Thomas Schönlebe
Quick Facts
Biography
Thomas Schönlebe (born 6 August 1965) is a retired East German track and field athlete who competed in the 400 metres. He won the gold medal at the 1987 World Championships. In that race, he set a European record of 44.33 seconds which still stands as of 2019.
A year earlier, Schönlebe had finished second at the 1986 European Championships in Stuttgart behind Roger Black. One of his last achievements was the third place at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart with the (now unified) German 4 × 400 m relay team.
Schönlebe achieved three world indoor records during his career :
- 45.41 s in the 400 m on 9th February 1986;
- 45.05 s in 400 m on 5th February 1988;
- 3:03.05 in 4x400 m relay as a member of a German team on 10 March 1991.
Schönlebe later became chief executive officer of his hometown club, LAC Erdgas Chemnitz
In 1994, he was the awarded the Rudolf Harbig Memorial Award.
International competitions
Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
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Representing East Germany | |||||
1983 | European Junior Championships | Schwechat, Austria | 1st | 400 m | 45.64 |
1st | 4 × 400 m | 3:04.95 | |||
European Cup | London, UK | 2nd | 400 m | 45.70 | |
1985 | World Indoor Games | Paris, France | 1st | 400 m | 45.60 |
European Cup | Moscow, Soviet Union | 1st | 400 m | 44.96 | |
World Cup | Canberra, Australia | 2nd | 400 m | 44.72 | |
2nd | 4 × 400 m | 3:00.82 | |||
1986 | European Indoor Championships | Madrid, Spain | 1st | 400 m | 46.98 |
European Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 2nd | 400 m | 44.63 | |
6th | 4 × 400 m | 3:04.87 | |||
1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 1st | 400 m | 44.33 |
heats | 4 × 400 m | DNF | |||
European Cup | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 1st | 400 m | 44.96 | |
1st | 4 × 400 m | 3:00.80 | |||
1988 | European Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 4th (sf) | 400 m | 46.86 |
Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 9th (sf) | 400 m | 44.90 | |
4th | 4 × 400 m | 3:01.13 | |||
1989 | World Cup | Barcelona, Spain | 5th | 4 × 400 m | 3:02.73 |
1990 | European Championships | Solit, Yugoslavia | 2nd | 400 m | 45.13 |
3rd | 4 × 400 m | 3:01.51 | |||
Representing Germany | |||||
1991 | World Indoor Championships | Seville, Spain | 1st | 4 × 400 m | 3:03.05 |
1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | 15th (qf) | 400 m | 45.46 |
heats | 4 × 400 m | DNF | |||
1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 4 × 400 m | 2:59.99 |
World rankings
Schonlebe was ranked among the best in the world at the 400 m sprint events in the period 1983–87 (including world number one in 1987), according to the votes of the experts of Track and Field News.
Authority control |
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Year | World rank | |
1983 | 8th | |
1984 | - | |
1985 | 2nd | |
1986 | 10th | |
1987 | 1st | |
Records | ||
Preceded by Erwin Skamrahl | European Record Holder Men's 400 m 21 August 1987 – present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
IAAF World Athletics Championships champions in men's 400 metres | ||
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World Indoor Champions in men's 400 m | ||
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World Indoor Champions in men's 4 × 400 m relay | ||
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European Athletics Indoor Champions in men's 400 metres | ||
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Authority control |
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1983 | 8th | |
1984 | - | |
1985 | 2nd | |
1986 | 10th | |
1987 | 1st | |
Preceded by Erwin Skamrahl | European Record Holder Men's 400 m 21 August 1987 – present | Succeeded by Incumbent |
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