Petra Schersing, née Müller (born 18 October 1965 in Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg

Quedlinburg is a town located north of the Harz mountains, in the district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. In 1994 the medieval court and the old town was set on the UNESCO world heritage list....

) is a retired East German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres

400 metres

The 400 metres, or 400 metre dash, is a common sprinting event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 . On a standard outdoor running track, it is exactly one lap around the track. Runners start in staggered positions and...

. She won eight medals in the 400 metres and 4 x 400 m relay in international competitions.

At the 1986 European Championships

1986 European Championships in Athletics

The 14th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 to 31 August 1986 at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart, a city in West Germany.-Track:1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994-Field:1978 | 1982 | 1986 | 1990 | 1994-Track:...

 Schersing won a bronze medal in the individual distance and a gold medal in relay, with teammates Kirsten Emmelmann

Kirsten Emmelmann

Kirsten Emmelmann, née Siemon , is a former German track and field athlete who represented East Germany in the 1980s in the 400 meter sprint. Her biggest success came as a member of the 4x400 meter relay: in 1987 she was world champion, and at the 1988 Summer Olympics her team was third...

, Sabine Busch

Sabine Busch

Sabine Busch is a retired East German athlete who specialized in the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles. She was born in Erfurt.At the 1982 European Championships she finished fourth in the 400 metres hurdles, but won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay together with teammates Kirsten...

 and Marita Koch

Marita Koch

Marita Koch , is a former sprint track and field athlete...

. At the 1987 World Championships

1987 World Championships in Athletics

The 2nd World Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations were held in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy between August 28 and September 6, 1987.-Track:1983 | 1987 | 1991 | 1993 | 1995...

 Schersing won a silver medal in 400 m as well as another relay gold medal.

At the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 she won the silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 in the 400 m, between Soviets

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 Olga Bryzgina

Olga Bryzgina

Olha Bryzhina is a retired athlete who represented USSR and later Ukraine. She trained at Dynamo in Voroshilovgrad. Competing in the 400 metres and 4 x 400 metres relay, she was a particularly successful Olympian with three gold medals and one silver. At the 1988 Olympics the Soviet relay team...

 (gold

Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...

) and Olga Nazarova

Olga Nazarova

Olga Nazarova is a retired athlete who competed mainly in the 400 metres. She represented the Soviet Union.She competed for the USSR in the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea in the 400m where she won the bronze medal...

 (bronze

Bronze medal

A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...

). She also won the bronze medal in the 4 x 400 m relay, with teammates Dagmar Neubauer-Rübsam

Dagmar Neubauer-Rübsam

Dagmar Neubauer, née Rübsam is a retired German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres.At the 1982 European Championships she finished sixth in the 400 metres, but won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay together with teammates Kirsten Siemon, Sabine Busch and Marita Koch...

, Emmelmann and Busch.

At the 1990 European Championships

1990 European Championships in Athletics

The 15th European Athletics Championships were held from 26 August to 2 September 1990 in Split, a city in Croatia .It was the last participation of East Germany ....

 Schersing won a silver medal in the individual distance and a gold medal in relay, with new teammates Annett Hesselbarth

Annett Hesselbarth

Annett Hesselbarth is a retired German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres.At the 1990 European Championships in Athletics in Split she finished fourth in 400 m and won the 4x400 m relay for East Germany together with Grit Breuer, Manuela Derr and Petra Schersing...

, Grit Breuer

Grit Breuer

Grit Breuer is a former East German athlete, who competed in the women's 200m, 400m, 4x100m, and 4x400m events....

 and Manuela Derr

Manuela Derr

Manuela Derr, married Rödel is a retired East German sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres....

.

Her personal best time in the 400 metres was 49.30 seconds, achieved in June 1988 in Jena

Jena

Jena is a university city in central Germany on the river Saale. It has a population of approx. 103,000 and is the second largest city in the federal state of Thuringia, after Erfurt.-History:Jena was first mentioned in an 1182 document...

. This places her third on the German all-time list, only behind Marita Koch

Marita Koch

Marita Koch , is a former sprint track and field athlete...

 and Sabine Busch

Sabine Busch

Sabine Busch is a retired East German athlete who specialized in the 400 metres and the 400 metres hurdles. She was born in Erfurt.At the 1982 European Championships she finished fourth in the 400 metres hurdles, but won a gold medal in the 4 x 400 metres relay together with teammates Kirsten...

.

Schersing represented the sports club SC Chemie Halle and was coached by Harald Werner. She is married to fellow Olympic sprinter Mathias Schersing.