Hildegard Falck, née Janze (born 8 June 1949 in Nettelrede) is a retired German

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 athlete who competed mainly in the 800 metres

800 metres

The 800 meter race is a common track running event. It is the shortest common middle distance track event. The 800 meter is run over two laps of the track and has always been an Olympic event. During indoor track season the event is usually run on a 200 meter track, therefore requiring four laps...

.

She competed for West Germany in the 1972 Summer Olympics

1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from August 26 to September 11, 1972....

 held in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 in the 800 m she won the gold medal. In the 4 x 400 metres where she joined with her team mates Anette Rückes

Anette Rückes

Anette Rückes is a German athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.She competed for West Germany in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich in the 4 x 400 metres where she won the bronze medal with her teammates Inge Bödding, Hildegard Falck and Rita Wilden.-References:...

, Inge Bödding

Inge Bödding

Inge Bödding, née Eckhoff is a retired German athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres.She competed for West Germany at the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich where she won the bronze medal in the women's 4 x 400 metres with her teammates Anette Rückes, Hildegard Falck and Rita...

 and Rita Wilden

Rita Wilden

Rita Wilden, née Jahn is a German athlete, who competed mainly in the 400 metres.She competed for West Germany in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich in the 400 metres where she won the silver medal...

 she added a bronze medal to her tally for the Games.

On 11 July 1971 Falck ran the 800 m in 1:58.5 minutes in Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

, becoming the first woman to clock a sub-two minute time. She improved the world record

World records in athletics

World records in the sport of athletics are ratified by the International Association of Athletics Federations. Athletics records comprise the best performances in the sports of track and field, road running and racewalking....

 of Vera Nikolic

Vera Nikolic

Vera Nikolić is a former Serbian track and field athlete and coach...

by two seconds.