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Medal record
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Thomas Munkelt (born 3 August 1952) is a retiredEast Germanathlete, winner of 110 m hurdles at the1980 Summer Olympics.
Born inZedtlitz,Bezirk Leipzig,East Germany, Thomas Munkelt was a classic high hurdler who dominated European hurdling in the 1970s and early 1980s. Munkelt was the first athlete to break the 7.50 seconds barrier in the 60m hurdles, when he ran a 7.48 seconds World Record in Budapest in 1983.
Munkelt came into the international athletics scene in 1975 when he won his first of nine East German national championship title and European Cup in 110 m hurdles. Although he finished disappointing fifth at the1976 Summer Olympics, he won both World Cup and European Cup in 1977. The first international championships medal came, when Munkelt finished first at the1978 European Championships.
Munkelt's career highlight came at theMoscow Olympics, where he beat second placedAlejandro Casañas fromCuba by 0.01 seconds. He also was a member of fifth placed 4 × 100 mrelay team.[1] He defended his title successfully at the1982 European Championships and won silver as a member of a4x100 relay team. He won again the European Cup in the next year, but finished only fifth at thefirst World Championships.
After hearing the East German government's decision to boycott the1984 Summer Olympics, Munkelt decided to retire from athletics.
His personal best was 13.37 seconds, achieved in August 1977 inHelsinki. This ranks him seventh among German 110 m hurdlers, behindFlorian Schwarthoff,Mike Fenner,Eric Kaiser,Falk Balzer,Thomas Blaschek andSven Göhler.[2]
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European Athletics Championships champions in men's110 metres hurdles | |
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