Rita Wilden, née Jahn (born 9 October 1947 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

) is a German athlete, who competed mainly in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. She competed for

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

in the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

held in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

in the 400 metres where she won the silver medal. Later on in the same Games she helped her teammates Anette Rückes, Inge Bödding and Hildegard Falck to a bronze in the first Olympic women's 4 × 400 m relay. Previously as Rita Jahn she had competed in the

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 slight ...

and on the West German 4 × 100 m relay team at the 1968 Olympics, the team finishing 6th. 1976 was her third and last Olympics, making the semi-final round in the 400, and her team finishing 5th in the 4 × 400. She achieved a silver medal on the West German 4 × 100 metres relay team at the 1969 European Championships and a bronze medal at the 1974 European Championships.

References

External links

''Sporting Heroes - Biography''
1947 births Living people West German female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for West Germany Olympic silver medalists for West Germany Olympic bronze medalists for West Germany Athletes from Leipzig European Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic bronze medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic female sprinters West German Athletics Championships winners {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub