She was only 55 years old
German Olympic champion Wyludda dies
Updated on December 4th, 2024Reading time: 2 minutes
She was successful only at the Olympic Games and many years later at the Paralympic Games. Now Ilke Wyludda has died.
The German Olympic champion Ilke Wyludda is dead. The former discus thrower died on Sunday at the age of 55 in Halle/Saale as a result of a serious illness. Silke Renk, President of the State Sports Association of Saxony-Anhalt and Wyludda’s former training colleague, confirmed this to the German Press Agency on Monday. She relied on information from her closest family circle.
Renk explained: “The news is hard and terrible and leaves me stunned.” Ilke Wyludda struggled with health problems early after her career. The entire German throwing community is now mourning. “She was always a fighter, but unfortunately she lost her last fight far too early,” said Renk.
The former athlete, who was born in Leipzig, discovered her passion for athletics early on. Back in 1985, she won gold in the discus throw and silver in the shot put at the Junior European Championships. Shortly afterwards she concentrated exclusively on the discus and rose to the top in the world in the following years.
Between 1990 and 1996 Wyludda shaped the international scene. She became European champion twice (1990, 1994), won silver at the World Championships in 1991 and 1995 and crowned her career with the Olympic victory in Atlanta in 1996. After an injury break, a comeback attempt failed.
In 2010, her right lower leg had to be amputated after a bacterial wound infection. But she didn’t let that get her down either. Wyludda got his start in Paralympic sports and took fifth place in the shot put at the 2012 Paralympics. Further successes followed: silver at the 2015 World Championships and the 2014 European Championships in the shot put, as well as bronze in the discus. In 2017 she finally ended her sporting career.