German youngsters who wished to follow in her footsteps.

Additional Sources

1 

Wallechinsky, David, and Jaime Loucky. The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition. London: Aurum Press, 2008.

2 

Watman, Mel. Encyclopedia of Track and Field Athletics. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1981.

Citation Types

Type
Format
MLA 9th
Wilson, Rusty. "Renate Stecher." Great Athletes,Salem Press, 2009. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=Athletes_2248.
APA 7th
Wilson, R. (2009). Renate Stecher. Great Athletes. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Wilson, Rusty. "Renate Stecher." Great Athletes. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2009. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.