Michael Karst

Michael Karst (born 28 January 1952 in Mannheim) is a retired 3000 m steeplechaser from West Germany.

Michael Karst

Karst in 1974
Personal information
Born	28 January 1952 (1952-01-28) (age 73) Mannheim, West Germany
Medal record Men's athletics Representing  West Germany European Championships 1974 Rome 3000 m steeplechase IAAF World Cup 1977 Düsseldorf 3000 m steeplechase Summer Universiade 1977 Sofia 3000 m steeplechase 1973 Moscow 3000 m steeplechase

Biography

He finished fifth at the 1976 Summer Olympics,^[1] first at the 1977 World Cup^[2] and fourth at the 1978 European Championships. He also won two silver and one gold medal at the Summer Universiades in 1973, 1975 and 1977.^[3] At the 1977 European Indoor Championships he finished sixth in 3000 metres.^[4]

In June 1974 he set a new European record of 8:18.4 minutes, which he improved to a then-national record of 8:18.0 at the 1974 European Championships where he won the bronze medal. He improved his (West) German record on two occasions in Stockholm, first to 8:16.2 minutes in July 1975 and finally to 8:14.05 minutes in July 1977. This result places him sixth on the German all-time performers list, behind Damian Kallabis, Hagen Melzer, Frank Baumgartl, Rainer Schwarz and Uwe Pflügner.^[5]

Karst won five German national titles, in the years 1974-1977 and 1979.^[6] He competed for the sports clubs SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken and USC Mainz during his active career.