# Thomas Schönlebe

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 stood for 35 years before it was broken by Matthew Hudson-Smith in August 2023.
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 9 February 1986;
* 45.05 s in 400 m on 5 February 1988;
* 3:03.05 in 4x400 m relay as a member of a German team on 10 March 1991.
Note: Schönlebe's first record has the distinction of being the inaugural record at the distance when the IAAF established the category of world indoor records on 1 January 1987.
Schönlebe later became chief executive officer of his hometown club, LAC Erdgas Chemnitz
In 1994, he was awarded the Rudolf Harbig Memorial Award.

## International competitions

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
| Representing East Germany ||||||
| 1983 | European Junior Championships | Schwechat, Austria | 1st | 400 m | 45.64 |
| 1983 | European Junior Championships | Schwechat, Austria | 1st | 4 × 400 m | 3:04.95 |
| 1983 | European Cup | London, UK | 2nd | 400 m | 45.70 |
| 1985 | World Indoor Games | Paris, France | 1st | 400 m | 45.60 |
| 1985 | European Cup | Moscow, Soviet Union | 1st | 400 m | 44.96 |
| 1985 | World Cup | Canberra, Australia | 2nd | 400 m | 44.72 |
| 1985 | World Cup | Canberra, Australia | 2nd | 4 × 400 m | 3:00.82 |
| 1986 | European Indoor Championships | Madrid, Spain | 1st | 400 m | 46.98 |
| 1986 | European Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 2nd | 400 m | 44.63 |
| 1986 | European Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 6th | 4 × 400 m | 3:04.87 |
| 1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | 1st | 400 m | 44.33 |
| 1987 | World Championships | Rome, Italy | heats | 4 × 400 m | DNF |
| 1987 | European Cup | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 1st | 400 m | 44.96 |
| 1987 | European Cup | Prague, Czechoslovakia | 1st | 4 × 400 m | 3:00.80 |
| 1988 | European Indoor Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 4th (sf) | 400 m | 46.86 |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 9th (sf) | 400 m | 44.90 |
| 1988 | Olympic Games | Seoul, South Korea | 4th | 4 × 400 m | 3:01.13 |
| 1989 | World Cup | Barcelona, Spain | 5th | 4 × 400 m | 3:02.73 |
| 1990 | European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 2nd | 400 m | 45.13 |
| 1990 | European Championships | Split, Yugoslavia | 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 |
| 1992 | Olympic Games | Barcelona, Spain | heats | 4 × 400 m | DNF |
| 1993 | World Championships | Stuttgart, Germany | 3rd | 4 × 400 m | 2:59.99 |
| (#) Indicates overall position in quarterfinal (qf) or semifinal (sf) round ||||||
Note: Schönlebe qualified for the 1988 European Indoor final but withdrew.

## 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.
400 meters :
| Year | World rank |
| 1983 | 8th |
| 1984 | - |
| 1985 | 2nd |
| 1986 | 10th |
| 1987 | 1st |