Martina Steuk

Martina Steuk (née Kämpfert; born 11 November 1959 in Berlin) is a German former track and field athlete who represented East Germany. She specialized in the 800 metres and occasionally competed in the 400 metres.

Early Career and Junior Success

Steuk began her athletic career with the Berliner TSC club. Her first major success came at the 1977 European Athletics Junior Championships in Donetsk, where she won the 800 m title with a time of 2:01.7 minutes.

Olympic and International Career

At the 1980 Moscow Olympics, Steuk reached the 800 m final and placed fourth in a lifetime best of 1:56.21, finishing behind the Soviet trio of Nadiya Olizarenko (who broke the world record), Olga Mineyeva, and Tatyana Providokhina. In 1981, she won the 800 m at the European Cup in Zagreb. At the 1981 IAAF World Cup in Rome, she earned a silver medal in the 800 m behind Lyudmila Veselkova and a gold medal with the East German 4 × 400 metres relay team. She ranked second in the world for the 800 m in 1981 with a time of 1:57.16. In 1982, she won a silver medal at the European Athletics Indoor Championships in Milan, finishing second to Romania's Doina Melinte, and topped the world indoor rankings that season with 1:59.24 minutes.

National Titles and Records

Steuk was a three-time East German national champion, winning the 800 m at the outdoor championships in 1981 and 1982, and the indoor 800 m title in 1982. She holds one of the fastest times for the 1000 metres at 2:30.85 minutes (set in 1980), which was the second fastest ever at the time and remained the fastest electronically recorded time for ten years. It remains the best mark by an under-23 athlete. She also holds the under-23 best for the 600 metres with 1:24.56 minutes.

Personal Life and Honors

Steuk was born in East Berlin. She married East German hammer thrower Roland Steuk in 1991; the couple later divorced. In 1982, she was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit for her athletic achievements.

Personal Bests