# Betty Heidler
**Betty Heidler** (born 1983 in [East Berlin](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-berlin)) is a retired German hammer thrower who won the 2007 World Championships title, held the women's hammer world record at 79.42 m from 2011, and took the Olympic silver medal at the 2012 London Games after the original winner was disqualified for doping.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) • [2](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/7942m-heidler-breaks-world-hammer-throw-rec) She competed at four Olympic Games and is described by Olympedia as the best-ever female German hammer thrower.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1983 in Ost-Berlin (East Berlin), Germany; 175 cm / 85 kg[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) |
| Club and coach | LG Eintracht Frankfurt; coached by Michael Deyhle from 2001[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) • [3](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/berlin-burns-as-bright-as-beijing-for-heidler) |
| World record | 79.42 m, Halle, 21 May 2011, improving Anita Włodarczyk's 78.30 m; her German record still stands[2](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/7942m-heidler-breaks-world-hammer-throw-rec) • [4](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/betty-heidler/8262) • [11](https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6120f5abfd2ba2dd154af86a.pdf) |
| Olympic medal | Silver, London 2012, promoted from bronze after Tatyana Lysenko's disqualification[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) |
| World Championships | Gold 2007 Osaka (74.76 m); silver 2009 Berlin and 2011 Daegu[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) • [5](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/osaka-2007-womens-hammer-throw-with-triumph) |
| European Championships | Gold 2010 Barcelona; silver 2016 Amsterdam[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) |
| National titles | Eight consecutive German titles from 2005 to 2012[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) |
| Retirement | Final competition 10 September 2016 on Borkum, won with 74.00 m[6](https://leichtathletik.eintracht.de/news/das-leben-nach-der-karriere-135460/) |
## Early life and family
Heidler grew up in Berlin in a sporty family: her mother was a rower and her father a keen footballer. She took up athletics at age 14 after following a friend into a local club, tried running, jumping, and throwing, and found a flair for the throws, particularly the hammer.[3](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/berlin-burns-as-bright-as-beijing-for-heidler)
[Track and field](https://www.edgepedia.org/track-and-field) ran in the family. Her great-grandfather Martin Riefstahl was a high jumper at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and even carried the [Olympic flame](https://www.edgepedia.org/olympic-flame) in the torch relay, and her second cousin [Cornelia Oschkenat](https://www.edgepedia.org/cornelia-oschkenat) won bronze in the 100 m hurdles at the 1987 World Championships.[3](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/berlin-burns-as-bright-as-beijing-for-heidler) • [5](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/osaka-2007-womens-hammer-throw-with-triumph)
In 2001, at 17, she moved from Berlin to [Frankfurt](https://www.edgepedia.org/frankfurt) to train under Michael Deyhle, who also coached the German international hammer thrower Kathrin Klaas; she later credited the move and her coach's eye as a major part of her success.[3](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/berlin-burns-as-bright-as-beijing-for-heidler)
## Championship career
Her first breakthrough came in 2003, when she threw beyond 70 m for the first time and placed 11th at the World Championships in Paris, her major-championship debut. In 2004 she finished fourth in the Olympic final in Athens with a best throw of 72.73 m. The following season, hampered by a knee injury and technical problems, she failed to qualify for the World Championships final in Helsinki with a best of 61.91 m. In 2006 she broke the 75 m barrier for the first time, improved her German record four times, and placed fifth at the European Championships in [Gothenburg](https://www.edgepedia.org/gothenburg).[3](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/berlin-burns-as-bright-as-beijing-for-heidler)
**World title in Osaka, 2007.** At the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, aged 23, Heidler took the women's hammer title with a second-round throw of 74.76 m, beating Cuba's Yipsi Moreno by just 0.02 m. The final was of exceptional depth: nine women threw over 70 m and all three medallists over 74 m, feats never before achieved at the World Championships.[5](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/osaka-2007-womens-hammer-throw-with-triumph) • [7](https://worldathletics.org/news/report/event-report-womens-hammer-final)
She then added two World Championships silvers, at Berlin 2009 and Daegu 2011. In Berlin she threw 77.12 m for the national record, then the eighth-best throw ever, topping a six-throw series averaging 75.53 m.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) • [8](https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=9c9d58da-9245-44c2-82d8-ddc72f952f90.pdf&urlslug=biomechanical-analysis-of-the-hammer-throw-at) At continental level she won the European title in Barcelona in 2010 and took silver in Amsterdam in 2016, and she won gold in the hammer at the [2009 Summer Universiade](https://www.edgepedia.org/2009-summer-universiade) in Belgrade.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) Domestically she won eight consecutive German titles from 2005 to 2012.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346)
