Ulbricht's best season came in 1981. She was runner-up nationally, this time to Heike Drechsler, but claimed a series of international medals. At the 1981 European Athletics Indoor Championships she was the silver medallist behind her West German rival Karin Hänel. She won both the semi-final and final stages of the 1981 European Cup with bests of then . She achieved a lifetime best of in Jena that August before going on to win the 1981 IAAF World Cup in a meet record of .