At the 1990 European Championships in Athletics in Split she finished fourth in 400 m and won the 4x400 m relay for East Germany together with Grit Breuer, Manuela Derr and Petra Schersing. At the 1991 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Seville Hesselbarth helped win the gold medal in an indoor world record time of 3:27.22 minutes. The teammates were Sandra Seuser, Katrin Schreiter and Grit Breuer. At the 1991 World Championships in Athletics she ran in the heats for the German team who finished third in the final.