## The 2011 world record
On 21 May 2011 in Halle, Germany, Heidler broke the women's hammer world record with 79.42 m, eclipsing the 78.30 m mark set by Anita Włodarczyk of Poland the previous year. Her opening throw of 77.19 m improved her own national record by seven centimeters, and the world record came in the third round of a series that ended with throws of 75.34 m, 75.62 m, and 76.00 m. The mark fell just 58 centimeters short of the 80-meter line, then a major goal in the women's event.[2](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/7942m-heidler-breaks-world-hammer-throw-rec) The 79.42 m remains her personal best and the German record, which she still holds.[9](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/germany/betty-heidler-14277951) • [4](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/betty-heidler/8262)
## Olympic Games
Heidler was a four-time Olympian. She placed fourth at Athens 2004, seventh at Beijing 2008, and fourth again at Rio de Janeiro 2016.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346)
**London 2012.** Entering the Games as world ranked number one, she struggled in a high-quality final. Her best throw was initially missed by officials; after all throwers had finished, an official found her mark and it was re-measured at 77.12 m, good for the bronze medal.[10](https://www.olympedia.org/results/302480) Four years after the Games she was promoted to silver following the disqualification of Russia's Tatyana Lysenko, who had tested positive for doping and whose 2012 samples failed re-tests.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346)
## Retirement and life after sport
Heidler ended her career on 10 September 2016 at a throw meeting on the beach of the East Frisian island Borkum, winning the competition with 74.00 m after more than 15 years of high-performance sport.[6](https://leichtathletik.eintracht.de/news/das-leben-nach-der-karriere-135460/) She had studied law and became a policewoman with the Federal Police, and after retiring she completed her law degree and half of a master's degree for the senior civil service. For her sporting achievements she received the Silver Bay Leaf in 2012 and the Rudolf-Harbig-Gedächtnispreis (Memorial Award) in 2014, and [Eintracht Frankfurt](https://www.edgepedia.org/eintracht-frankfurt) made her an honorary member in 2017.[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346) • [6](https://leichtathletik.eintracht.de/news/das-leben-nach-der-karriere-135460/)
## References
1. [Olympedia – Betty Heidler](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/105346)
2. [Heidler breaks world hammer record in Halle with 79.42m, World Athletics (21 May 2011)](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/7942m-heidler-breaks-world-hammer-throw-rec)
3. [Berlin burns as bright as Beijing for Heidler, World Athletics (3 December 2007)](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/berlin-burns-as-bright-as-beijing-for-heidler)
4. [Betty Heidler – athlétisme, L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/fiche/betty-heidler/8262)
5. [Osaka 2007 – Women's Hammer Throw: With triumph, Heidler continues family tradition, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/news/news/osaka-2007-womens-hammer-throw-with-triumph)
6. [Das Leben nach der Karriere, Eintracht Frankfurt Leichtathletik (10 September 2021)](https://leichtathletik.eintracht.de/news/das-leben-nach-der-karriere-135460/)
7. [Event report: Women's Hammer Final, Osaka 2007, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/news/report/event-report-womens-hammer-final)
8. [Biomechanical Analysis of the Hammer Throw at the 2009 IAAF World Championships, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/download/downloadnsa?filename=9c9d58da-9245-44c2-82d8-ddc72f952f90.pdf&urlslug=biomechanical-analysis-of-the-hammer-throw-at)
9. [Betty HEIDLER – Profile, World Athletics](https://worldathletics.org/athletes/germany/betty-heidler-14277951)
10. [Olympedia – Hammer Throw, Women, London 2012](https://www.olympedia.org/results/302480)
11. [assets.aws.worldathletics.org](https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6120f5abfd2ba2dd154af86a.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Athletics, gymnastics, and strength sports › Athletes of track and field and road running › Throwers and combined-event athletes › Hammer throwers*
*Initially written Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license