Marita Koch-European Championships,Prague,1978.Womens 400m.Final -World Record(HQ)

[MrJuha82]

Old event, grea5t to see (=

[JorgeDan75]

OMG! Koch had a male phisique!

[Fatima502]

@JorgeDan75 And yet, she is much less muscular than the likes of Sanya Richards, Christine Ohuruogu and Amantle Montsho. I'm getting fed up of making this point.

[MrJuha82]

@JorgeDan75 You dont need big muscles in that trip, but more muscles which handles well a hard pressure, more endurance and not maxim power. I believe more to running, and not weight lifting with running but without weight lifting u cant win anything big in your career. Normal technique is ok but you dont need to run so so good looking style IMO, Michael Johnson had weird style but he won everything almost in his career,

[StarryPeople]

Why not erase EVERY WR for both men and women because tbh EVERYONE at World Class level is probably dirty. (No one questions Seb Coe's 3 WR's in 41 days followed by mystery illnesses, or MJ's 400 WR at age 32)

Tbh WR's (national records etc etc) are meaningless anyway, as from generation to generation the athletes DON'T run in the same shoes or even more importantly don't run on the same surfaces !!!

Just admire Koch for what she is, a legend.

[dehart5]

Koch was on steriods very early probably in 76, not uncommon for the east germans to start early with a promising talent. Her best time would have been around 50 flat without drugs in her mid twenties but that would be about the max.  These times are ridiculous since today's top sprinters have much better form and training techniques and still can't match these times. You never hear of someone setting this many records so many times in a year. Her quick exit, muscle tear, etc are key to drugs

[vhickerson]

@crazyboyxx CHURCH!!! Thank you!!! I mean seriously, Koch has had the 400 meter record for more than 30 years. How could anyone think that an east german athlete was steroid free back then. I hate the way she's thought of as a great champion and Flojo is considered the evil queen of cheaters when neither was ever a confirmed user.

[21031969100]

serdeczne pozdrowienia dla pani marity koch , wielkie podziękowania za znakomitą urodę , wielkie podziękowania dla sportowców Niemieckiej  Republiki Demokratycznej

[jjfcal]

Koch did not go from 51.45 to 48.94.

She was in high 51's in 1977 (aged 18). She did 50,5 in 1976 (aged 19), 49,56 in 1977 (aged 20) and she did 49.13, 49.03 and 48.94 in 1978 (aged 21). She is a clear example of progression season after season. She was not the come-out-of-the-blue style ahtlete at all. Please look up the statistics before posting.

[MrSpitz13]

Great champion... but going from your best of 51:45 to WR of 48.94 did not raised an eye brows, I don't know what would. Szewinska got beatten for silver at the end, reacting a bit too late to Brehmer's surge. Ah, the good old age sneaks up on you. I realize people train hard for olympic games and such,and you have to respect their dilligence, but to win with the help of chemicals reduces their records to a joke, after all.

[Mark5058]

And yet, ewana85, she is much less muscular than the likes of Sanya Richards, Christine Ohuruogu and Amantle Montsho

[brendel99]

@Mark5058 I was just thinking that. She doesn't look like she's on steroids, actually a lot of those East European track girls don't. They almost look unconditioned by today's standards.

[ewana85]

Either a cheat or a man

[ollie705]

three separate races