Angela Voigt


Angela Voigt, née Schmalfeld was an East German long jumper.

Biography

Voigt was born in Weferlingen, in what was then East Germany, on 18 May 1951. She was originally a pentathlete, and finished third and second at the East German championships in 1972 and 1973. Because of injuries she eventually concentrated on the long jump only. She finished fourth at the 1974 European Championships. Voigt set a long jump world record of 6.92 metres at Dresden in May 1976 but it was broken ten days later by Siegrun Siegl. At the 1976 Montreal Olympics Siegl finished fourth while Voigt won the gold with a leap of 6.72 metres. Kathy McMillan, who eventually finished second, had a longer jump which was deemed a foul.
At the 1978 European Championships Voigt won a silver medal, having given birth to a son the previous year. 6.92 m remained her career best jump, and today this places her ninth on the German all-time performers list, behind Heike Drechsler, Helga Radtke, Sabine Paetz, Brigitte Wujak, Birgit Großhennig, Susen Tiedtke, Siegrun Siegl and Christine Schima. She competed for the sports club SC Magdeburg during her active career and retired in 1982. On 11 April 2013, she died following a short, severe illness.