Background
Oschkenat was born Cornelia Riefstahl in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany.
Oschkenat was born Cornelia Riefstahl in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany.
She competed at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. Her world indoor record for the 50 metres hurdles of 6.58 secs in 1988, still stands (as of 2014). She began her international career in 1982 and reached the World Championship final in 1983.
She was unable to participate in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles because of her country"s boycott of the games.
A medal favourite for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, she pulled a muscle midway through the final and limped over the line in 8th place. After finishing third at the 1989 World Indoor Championships, she went on to have one of her best ever outdoor seasons.
Her victories included both the European and World cup events. She ended the outdoor season unbeaten.
Having been ranked second in the Track and Field News world merit rankings for three consecutive years, 1985-1987, she was the clear number one in 1989.
In 1990, she finished fourth at the European Championships in Split in what would be her eighth consecutive (and final) year ranked in the world top ten (on time and merit). She represented a united Germany at the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo but was eliminated in the heats and retired at the end of that season. Oschkenat represented the Dynamo Berlin sport club
During her career she was 1.76 meters tall and weighed 65 kilograms.