Claudia Marx
Claudia Marx ( born September 16, 1978 in Berlin ) is a German athlete who had worked as a 400-meter runner successfully since the mid- 1990s. After an accident in 1998, had to quit her career almost, she was later able to again take part in competitions. Her achievements are the relay silver medal in the 4 x 400 - meter relay at the 2001 World Championships and the relay gold medal at the European Championships in 2002.
Claudia Marx was born on 16 September 1978 in Berlin in a sports-loving family. Your father tungsten Marx was Berlin champion in high jump, her mother Regina playing basketball in the selection of the GDR. Marx began early with the Athletics, already with fourteen she began in 1993 when SV Preußen Berlin. In early July 1993, she reached surprising second place in the German Youth B Championships in Dortmund. She ran the 300 meters in 40.01 s Furthermore, she was both in 1993 and in 1994 third in the all around the B- youth. Your great successes made sure that Marx was appointed to the squad for the Junior World Championships in 1996 in Sydney. Ahead of the tournament, she suffered a stress fracture, which is why they mitreiste only as a substitute member. She went to only forward, but still got after winning the 4 x 400 - meter relay also awarded a gold medal by Müller, Gesell, Harstick and Urbansky. Your coach Bernd Knobloch she prepared then before the Junior European Championships in 1997, where they reached 400 meters fifth place in the individual race and the 4 x 400 - meter relay team took the bronze medal.
Accident
On 20 May 1998, Marx was crowded together with their coach Knobloch and hurdler Alyosha Nemitz, on the highway from the road, where they broke six ribs and a lung occurred. In the hospital she was ventilated for three days so that the lung could stabilize. After she was out of danger, it looked still made only as the career was over. You already started in the hospital with little athletic exercises and completed a multi-month rehabilitation program. Two months after the accident, she again began to run in 1999 and continued her career in competitive sports continues. It increased in the course of this year, her personal best over 400 meters a second to 52.26 s
Continuation of the career
Highlight of the year 1999, for Marx, however, the U23 European Championships, where she won the silver medal in the relay. At the World Championships in the indoor and outdoor she was only substitute woman for each season. After Marx in the final of the European Indoor Championships in Ghent crashed after a bump of the Bulgarian Daniela Georgieva and therefore the race could not finish the rest of the season was also unhappy. In addition, a cartilage damage in the knee prevented their participation in the Olympic Games in Sydney. The following year we went back up the hill with her, at the World Indoor Championships in Lisbon, she won the bronze medal with the 4 x 400 meters relay at the World Championships in Edmonton she could get the silver medal even with the relay after the season of the United States had unfortunately lost her staff in the running.
In 2002 it was back uphill and downhill for them. In the European Cup in Annecy she went to despite a bad cold and had to settle for the last place finish. The next day they reached indeed with the season in second place, crashed on the baton but unhappy and broke his jaw. The German Championships she missed it, but was at the European Championships in Munich in time fit again. Despite their lack training, she managed, along with Florence Ekpo - Umoh, Birgit Meier rock and Grit Breuer, in the final against Russia the first to cross the finish line and achieve the gold medal.
After the successes of the past years it went steadily downhill in 2003 and 2004. Although the season started yet promising the silver medal at the 1st indoor European Cup in Leipzig with the 1-2 -3- 4-round season. But already at the World Championships in Paris / Saint- Denis, they had to bury their hope in sixth in the run over 400 meters. With the 4 x 400 meters relay she finished three seconds behind the podium in fourth place. Even the most successful season could not show off at the Olympic Games in Athens and already retired from after preroll. Claudia Marx in 2005, although again German indoor champion in the 400 meters, however, changed in the summer on the final hurdle rail.
Hurdles
Claudia Marx was already in 2004 drawn from Berlin to Dresden, to start over there with Dietmar Jarosch on the hurdle track. In June 2005, Marx was the first time a race over 400 meters hurdles. When they finished third European Cup and at the World Championships in Helsinki they penetrated at least before the semi-finals. With the season they finished sixth in the final. In 2006, she succeeded in the fourth place at the European Championships in Gothenburg, her biggest single success. As the anchor leg of the 4 x 400 - meter relay after they reached the fifth place.
After several long-term injuries that cost them inter alia participation at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and at the home World Championships in Berlin in 2009, succeeded Claudia Marx 2010 a small comeback in the jersey of the Dresden Sports Clubs 1898. Though they renounced considering its violation history race over the hurdles, but she managed to run to third place at the German Championships in Braunschweig in the 400 -meter individual race. With the 4 x 400 - meter relay, they also achieved a second place. On July 18, 2010, the day after the championships, Claudia Marx announced her retirement from competitive sport. Your best times are 51.41 s in the 400 m in the 2001 and 54.80 s. Above the hurdle track, situated in Gothenburg 2006
Marx studied sports science at the Humboldt University in Berlin and lives in Dresden.