Petra Schersing (née Müller, born 18 July 1965 in Quedlinburg) is a retired East German sprinter who specialised in the 400 metres. She represented sports club SC Chemie Halle and was coached by Harold Werner. At the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, she won a silver medal in the 400 metres and a bronze medal in the 4×400 metres relay.

Petra Schersing

Schersing in 1988
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  East Germany
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1988 Seoul 400 m
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Seoul 4 × 400 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1987 Rome 4 × 400 m relay
Silver medal – second place 1987 Rome 400 m

Biography

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As Petra Muller, she first achieved international recognition, when she became the 1983 European Junior Champion at 400 metres. She also won a gold medal in the 4 × 400 m relay.

In 1986, at the European Indoor Championships, she won a silver medal behind teammate Sabine Busch. Later that year at the European Championships in Stuttgart, she won a bronze medal in the individual 400 metres and a gold medal in the relay, with teammates Kirsten Emmelmann, Sabine Busch and Marita Koch.

At the 1987 World Indoor Championships in Indianapolis, she surprisingly failed to reach the final. At the 1987 World Championships in Rome she won a silver medal in the 400 m behind Olga Bryzgina as well as another relay gold medal alongside Dagmar Neubauer, Emmelmann and Busch.

Muller won her biggest individual title in 1988, when she became the European Indoor Champion in 50.28 secs, which at the time ranked her fourth on the indoor all-time list. At the 1988 Olympics she won the silver medal in the 400 m, between Soviets Olga Bryzgina (gold) and Olga Nazarova (bronze). She also won the bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay, with teammates Neubauer, Emmelmann and Busch.

In 1990, now competing as Petra Schersing, she won a silver medal at the European Championships in Split, finishing behind her teenage teammate Grit Breuer and won a gold medal in the relay, with new teammates Manuela Derr, Annett Hesselbarth and Breuer.

Schersing's personal best time in the 400 metres is 49.30 seconds, achieved in June 1988 in Jena, which at that time placed her tenth on the all-time list. She won the East German National 400 m title three times (1986–1988) and twice won the East German indoor 400 m title (1986, 1988).

As of 2013, Schersing's Outdoor best (49.30) is 21st on the World all-time list and third on the German all-time list, only behind Marita Koch and Sabine Busch.,[1] while her indoor best (50.28) is tenth on the World indoor all-time list and second on the German indoor all-time list, behind Sabine Busch.

In October 1988, she married fellow Olympic sprinter Mathias Schersing.[2]

International competitions

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   East Germany
1983 European Junior Championships Schwechat, Austria 1st 400 m 51.79 secs
1st 4 × 400 m 3:30.44
1986 European Indoor Championships Madrid, Spain 2nd 400 m 51.59
1986 European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany 3rd 400 m 49.88
1st 4 × 400 m 3:16.87
1987 World Indoor Championships Indianapolis, United States semifinal 400 m 52.92
1987 World Championships Rome, Italy 2nd 400 m 49.94
1st 4 × 400 m 3:18.63
1988 European Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary 1st 400 m 50.28
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea 2nd 400 m 49.42
3rd 4 × 400 m 3:18.29
1990 European Championships Split, Yugoslavia 2nd 400 m 50.51
1st 4 × 400 m 3:21.02

References

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  1. ^ Top 10 lists in German athletics Archived 29 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine – Deutschen Leichtathletik-Verband
  2. ^ "In einem Satz" [In one sentence]. Berliner Zeitung (in German). Vol. 44, no. 240. 11 October 1988. p. 6. Retrieved 26 November 2018.