Lina Radke-Batschauer

Born in Karlsruhe, Lina Batschauer moved with her family to Baden-Baden when she was 14-years-old. She started with athletics at the age of 20 and became a member of “Leichtathletik-Verein Baden-Baden 1923.” Specializing in the 1,000 m she won the German championship in 1926 as a member of “SC Baden-Baden.” When the 1,000 m was dropped from the program she won the German title over 800 m in 1927, which brought her the opportunity to be pre-selected for the Olympics. In the same year she married Georg Radke, who was on the managing committee of her club. After the marriage the couple moved to his hometown of Breslau (later Wrocław in Poland). With her husband as coach Radke set 800 m world records in Breslau 1927 and in Brieg (later Brzeg in Poland) 1928. At the Amsterdam Olympics she won the gold medal and set her third world record over 800 m, which was the first German gold medal in athletics. After the Games Radke set a 1,000 m world record in 1930 and finished fourth in the 800 m at the last Women’s World Games in London 1934 (the winner, Zdena Koubková [TCH], was later disqualified when he was discovered to be a man).

Later Radke worked as a coach in Breslau and in Torgau after World War II. After the war she was expelled from Breslau in October 1945 as a German and first lived a few years in a small village near Erfurt, afterwards until 1951 in Torgau. Her gold medal was stolen by the Russians in 1945, however, it was later replaced by the IOC. Shortly before the inner German border was closed she fled back to Karlsruhe in 1961 with her husband, who had returned from war captivity in the Soviet Union in 1950. There she lived reclusively and died in 1983 without public attention.

Personal Best: 800 – 2:16.8 (1928).