Marina Kuč ( sr, Марина Куч; born June 20, 1985, in Essen, Germany) is a former German and Montenegrin swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. She is a two-time Olympian (2004 and 2008) and competed in several World- and European Championships. She was member of SG Essen until 2005. From 2005 she competed as a member of Düsseldorf SC 1898 club in Düsseldorf, Germany, under head coach Torsten Petsch. She was the first woman to represent Montenegro at the Olympics. Kuc was several times German Junior Champ and German Championship medalist and competed for the german national team until she changed to compete for her parents native country

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

at the European Championship in Madrid and the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. In the 100 m breaststroke, she placed twenty-second on the morning prelims. Swimming in heat three, Kuc stormed home with an easy triumph in a time of 1:11.27, holding off Turkey's Ilkay Dikmen by almost half the body length. Three days later, in the 200 m breaststroke, Kuc qualified for the semi-finals with a time of 2:30,39. She finished her semifinal run with a time of 2:31.77. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Kuc competed in the 200 m breaststroke as a member of the Montenegrin squad, since the nation became a newly independent state in 2006. In 2007, she reached a time of 2:32.59 from the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

to qualify for the 2008 Olympics. She challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including three-time Olympians

Siow Yi Ting Siow Yi Ting (born 11 December 1985 in Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia) was an Olympic and national record holding breaststroke swimmer from Malaysia. She swam for Malaysia at the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympics. She did not swam at the 2012 Olympics, ...

of Malaysia and

Nicolette Teo Nicolette Teo Wei Min (Teo Wei-min, ; born 19 April 1986) is a Singaporean swimmer who specializes in breaststroke. High school Nicolette was a former student at Methodist Girls' School in Singapore. Nicolette represented Mission Viejo High S ...

of Singapore. She established a time of 2:31.24 to pick up a third seed by a 3.44-second deficit behind winner Siow. Kuc didn't advance in the semifinals, as she placed thirty-first overall in the prelims.

References

External links

NBC Olympics Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuc, Marina 1985 births Living people Sportspeople from Essen Montenegrin female swimmers Olympic swimmers for Montenegro Olympic swimmers for Serbia and Montenegro Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Female breaststroke swimmers German female swimmers German people of Montenegrin descent Serbia and Montenegro female swimmers Expatriate sportspeople in Germany by nationality