Eugen Ray (26 July 1957, in

Gerbstedt Gerbstedt () is a small town in Saxony-Anhalt, district Mansfeld-Südharz. It was traditionally dominated by of copper mining, presently agriculture is dominant. File:KlosterturmGerbstedt.JPG, Tower of former monastery Gerbstedt File:Rathaus Gerb ...

Bezirk Halle The Bezirk Halle was a district (''Bezirk'') of East Germany. The administrative seat and the main town was Halle. History The district was established, with the other 13, on 25 July 1952, substituting the old German states. After 3 October 1990 ...

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

– 18 January 1986, in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

, East Germany) was an

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

sprinter who ran in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

Biography

Ray established himself in the elite of world sprinting by setting a world junior 100 m record of 10.16 seconds. He was East German 100 metres champion in 1977, 1978, and 1980. In 1978 he also won the East German indoor 60 metres titles, as well as twice indoor 100 metre champion. He was European cup semi finalist 100 metre champion in 1975, 1977, and 1979. And in 1977 he was European cup 100/200 metre winner. After this he then went on to the World Cup held in West Germany where he came second in the 100 metres narrowly beaten by Steve Williams of the USA. He then finished 2nd again with the German sprint relay team. A year later he was European silver medallist in the 100 metres and 4 × 100 metres. In 1980, he went to the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

where he ran in the

, but did not make it past the semi-final. He was in the East German

relay team A relay race is a racing competition where members of a team take turns completing parts of Race track, racecourse or performing a certain action. Relay races take the form of professional races and amateur games. Relay races are common in runni ...

that finished fifth in the final. Ray had a running style that showed brute strength and power and he was often referred to as the "power man" of sprinting by several sports commentators in the late 1970s. He was quite heavy and well muscled compared with most of his opponents and he appeared to "bulldoze" his way along the track. His 100 m personal best was 10.12 seconds. Ray died aged 28 on 18 January 1986 in a car crash whilst working as a traffic officer in East Germany. He was survived by his wife Marlies Ray who at the time was pregnant with their son.

References

External links

*
European Championships
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ray, Eugen 1957 births 1986 deaths People from Mansfeld-Südharz People from Bezirk Halle East German male sprinters Sportspeople from Saxony-Anhalt Olympic athletes of East Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Olympics European Athletics Championships medalists Road incident deaths in Germany

Biography

See also

References

External links