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 Felke in 1984 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | German | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Petra Felke 30 July 1959 (1959-07-30) (age 66) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  East Germany Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Track and field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event | Javelin throw | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | SC Motor Jena | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personalbests | WR 80.00 m (1988) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Petra Meier (néeFelke; born 30 July 1959) is a retired Germantrack and field athlete who competed in thejavelin throw. RepresentingEast Germany, she became theOlympic Champion in 1988 and broke theworld record four times between 1985 and 1988. She is the only woman to throw a javelin 80 metres or more, with her world record of 80.00 m (262 ft 5 1⁄2 in). This throw was the world record from 1988 until 1999, when anew javelin design was implemented. She also won the javelin title at the1989 IAAF World Cup and silver medals at theWorld Championships in 1987 and 1991.
Born Petra Felke inSaalfeld,East Germany, she trained withRuth Fuchs atSC Motor Jena. She won the silver medal in the javelin at the1977 European Junior Championships, and went on to succeed Fuchs as her country's top javelin thrower. She finished third at the GDR Championships in 1978 and 1981, and second in 1982 and 1983, before winning the first of six consecutive titles in 1984. She finished ninth in the final at the1983 World Championships in Helsinki, but was prevented from competing at the1984 Los Angeles Olympics due to the Soviet-led boycott. 10 days after the1984 Olympic javelin final, Felke won theFriendship Games title with a throw of 73.30 metres.
Her first world record came on 4 June 1985, when she broke the record twice on the same day, with throws of 75.26 and 75.40 metres. She ended the 1985 season throwing 66.22 metres to finish second behindOlga Gavrilova at theWorld Cup in Canberra. A year later at the1986 European Championships, she threw 72.52 m to win the silver medal behind Great Britain'sFatima Whitbread. Her third world record came on 29 July 1987, when she threw 78.90 metres, but five weeks later at theWorld Championships in Rome, she again finished second to Whitbread, who won with 76.64 m to Felke's 71.76 m.
On 9 September 1988, Felke broke the world record for the fourth time and became the first woman to ever throw the javelin further than 80 metres. The world record throw was officially measured at 80.00 m, exactly. However, the rules in force at the time dictated that measurements had to be rounded down to the nearest 2 cm, so the actual distance could have been up to 80.0199 metres. Two weeks later, she won the gold medal at the1988 Seoul Olympics with a throw of 74.68 metres, with Whitbread winning the silver medal and compatriotBeate Koch winning the bronze. She went on to win the1989 World Cup title in Barcelona, as well as a bronze medal at the1990 European Championships.
In 1991, now competing for a unified Germany and as Petra Meier, she won silver at theWorld Championships in Tokyo with a 68.68 m throw. She concluded her international career at the1992 Barcelona Olympics, where she finished seventh with a disappointing 59.02 m. The javelin specifications were changed in 1999 and the records were restarted, thus Meier's record became eternal. As of 2023,Barbora Špotáková is the new world record holder with a throw of 72.28 m.
All results regarding Javelin
| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing East Germany | |||||
| 1977 | European Junior Championships | Donetsk, Soviet Union | 2nd | 57.68 m | |
| 1981 | Universiade | Bucharest, Romania | 1st | 65.20 m | |
| 1982 | European Championships | Athens, Greece | 7th | 65.56 m | |
| 1983 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 9th | 62.02 m | |
| 1984 | Friendship Games | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 1st | 73.30 m | |
| 1985 | World Cup | Canberra, Australia | 2nd | 66.22 m | |
| 1986 | Goodwill Games | Seattle, United States | 1st | 70.78 m | |
| European Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 2nd | 72.52 m | ||
| Grand Prix Final | Rome, Italy | 1st | 70.64 m | ||
| 1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 2nd | 71.76 m | |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 1st | 74.68 m | |
| 1989 | World Cup | Barcelona, Spain | 1st | 70.32 m | |
| 1990 | European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 3rd | 66.56 m | |
| Grand Prix Final | Athens, Greece | 1st | 66.44 m | ||
| Representing Germany | |||||
| 1991 | World Championships | Tokyo, Japan | 2nd | 68.68 m | |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 7th | 59.02 m | |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Women's Javelin Best Year Performance 1984–1985 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Women's Javelin Best Year Performance 1987–1990 | Succeeded by |
