Silke Möller (née Gladisch, born 20 June 1964) is a German athlete, who in the 1980s competed for East Germany as one of the best female sprinters in the world. She was a member of the East German quartet that broke the world record in the 4 × 100 m relay at the World cup in Canberra on 6 October 1985. She and teammates Sabine Rieger, Marlies Göhr, and Ingrid Auerswald ran a time of 41.37 seconds, which stood as the world record until 2012. She is the 1987 World champion at both 100 metres and 200 metres.

Silke Möller

Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  East Germany
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1988 Seoul 4 × 100 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1983 Helsinki 4 × 100 m relay
Gold medal – first place 1987 Rome 100 m
Gold medal – first place 1987 Rome 200 m
Silver medal – second place 1987 Rome 4 × 100 m relay
Silke Gladisch (left) with Sabine Rieger in (1986)

Biography

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Moller was born in Stralsund, Bezirk Rostock (present-day Mecklenburg-Vorpommern). During her career she often stood in the shadows of Göhr, Marita Koch, and Heike Drechsler. Only in 1987, while still using her maiden name Gladisch, did she come into her own: at the track and field world championship of 1987 she won two titles – in the 100 m sprint and the 200 m sprint, as well as second place with the 4 × 100 m relay team. With these results she was chosen as the East German sportswoman of the year.

Möller's 200m final performance at Rome in 1987 was exceptionally fast, she stopped the clock at 21.74 seconds. She had won the race by several meters and defeated a world class field including Florence Griffith and Merlene Ottey. Her time of 21.74 seconds was only just outside the then world record of 21.71 held by Marita Koch and Heike Drechsler.

At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul she won the silver medal as a member of the East German 4 × 100 m relay team (she had at that time taken the name Möller).

In 1992 she was implicated with Katrin Krabbe and Grit Breuer in a doping scandal, but was later cleared by the International Athletic Federation (IAAF). Shortly before the 1992 Summer Olympics she quit her athletic career and began to study history in Rostock. She worked as a history and sports teacher. She has a daughter.

Möller represented the Empor Rostock sport club and trained under Wolfgang Meier (Marita Koch's coach and now husband). While she was actively competing, she was 1.63 metres tall and weighed 57 kilograms.

Achievements

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   East Germany
1983 World Championships Helsinki, Finland semifinal 100 m 11.30
1st 4 × 100 m 41.76
1984 Friendship Games Prague, Czechoslovakia 4th 100 m 11.10
1985 World Indoor Games Paris, France 1st 60 m 7.20
European Indoor Indoor Championships Piraeus, Greece 4th 60 m 7.24
World Cup Canberra, Australia 1st 4 × 100 m 41.37
1986 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 3rd 60 m 7.14
European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany 4th 100 m 11.09
3rd 200 m 22.49
1st 4 × 100 m 41.84
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy 1st 100 m 10.90
1st 200 m 21.74
2nd 4 × 100 m 41.95
1988 European Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 2nd 60 m 7.05
Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea semifinal 100 m 11.12
5th 200 m 22.09
2nd 4 × 100 m 42.09
1989 World Cup Barcelona, Spain 3rd 100 m 11.24
1st 200 m 22.46
1st 4 × 100 m 42.21
1990 European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 2nd 100 m 11.10
1st 4 × 100 m 41.68

Other results

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  • 1981 Junior European champion in the 4 × 100 m relay (43.77 seconds)
  • 1985 European Cup: winner in the 4 × 100 m relay
  • 1987 European Cup winner in the 200 m and 4 × 100 m relay

See also

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Awards
Preceded by East German Sportswoman of the Year
1987
Succeeded by
Sporting positions
Preceded by Women's 200m Best Year Performance
1987
Succeeded by