Karin Nathalie Ruckstuhl (born 2 November 1980 in Baden, Switzerland) is a Dutch former heptathlete.
Biography Her first major championship was the 2002 European Athletics Championships, and she finished 13th in the heptathlon. She came close to the podium at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships, finishing fourth, and took part in her first Olympics at the 2004 Athens Games, where she was 16th in the final rankings with a national record of 6108 points. She again just fell short of the podium with a fourth place at the 2005 European Athletics Indoor Championships and was eighth outdoors at the 2005 World Championships in Athletics later that season.
The 2006 season was a breakthrough for Ruckstuhl – she won silver medals at the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships and the 2006 European Athletics Championships in Gothenburg. Her new record performance of 6423 points at the European Championships (a Dutch record) meant that she was ranked fourth in the world in the heptathlon that year.Heptathlon 2006. IAAF (2007-05-12). Retrieved on 2010-04-29. She also improved indoors, registering a national record of 4801 points in the women's pentathlon for the bronze medal at the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships. However, she did not manage to finish the heptathlon at that year's major competition – the 2007 World Championships in Athletics.
She suffered a herniated disc in her back and underwent surgery in 2008. Her time out from the sport was extended even further after she injured her Achilles tendon in February 2010. Following such serious injuries and some two and a half years away from top-level competition, she decided to stop competing in multi-sport events and focused her efforts on just long jumping.No more Heptathlons for Ruckstuhl. European Athletics (2010-04-28). Retrieved on 2010-04-29.
Achievements Representing 2001European Athletics U23 ChampionshipsAmsterdam, Netherlands13thHeptathlon5582 ptsSummer UniversiadeBeijing, China7thHeptathlon5664 pts2002European ChampionshipsMunich, Germany13thHeptathlon5858 pts2003Hypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria9thHeptathlon6011 pts PB2004World Indoor Championships Budapest, Hungary4thPentathlon 4640 pts NRiHypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria10thHeptathlon6118 ptsSummer Olympics Athens, Greece16thHeptathlon6108 pts NR2005European Indoor ChampionshipsMadrid, Spain4thHeptathlon4605 ptsHypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria6thHeptathlon6318 ptsDécastar Talence, France7thHeptathlon6129 ptsWorld ChampionshipsHelsinki, Finland8thHeptathlon6174 pts2006World Indoor Championships Moscow, Russia 2ndPentathlon4607 ptsEuropean Championships Gothenburg, Sweden 2ndHeptathlon6423 pts NR19th (q)Long jump6.29 m2007European Indoor Championships Birmingham, England 3rdPentathlon4801 pts NRiHypo-Meeting Götzis, Austria6thHeptathlon6260 ptsWorld ChampionshipsOsaka, Japan —HeptathlonDNF
References
Bijkerk, T. (2004) Olympisch Oranje. De Vrieseborch
External links