World records are made to be broken but there are some which are so outstanding that later generations of athletes become demoralised as their best efforts fall short. Marita Koch's 47.60 400 metres falls within that category. She achieved that time in the 1985 IAAF World Cup in Canberra and in the decade since no one else has got anywhere near it.

Koch, born in 1957 and a product of the immensely successful although controversial GDR sports machine, ranks as the greatest ever all-round sprinter. She possessed a rocket start which enabled her to set world indoor records at 50 and 60m, she became the second fastest 100m runner in history when she clocked 10.83 and accumulated four world records at 200m (her best was 21.71 in 1979 and 1984) and seven at 400m. Her consistency over an eight-year period was such that she lost only twice over 400m and her honours included the 1980 Olympic gold medal at that distance and the world 200m title in 1983. She is married to the man who coached her to stardom, Wolfgang Meier.

As another coach, Miroslav Kvac (who trained her arch-rival Jarmila Kratochvilova) commented: "Marita Koch is the most remarkable woman sprinter of our time".