Silke Renk (born 30 June 1967 in

Querfurt Querfurt () is a town in the Saalekreis district, or ''Kreis'', in southern Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is located in a fertile area on the Querne, west from Merseburg. In 2020, the town had a population of 10,454. The town Querfurt consists of Q ...

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 19 ...

) is a retired German

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown as far as possible. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's de ...

er. She represented East Germany at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

, where she finished fifth, and at the 1990 European Championships where she finished fourth. She then experienced her career highlight as she won the gold medal at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a pop ...

. Renk won with a throw of 68.34 meters, defeating

Natalya Shikolenko Natalya Shikolenko (; 1 August 1964 – 15 May 2025) was a javelin thrower who represented the Soviet Union and later Belarus. She won an Olympic silver medal and a World Championship gold. Shikolenko died on 15 May 2025, at the age of 60. Her ...

, who took home the silver medal, and compatriot Karen Forkel. The next year she finished sixth at the 1993 World Championships. She withdrew from the 1994 European Championships because of

knee injury In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

problems, and never reached another international final despite starting at the 1995 World Championships and the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. Her personal best was 71.00 metres with the old javelin type, achieved in June 1988 in

Rostock Rostock (; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Roztoc''), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (), is the largest city in the German States of Germany, state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the sta ...

. This ranks her third among German javelin throwers, only behind Petra Felke (who held the

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

) and Antje Kempe.

Achievements

References

External links

* * * 1967 births Living people People from Querfurt Athletes from Bezirk Halle German female javelin throwers Olympic athletes for East Germany Olympic athletes for Germany Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Germany World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf FISU World University Games gold medalists for East Germany World Rowing Championships medalists for Germany Medalists at the 1989 Summer Universiade 20th-century German sportswomen East German female javelin throwers SC Chemie Halle athletes {{Germany-athletics-Olympic-medalist-stub