Marita Koch 400m 48.16 Prague Friendship Games 1984 + interview Kocembová Kratochvilová

17 August 1984 Praha
International, Friendship Games, Strahov Stadium
400m Women final A
1. 48.16 Marita Koch GDR (34.68 at 300m, WB)
2. 48.73 Taťána Kocembová TCH (35.14)
3. 49.52 Olga Vladykina URS
4. 49.89 Marya Pinigina URS
5. 49.94 Jarmila Kratochvílová TCH
6. 50.85 Rositsa Stamenova BUL
7. 50.96 Kirsten Emmelmann GDR
8. 51.94 Ana-Fidelia Quirot CUB
Although Friendship Games officials denied that the Games were a counter-Olympic event to avoid conflicts with the International Olympic Committee, the competition was often dubbed the Eastern Bloc's "alternative Olympics". (Wikipedia).
Athletes learned in May 1984 that they would be barred to competed at the Olympic Games due to the boycott. Druzhba-84 in Moscow (men) and Prague (women) was not really a consolation... Their motivation suffered but athletes still managed to produce outstanding performances, often surpassing results achieved by their Western-world rivals in Los Angeles a few days earlier.
That was the case for women’s 400m. Valerie Brisco-Hooks won the Olympic title in 48.83. But Marita Koch was even faster, beating the top 3 from the previous year’s world championships :
« Today, first of all, I needed to win. In advance, my coach and I carefully planned the race tactics. It was decided to start the race extremely fast. And my tactical recipe turned out to be correct. It ensured my victory. I cannot but be satisfied with the result of 48.16. It is only one hundredth of a second behind my GDR record, which I set in Athens at the European Championships. I hope that next year Yarmila Kratochvilova and I will be in good shape and delight athletics fans with our performances. »
(Translated from Legkaya Atletika 10/1984)

[@Ants_Kiel]

Die Wettkämpfe Mitte August 1984 in Prag (Frauen) und Moskau (Männer) wurden nach dem Olympia-Boykott organisiert. Die 400 Meter der Frauen waren nach der Weltmeisterschaft 1983 (Jarmila Kratochvilova mit Weltrekord - Marita Koch startete im Sprint) ein Prestige-Rennen. Marita Koch eroberte hier wieder die Spitzenposition, welche sie bis 1986 inne hatte.

[@Jess-vb6mz]

Excellent merci beaucoup

[@stephentooth]

Fantastic X been waiting years xx

[@stephentooth]

The best ever

[@bodystorm]

Fantastic footage. I wonder if sub 48.00 was the real goal here.

[@minavamp2811]

yes she was trying to break kratochvilova world record who took it away from her in 1983, and she couldn't get it back until 1985 a year after this race.

[@Ants_Kiel]

Sind auch die 100 Meter der Frauen am 16.08.1984 mit dem Sieg von Marlies Göhr in 10,95 s vor Ludmilla Kondratjewa (11,02 s) zum Einstellen hier vorhanden? Das würde mich freuen...

[@orlandoduran9850]

Me extraño que halla metido la cabeza en la llegada quizás bajaba los 48

[@alanmoskowitz5779]

Better times through chemistry. No drug testing era.

[@minavamp2811]

neither did the 1984 olympics. to say that there were no drug testing, then that is not true. there were in competition testing, and no out of competition testing. out of competiotion testing were not implemented until 1989. so a lot of athletes dope and cycle themselves so by the time comes to competitions they can be clean.

[@orlandoduran9850]

It is one of the few races in which MARITA KOCH. He didn't put his head into the finish line. If he had done so, he would have dropped the 48

[@greg434]

Marita is a mother ....She has a daughtet