Photo: Dieter Demme—CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Volker Beck
- Born
- Jun 30, 1956 (70 years old)
- Birthplace
- Nordhausen, Germany
- Events
- 400 m hurdles · 400 Metres Short Track
- Height
- 1.91 m
- Weight
- 82 kg
Volker Beck (born 30 June 1956 in Nordhausen, Bezirk Erfurt) is a former East German athlete, winner of 400 m hurdles at the 1980 Summer Olympics.
With the best 400 m hurdler in the late 1970s and early 1980s Edwin Moses missing due to the boycott, the most likely winner of the Olympic gold was Volker Beck, the East German 400 m hurdles champion in 1980, 1981 and 1983.
In Moscow, Beck won the 400 m hurdles in 48,70 s, beating second-placed Vasyl Arkhypenko from Soviet Union by 0.16 seconds, although it was the slowest Olympic final since 1964. Beck won his second Olympic medal in 4 × 400 m relay, when he was beaten to a second place by Soviet anchor Viktor Markin. After his athletics career, Beck started to work as a coach, among other things he was a coach of German National Team.
As of Nov 1, 2026: 400 m hurdles 48.58 (#193 all-time), 400 Metres Short Track 46.0h, 1985 season best 49.91 (Jun 23, 1985, Erfurt (GER)) · Olympic Games: 1 gold, 1 silver · 70 years old
Personal bests
WA points calculator →Medals
| Competitions | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olympic Games | 1 | 1 | – | 2 |
Progression
| Season | Discipline | Result | Wind | Date | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 400mH | 49.91 | – | Jun 23, 1985 | Erfurt (GER) |
| 1984 | 400mH | 49.46 | – | May 25, 1984 | Potsdam (GDR) |
| 1983 | 400mH | 49.23 | – | Jun 25, 1983 | Los Angeles, CA (USA) |
| 1981 | 400m | 46.02 | – | Aug 8, 1981 | Jena (GDR) |
| 1981 | 400mH | 48.94 | – | Aug 15, 1981 | Zagreb (CRO) |
| 1981 | 4x400m | 3:03.63 | – | Sep 6, 1981 | Stadio Olimpico, Roma (ITA) |
| 1980 | 400m-short-track | 46.0h | – | Jan 20, 1980 | – |
| 1980 | 400m-short-track Indoor | 46.0h | – | Jan 20, 1980 | Berlin (GER) (i) |