Karina Helene Muller (also ''Helene Muller''; born 25 April 1978) is a South African former swimmer, who specialised in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. She represented South Africa in two editions of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

(1996 and 2000), and later captured two silver medals each in sprint freestyle and medley relay at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

. While studying in the United States, Muller swam for the

Nebraska Cornhuskers The Nebraska Cornhuskers (often abbreviated to Huskers) are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. The university is a member of the Big Ten Conference, and the Cornhuskers compete in NCAA Divis ...

swimming and diving team, under head coach Cal Bentz, and Sprint coach Keith Moore, at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Lancaster County. The city covers with a population of 292,657 in 2021. It is the second-most populous city in Nebraska and the 73rd-largest in the United Sta ...

. She also received thirteen All-American honours, and earned a bronze medal in the 200-yard freestyle (1:46.97) at the 2000

NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships The NCAA Women's Division I Swimming and Diving Championships is an annual college athletics, college championship in the United States. The meet is typically held on the second-to-last weekend (Thursday-Saturday) in March, and consists of indivi ...

in Indianapolis, Indiana. Muller made her first South African Olympic team, as an eighteen-year-old junior, at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. There, she failed to reach the top 16 final in any of her individual events, finishing thirty-third in the

100 m freestyle The 100 metre freestyle is often considered to be the highlight (Blue Ribbon event) of the sport of swimming, like 100 metres in the sport of Athletics. The first swimmer to break the one-minute barrier (long course) was Johnny Weissmuller, in 1 ...

(57.98), and thirtieth in the 200 m freestyle (2:05.59). In the 4×100 m medley relay, Muller, along with

Marianne Kriel Marianne Kriel (born August 30, 1971, in Bellville, Western Cape) is a former backstroke and freestyle swimmer from South Africa, who won the bronze medal in the 100 m backstroke at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Met with ...

Penny Heyns Penelope ("Penny") Heyns OIS (born 8 November 1974) is a South African former swimmer, who is best known for being the only woman in the history of the Olympic Games to have won both the 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events – at the 1996 Atlan ...

, and Mandy Loots, finished fourth with a time of 4:08.16, almost a full second off the podium. At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney, Muller competed in four swimming events. She achieved

FINA FINA (french: Fédération internationale de natation, en, International Swimming Federation, link=yes) (to be renamed as World Aquatics by ) is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administer ...

A-standards of 25.94 (50 m freestyle), 55.82 (100 m freestyle), and 2:00.35 (200 m freestyle) from the South African Nationals in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

. In her first event, 200 m freestyle, Muller finished her semi-final run with a ninth-seeded time of 2:00.04. Earlier in the prelims, she posted a second-fastest time and a South African record of 1:59.89. Three days later, in the

, Muller finished sixth in the final with a sterling African record of 55.19. In the 50 m freestyle, Muller posted a time of 26.07 from heat nine, but missed the semi-finals by 11-hundredths of a second. On the last day of the program, Muller teamed up again with Loots,

Sarah Poewe Sarah Poewe (born 3 March 1983) is an Olympic breaststroke swimmer who has competed internationally for both South Africa and Germany. Poewe was born in Cape Town, South Africa, the daughter of Lorrain (née Stoch) and Reinhardt Poewe. She li ...

, and

Charlene Wittstock Charlene (' Charlene Lynette Wittstock; French: ''Charlène'';Since her marriage, her name has been Gallicised by adding a grave accent to her name in French documents. born 25 January 1978) is the princess consort of Monaco and a former Olympic ...

in the 4×100 m medley relay. Swimming a freestyle leg, Muller anchored the race with a split of 54.77, a new national record, but the South Africans settled only for fifth place in a final time of 4:05.15. At the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England, Muller captured two silver medals each in the 100 m freestyle (55.60), and in the 4×100 m medley relay (4:05.06), along with Loots, Poewe, and Wittstock. She now lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she is finishing up medical school. She is married to Mark Rovnan, and has two children, Karina (8) and Milan (5).

References

External links

News24 Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muller, Helene 1978 births Living people Sportspeople from Pretoria South African female swimmers Olympic swimmers of South Africa Swimmers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2002 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for South Africa South African female freestyle swimmers Nebraska Cornhuskers women's swimmers University of Nebraska alumni Commonwealth Games medallists in swimming 20th-century South African women 21st-century South African women African Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 1995 All-Africa Games African Games gold medalists for South Africa African Games silver medalists for South Africa Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games