Margareta Simu (born 2 May 1953 in

Västerås Västerås ( , , ) is a city in central Sweden on the shore of Mälaren, Lake Mälaren in the province of Västmanland, west of Stockholm. The city had a population of 127,799 at the end of 2019, out of the municipal total of 154,049. Västerås ...

) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

former

racewalking Racewalking, or race walking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Referee, Race judges careful ...

athlete. She competed three times at the

IAAF World Race Walking Cup The World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships is a racewalking event organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations. It has been held since 1961, and generally on a biennial basis. Women first entered the 1979 edition. ...

and was the winner in 1975 and bronze medallist in 1977. On her last appearance in 1979 she placed eighth. Simu broke world racewalking records several times. She set a 10 km walk world record of 51:01 minutes in 1972, finally improving on Stina Lindberg's near-30-year-old time. She bettered this to 49:04 minutes in 1976 and again to 48:53 minutes in 1978. Norwegian

Thorill Gylder Thorill Gylder (born 5 May 1958) is a Norwegian female former racewalking athlete and speaker. A member of Vansjø/Svinndal IL sports club, she competed from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. She competed three times at the IAAF World Race Walking ...

took that honour away from her in 1978 with a new best of 48:40 minutes. Simu's time of 1:47:10 hours, set in 1973, was a 20 km walk world record for nearly four years. She also broke the world indoor record for the 3000 m on four occasions (between 1974 and 1978). Simu was a three-time medallist at the

Nordic Race Walking Championships The Nordic Race Walking Championships ( no, Nordisk mesterskap i kappgang) is an annual racewalking competition between athletes from the Nordic countries organised by Nordic Athletics. Established in 1957, it was a biennial competition until 20 ...

, wither her best result being a gold medal in 1975. She was twice champion at the short-lived

Nordic Indoor Race Walking Championships The Nordic Indoor Race Walking Championships ( no, Nordisk mesterskap i kappgang innendørs) was a biennial one-day competition in indoor racewalking between athletes from the Nordic countries organised by Nordic Athletics. Established in 1974, ...

, topping the podium in the 3000 m walk in 1974 and 1978, as well as taking bronze behind Siv Gustafsson and Elisabeth Olsson in 1976.Nordic Indoor Race Walking Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-04-16. She was a seven-time Swedish national champion in racewalking, at distances from 3000 m to 10 km.
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2016-04-16.

International competitions

National titles

Swedish Athletics Championships The Swedish Athletics Championships ( sv, Svenska mästerskapen i friidrott) is an annual outdoor track and field competition organised by the Swedish Athletics Association, which serves as the national championship for the sport in Sweden.

**3000 m walk: 1971, 1975 **5000 m walk: 1974, 1975, 1976 **10 km walk: 1974, 1975

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simu, Margareta Living people 1953 births Swedish female racewalkers World record setters in athletics (track and field) World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships winners Sportspeople from Västerås