Ingrid Mickler-Becker

Ingrid Becker came from Geseke and started at the 1960 and 1964 Olympics for the mixed German team and at the 1968 and 1972 Olympics for the West German team. She later became state secretary (1986-90) for the right-wing party CDU at the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Affairs in Rhineland-Palatinate. Afterwards she worked for a German-Swiss consultancy company.

In her active career she won two silver (1969 4×100 relay, 1971 100 metres) and two gold medals (1971 4×100 relay and long jump) at the European Championships and several German titles (1962 high jump, 1967 long jump, 1967 pentathlon, 1968/70/71 100 m). She was also a member of the world record relay team that won the Olympic 4×100 relay title in 1972, and claimed the pentathlon gold medal at the 1968 Mexico Olympics. In 1970 she was the first German athlete to clear 1.70 metres in the high jump and to better 6.50 m in the long jump (1967).

Mickler-Becker was elected Sportswoman of the Year in 1968 and 1971. In 1969 she was awarded the Rudolf Harbig Memorial Award, then spent many years with the German Sports Federation DSB. She is still a personal member of the NOC of Germany and received the “Silberne Lorbeerblatt” (Silver Bay Leaf) in 1968. From 1982-84 and 1986-90 she was vice president of the Federal Panel of Women Sports of the German Track & Field Association DLV. In 2005 she was awarded the “Goldene Sportpyramide” (Golden Sport Pyramid) from the Deutsche Sporthilfe (German Sports Aid), and in 2006 she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of German sport.

Personal Bests: 100 – 11.35 (1971); HJ – 1.71 (1961); LJ – 6.76 (1971); Pen – 5098 (1968).