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Ruth Fuchs, GDR javelin ace turned German politician, dies

September 20, 2023

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Ruth Fuchs died in a Jena hospital Wednesday, according to her family. The East German athlete later confessed to doping and served in the East German and reunified German parliaments.

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Ruth Fuchs competes in the Olympic javelin competition at the 1972 Munich games
'The Woman With the Iron Arm,' Fuchs dominated women's javelin throughout the 1970sImage: SVEN SIMON/picture alliance

Ruth Fuchs, a two-time East German (GDR) Olympic gold medalist and prominent federal and state politician in Germany, has died at the age of 76, according to her family.

The news was confirmed by political allies from the Left Party in her home state of Thuringia in eastern Germany.

Fuchs, known as "The Woman With the Iron Arm," was the first woman to ever throw a javelin beyond 60 meters (197 feet) and won gold at the 1972 Munich and 1976 Montreal Games.

In a career that spanned from 1967 to 1980, she attained a personal best just shy of 70 meters with a throw of 69.94 — using an older javelin design abandoned in the 1980s that allowed slightly longer throws.

After ending her sports career, Fuchs became a member of East Germany's last parliament in 1990 before becoming a parliamentarian in reunified Germany's Bundestag as a member of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), which later became the Left Party.

Fuchs was the first Olympic medalist to serve in the Bundestag, where she was active until 2002. She then became a member of the state parliament of Thuringia, representing the Left party from 2004 to 2009.

Ruth Fuchs smiles as she looks into the camera for a photo at her home in 2016
Ruth Fuchs served as a federal and state parliamentarian in both former East Germany and in reunified GermanyImage: Martin Schutt/dpa/picture alliance

'Ruth didn't mince her words'

In 1994, Fuchs, who dominated javelin throughout the 1970s, openly admitted that she had used steroids during her career.

Fuchs said that, in her view, the only difference between doping in the East and West was that it had been state-organized in the East, whereas it was a free-for-all in the West.

Fuchs' second husband, coach Karl Hellmann, was known as an East German doping specialist.

In politics, she was known as a "fighter for equality" by her colleagues.

Thuringia's Left Party Chairman Dietmar Bartsch released a statement Wednesday on X, formerly Twitter, saying: "Ruth didn't mince her words. She was reliable, honest. Her heart was in the right place."

After reunification, Fuchs said of the former East German system: "Those who don't regret the demise of the GDR don't have a heart — those who want the GDR back don't have a brain."

Ruth Fuchs died of undisclosed causes at the University Hospital of Jena early Wednesday morning.

js/msh (AFP, dpa)