Ruth Fuchs ( Gamm, later Hellmann, 14 December 1946 – 20 September 2023) was a German politician and athlete. Fuchs, representing East Germany, was the winner of the women's javelin at the 1972 (Munich) and 1976 (Montreal) Olympic Games. She set the world record for the javelin six times during the 1970s.
Her personal best throw was 69.96 metres with the old javelin type, achieved in April 1980 in Split. This ranks her seventh among German old-type-javelin throwers, behind Petra Felke (who held the world record), Antje Kempe, Silke Renk, Beate Koch, Karen Forkel, and Tanja Damaske.
Fuchs admitted using steroids during her career, as part of the official East German sports programme.
After retirement from track and field, Fuchs became a member of Parliament for the Party of Democratic Socialism (now the Left Party) in the re-united Germany. After her retirement from public life Fuchs lived in Bucha, Saale-Holzland, in Thuringia, Germany.
Ruth Fuchs died at the University Hospital in Jena on 20 September 2023, at the age of 76.
References
Biography from sporting-heroes.net
1946 births
2023 deaths
People from Salzlandkreis
East German female javelin throwers
Socialist Unity Party of Germany politicians
Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) politicians
Members of the 10th Volkskammer
Members of the Bundestag for Thuringia
Members of the Bundestag 1998–2002
Members of the Bundestag 1994–1998
Members of the Landtag of Thuringia
Female members of the Volkskammer
Female members of the Bundestag
German sportsperson-politicians
Athletes from Saxony-Anhalt
Olympic athletes for East Germany
Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics
German sportspeople in doping cases
Doping cases in athletics
Olympic gold medalists for East Germany
European Athletics Championships medalists
Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold 21st-century German women politicians