Gertrud Gladitsch

Gertrud Alina Mina "Trudel" Gladitsch (29 June 1903 — 24 October 1946) was a German track and field athlete, active during the 1920s, during the early era of women’s athletics. She was world record holder (later not ratified) and national champion in the 100 metres. She was also national record holder in the long jump.

Biography
Gertrud Gladitsch was born on 28 June 1903 in Ettlingen. During her yougth, she was active the Gymnastics club in Ettlingen.

In an 1927 interview in the Hannoverscher Courier in 1927 she said about that time that she liked it, but had the feeling that her strengths lay elsewhere and so she started with running and jumpion. In that period her father didn't support her sporting ambitions. Gladitsch trained secretly and that ended sometimes with slaps at home. However Bladitsch was dedicated and continued sporting. She was allowed to train with the Karlsruher FV from 1924 and with Karlsruher FC Phönix from 1925. She was trained by Georg Amberger. She improved over the years and was German runner-up in 1926 in the athletics triathlon. In the meantime she had also received support from her father and she said about it that "he can hardly wait until I come back from the race and he hears my results".

At the 1927 German Athletics Championships she became national champion in the 100 metres and finished second in the long jump event. In 1927 she set three German national records: In Schwenningen on 26 June she set her first German record with a jump of 5.60 meters. That was also a also a new world record, however it was not officially recognized because it was achieved during an extra attempt. In Gladitsch on 4 September she set two new national records, in the 200 metres with a time of 27.0 seconds, and with a with a jump of 5.62 meters she improved her own national record in the long jump. On 3 July, she ran  a world record in the 100 metres with a time of 12.0 seconds (110 yards 12.1 seconds). Later however was the record not ratified because there was too much tailwind. 

The media predicted that Gladitsch would have a great chance of winning a medal at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, where women were allowed to compete in athletics for the first time. However, due to a torn of her meniscus tendon in her right knee, she was unable to take part. In the week after the Olympics she competed at the 1928 Berlin international athletics meeting.

Gladitsch would win two more medals at the national championships in 1930. She won the silver medal in the long jump behind Selma Grieme and the bronze medal in the pentathlon behind Ellen Braumüller and Grieme.

Gladitsch married to Martin Dürr in 1932 end ended her careeer. They divorced in 1935. In 1937 she married to Walter Storm. Gladitsch had four children with him, a daughter and three sons. Shortly after the birth of her youngest child, Gladitsch died in Kiel on 24 October 1946, at the age of 43 years old.

References

Other websites
Image of Gladitsch in 1926
Image of Gladitsch in 1927
Image of Gladitsch  winning the 100 metres at the 1927 national championships

Category:1903 births
Category:German long jumpers
Category:1946 deaths
Category:German sprinters
Category:Pentathletes
Category:World record holders
Category:High jumpers
Category:Shot putters