Angelika Hellmann (GDR)
Angelika Hellmann was born on April
10, 1954 in Halle, East Germany. With father Rudi Hellmann an East German Sports
Official, and Angelika's accomplishments in gymnastics, the Hellmann name was
well known within the East German sports machine.
As a junior Angelika placed second
AA and first on bars and floor at both the 1966 and 1968 Youth Spartakiad
competitions. In 1970 she competed in her first World Championships, bringing
home a silver medal in the team event. In Ljublaja she also placed 10th AA and
competed in her event finals, vault (6th) bars (5th). Her results improved over
the next year, and in Minsk at the 1971 European Championships she medalled on
bars (bronze) and placed sixth in the all-around and on beam.
Angelika's first Olympics came in
1972, where she and her teammates won the silver medal. Individually she placed
sixth in the AA and on bars and floor. Angelika continued in gymnastics over the
next quadrennium, medalling at the 1973 Chunichi Cup (2nd AA), 1973 Europeans
(1st V, 2nd UB), 1974 Milk Meet (1st AA), 1974 Worlds (2nd T, 3rd AA), 1975 GDR
Cup (3rd AA), and a host of dual meets. She and her teammates placed third
behind the Soviets and Romanians.
In 1976 Angelika participated in the
Montreal Olympics. Although she placed 13th AA after the team competition, three
of her East German teammates finished ahead of her and thus Angelika failed to
advance to the all-around competition. She did compete in the beam final though,
where she placed 5th AA.
Angelika retired after the 1976
Olympics to study sports. In 1979 she began coaching at her old club, SC Dynamo
in Berlin. She went on to become the head choreographer for the East German
girls' floor exercises, and from 1990 to 1994 she held one of the top coaching
positions in Germany. She is now a fitness instructor at a hotel in Zinnowitz,
Germany.
Many thank to Richard for relaying
this information!
. This page was created on January 13, 2001.
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