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Volker Beck (athlete)

Volker Beck, German hurdler and coach

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Born
June 30, 1956
Age in 2026
70
Zodiac sign
Cancer
Birth year
1956

About Volker Beck (athlete)

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.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Volker Beck (athlete) timeline

  1. 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.
  2. 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.

The world when Volker Beck (athlete) was born

Volker Beck (athlete) was born in 1956. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1956

  • #1 song"Heartbreak Hotel" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieAround the World in 80 Days
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookPeyton Place – Grace Metalious

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentDon Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series
  • Top headlineElvis Presley takes America by storm
  • Technology milestoneFirst transatlantic telephone cable (TAT-1)
  • Defining fadElvis Presley mania
  • Notable inventionHard disk drive (IBM)
  • World population2.82 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonPhiladelphia Warriors (NBA)
  • U.S. population168.1M

1956 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Volker Beck (athlete)'s birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19562026
Gas$0.30$3.45/gal
Average home$11,700$435,000
Average income$6,500$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.50$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population168.1M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, International Olympic Committee, Olympedia. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.