# Inge Eckhoff

**Inge Eckhoff**, later **Inge Bödding** after marriage, is a retired West German sprinter who specialized in the 400 meters and won a bronze medal in the 4×400 meters relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. She competed internationally as Inge Eckhoff until about 1970 and as Inge Bödding thereafter, and she was a member of a world record setting 4×400 m relay team in 1969.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1947 in Hamburg; Olympedia gives 1947, the German biographical entry gives 1947<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup> |
| World record | Member of the 4×400 m relay team that ran 3:33.9 at Athina (Athens) in 1969<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup> |
| European indoor medals | Silver in the 400 m at Sofia 1971 and Grenoble 1972; gold in the 4×2 laps relay at Grenoble 1972<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup> |
| National titles | Double German champion over 400 m in 1971, indoor (54.6) and outdoor (52.9)<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://ladm.duv.de/club_detail.php?club=1460)</sup> |
| Personal best | 400 m, 52.89 (1971)<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup> |

## Career

**1971 was her strongest season.** Domestically she won both the indoor and outdoor German titles over 400 m in 1971, clocking 54.6 indoors in February and 52.9 outdoors in July.<sup>[2](https://ladm.duv.de/club_detail.php?club=1460)</sup> Her personal best of 52.89 dates from that year.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup>

At the European Indoor Championships she won silver in the 400 m at Sofia in 1971 and again at Grenoble in 1972, where she also won gold in the 4×2 laps relay.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup> Nationally she had been runner-up indoors in 1969 behind [Christel Frese](https://www.edgepedia.org/christel-frese), second outdoors in 1970 in 53.1 (still competing as Inge Eckhoff), and third indoors in 1972 in 54.1.<sup>[2](https://ladm.duv.de/club_detail.php?club=1460)</sup>

## 1972 Olympics

## Recognition and later life

In 1972 she received the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Bay Leaf), a German sports honor, and the Hermann-Seiffart-Gedächtnispreis (Hermann Seiffart Memorial Award); in 2006 the German Athletics Federation (DLV) awarded her its silver pin.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup> Inge Bödding was afterward the mother-in-law of Steffen Benecke, a marathon runner who wed Annkathrin, her daughter and a specialist in the 3,000 meters; neither of the two competed at the Olympics.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup>

In her active years she was 1.54 m tall; Olympedia lists her measurements as 154 cm and 48 kg, while the German biographical entry gives 49 kg.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup>

## Name discrepancy

The two main biographical sources disagree on her exact birth date: Olympedia gives 1947 and the German-language biographical entry gives 19 March 1947, both in Hamburg.<sup>[1](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)</sup> Both agree on the year, the birthplace, and the sequence of names, born Eckhoff and married name Bödding.

## References

1. [Inge Bödding, Olympedia](https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/69963)
2. [Deutsche Meister in der Leichtathletik, LG Nord-West Hamburg club record](https://ladm.duv.de/club_detail.php?club=1460)

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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 › Sprinters and hurdlers › Quarter-mile runners › Women's Olympic 400 m medalists*

*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