 Ute Geweniger in 1982 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | East German | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1964-02-24)24 February 1964 (age 61) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft10+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Breaststroke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | SC Karl-Marx-Stadt | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ute Geweniger (laterStrauß, born 24 February 1964) is a formerbreaststroke andmedley swimmer who was a leading member of the East German swimming team in the 1980s. She won twoOlympicgold medals, in the 100 m breaststroke and 4×100 m medley relay at the1980 Summer Olympics inMoscow,[1] and set seven individual and two relayworld records. She was named bySwimming World Magazine asWorld Swimmer of the Year in 1983 and as theEuropean Swimmer of the Year in 1981 and 1983.
In 2005, she admitted that her performance had been supported bydoping.[2]
Geweniger was born inKarl-Marx-Stadt,East Germany, and came to prominence when she set a world record in the 100 m breaststroke in qualifying for the East German team for the1980 Summer Olympics inMoscow. There she captured gold, setting another world record in the process. She then combined withRica Reinisch,Andrea Pollack andCaren Metschuck to claim gold in the medley relay, also in world record time. In 1981, she broke the 100 m breaststroke world record thrice, and the 200 m individual medley world record, prior to the European Championships inSplit, Croatia, Yugoslavia. There she claimed gold in the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke (breaking a world record in the former), 200 m individual medley, medley relay, as well as a silver in the 400 m individual medley behind team-matePetra Schneider. At the World Championships the following year inGuayaquil,Ecuador, she won gold in both the 100 m breaststroke and the medley relay, combining withInes Geißler,Birgit Meineke andKristin Otto to again lower the world record. At the 1983 European Championships inRome,Italy, she again won the breaststroke double, the 200 m individual medley and the 4×100 m medley relay, setting a world record in the 100 m breaststroke. Geweniger was tipped for further Olympic success, but her career was ended when theSoviet bloc, including East Germany, staged a retaliatory boycott of the1984 Summer Olympics held inLos Angeles.
| Records | ||
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| Preceded by | Women's 200 metre individual medley world record holder (long course) 4 July 1981 – 30 July 1992 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | European Swimmer of the Year 1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | East German Sportswoman of the Year 1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Swimmer of the Year 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | European Swimmer of the Year 1983 | Succeeded by |
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