German sprinter (1964–2013)
Helga Arendt (24 April 1964 – 11 March 2013)[1] [2] was a West German sprinter who competed mainly in the 400 metres .[3]
Biography
Arendt was born in Cologne , North Rhine-Westphalia . In 1987 she finished fourth at the 1987 European Indoor Championships , only 0.01 second behind bronze medalist Cristina Pérez .[4] Later that year she competed at the 1987 World Championships . In the 4 x 400 metres relay she finished fifth with teammates Ute Thimm , Gudrun Abt and Gisela Kinzel . She also competed in the individual 400 metres distance, but did not reach the final round of competition.
On 20 February the next year Arendt helped set a world indoor record of 1:32.55 minutes in the 4 x 200 metres relay, with Silke Knoll , Mechthild Kluth and Gisela Kinzel of the sports club SC Eintracht Hamm . At the 1988 European Indoor Championships she won a silver medal in the 400 metres, placing between East Germans Petra Müller and Dagmar Neubauer .[5] At the 1988 Olympic Games she finished seventh in the 400 metres [6] and fourth in the 4 × 400 m relay , with Ute Thimm, Andrea Thomas and Gudrun Abt.
In 1989 came the highlight of Arendt's career as she won the gold medal at the World Indoor Championships . She finished ahead of American Diane Dixon , who had finished fifth at the Olympics,[6] with a margin of 0.25 seconds.[7] At the 1990 European Championships , however, Arendt was again knocked out before the final round of the 400 metres competition , only reaching the semi-final.[8] She finished fourth in the 4 x 400 metres relay with teammates Karin Janke , Andrea Thomas and Silke Knoll.
Arendt represented the sports clubs Pulheimer SC , ASV Köln , SC Eintracht Hamm and LG Olympia Dortmund during her active career. She became West German champion in 1988 and 1989,[9] as well as West German indoor champion in 1987, 1988 and 1989.[10] Her personal best times were 23.13 in the 200 metres, achieved in July 1988 in Frankfurt am Main ,[11] and 50.36 in the 400 metres, achieved in the 1988 Olympic semi-final in Seoul .[12]
Arendt was 1.78 metres tall; during her active career she weighed 66 kilograms.
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