Cornelia Sirch (born 23 October 1966) is a former East German backstroke

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

. She competed at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...

in three events and won two bronze medals in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke and a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, in which she swam in a preliminary round. In 1982 she was named Swimming World's European Swimmer of the Year, after winning 200 m backstroke at the World Championships in Guayaguil in a world record time of 2:09.91, becoming the first woman to dip under 2 minutes 10 seconds. Between 1983 and 1987 she won six gold and two silver medals at European championships. She retired shortly after the 1988 Olympics and later had serious health problems, which she attributed to doping she had to take as part of the East German training system. Her European Swimmer of the Year title was vacated in 2013, due to her participation in the doping program.

References

1966 births Living people Sportspeople from Erfurt German female backstroke swimmers Olympic swimmers for East Germany Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics East German female freestyle swimmers World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming German sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in swimming Olympic gold medalists in swimming {{Germany-swimming-Olympic-medalist-stub