Renate Junker

Renate Junker unfortunately placed fourth in the long jump at the 1960 Roma Olympics after standing third until East German Hildrun Claus’s last attempt, which bettered Junker by two centimetres. Junker won two West German titles – the 1961 60 indoor hurdles and in the 1962 4×100 relay, but she never won a long jump title. In 1946 her parents took refuge in West Germany after World War II. Only two years after the Roma Games she married South African hurdler Gert Potgieter and moved with him to South Africa. She was educated as a draftswoman for clothing materials, but later studied sports at the Deutsche Sporthochschule in Köln (Cologne) and worked as a sports teacher in Pretoria. She also was involved in painting and teaching music, and regularly appeared in TV and radio programs.

Personal Best: LJ – 6.23 (1960).