Ruth Fuchs, née Gamm (born December 14, 1946 in Egeln

Egeln

Egeln is a town in the Salzlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river Bode, approx. 15 km northwest of Staßfurt, and 25 km southwest of Magdeburg....

, Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt

Saxony-Anhalt is a landlocked state of Germany. Its capital is Magdeburg and it is surrounded by the German states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Saxony, and Thuringia.Saxony-Anhalt covers an area of...

) is a German politician and former athlete. Fuchs, representing East Germany, was the winner of the women's javelin at the 1972 (Munich)

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....

 and 1976 (Montreal) Olympic Games

1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in 1976. Montreal was awarded the rights to the 1976 Games on May 12, 1970, at the 69th IOC Session in Amsterdam, over the bids of Moscow and...

. She set the world record for the javelin six times during the 1970s.

Her personal best throw was 69.96 metres with the old javelin type, achieved in April 1980 in Split

Split (city)

Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...

. This ranks her seventh among German old-type-javelin throwers, behind Petra Felke

Petra Felke

Petra Meier, nee Felke is a former German track and field athlete and Olympic champion who represented East Germany....

 (who held 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....

), Antje Kempe, Silke Renk

Silke Renk

Silke Renk is a retired javelin thrower from Germany.She represented East Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics, where she finished fifth, and at the 1990 European Championships where she finished fourth.She then experienced her career highlight as she won the gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics...

, Beate Koch

Beate Koch

Beate Koch is a former German athlete who competed mainly in the women's javelin throw event during her career. She competed for East Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, South Korea where she won the bronze medal in the women's javelin throw competition.-Achievements:-References:*...

, Karen Forkel

Karen Forkel

Karen Forkel is a German track and field athlete and an Olympic medal winner. In the 1990s she was among the world's best javelin throwers. Her biggest success came in the 1992 Summer Olympics when she took the bronze medal with a throw of 66.86 meters.Her personal best throw with the...

 and Tanja Damaske

Tanja Damaske

Tanja Damaske is a former female javelin thrower from Germany, best known for winning the gold medal at the 1998 European Championships in Budapest, Hungary. A year earlier she gained the bronze medal at the World Championships. A five-time German champion in the women's javelin throw, she retired...

.

Ruth Fuchs has admitted using steroids during her career, as part of the official East German sports programme.

After retirement Fuchs became a member of Parliament for the Party of Democratic Socialism (now the Left Party

Left Party (Germany)

The Party of Democratic Socialism was a democratic socialist political party active in Germany from 1989 to 2007. It was the legal successor to the Socialist Unity Party , which ruled the German Democratic Republic until 1990. From 1990 through to 2005, the PDS had been seen as the left-wing...

) in the re-united Germany.