Birgit Meineke (later Heukrodt, born 4 July 1964) is a retired East German swimmer. She was the fastest female swimmer in the 100 m freestyle between 1980 and 1984.

Career

Meineke was strongest in the early 1980s, winning a gold medal as part of the East German team for the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay in the

1981 European Aquatics Championships The 1981 European Aquatics Championships were held in an indoor pool (50 m) in Split, Yugoslavia from 5 September to 12 September 1981. Besides swimming there were titles contested in diving, synchronized swimming (women) and water polo ...

, as well as two silver medals in the same year for the 200 meter and 100 meter freestyle. In the same year, she also established a world record in the

short course In swimming, the term short course (abbreviated SC) is used to identify a pool that is in length. The term is also often included in meet names when conducted in a short course pool. "Short course" is the second type of pool configuration current ...

100 m freestyle, with a time of 54.04 seconds. While her performance at the 1982 World Aquatics Championships was similarly strong, the pinnacle of her career was a sweep of five golds at the

1983 European Aquatics Championships The 1983 LEN European Aquatics Championships took place at the Stadio Olimpico del Nuoto in Rome, Italy, between 22 August and 27 August 1983. East Germany won all women's events in the swimming competition, and also every silver medal available to ...

in Rome. Meineke was unable to compete in the Olympics due to the

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics by 14 Eastern Bloc countries, including East Germany. However, she won several medals at the

Friendship Games The Friendship Games, or Friendship-84 (russian: Дружба-84, ''Druzhba-84''), was an international multi-sport event held between 2 July and 16 September 1984 in the Soviet Union and eight other socialist states which boycotted the 1984 Su ...

, including two gold medals as part of the teams for the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay and the 4 × 100 m medley relay, the latter of which broke a world record. She ended her swimming career in that year, later becoming a general surgeon. Meineke was married to canoer

Olaf Heukrodt Olaf Heukrodt (born 23 January 1962 in Magdeburg) is an East German-German canoer who from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, Heukrodt won five medals with one gold (C-1 500 m: 1988), t ...

East German doping

Like many other East German female athletes, Meineke was subject to systematic administration of

performance-enhancing drugs Performance-enhancing substances, also known as performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs), are substances that are used to improve any form of activity performance in humans. A well-known example of cheating in sports involves doping in sport, where bann ...

. These caused health problems for her in later life, including a liver tumor she attributed to the use of

anabolic steroids Anabolic steroids, also known more properly as anabolic–androgenic steroids (AAS), are steroidal androgens that include natural androgens like testosterone as well as synthetic androgens that are structurally related and have similar effects t ...

and

birth control pills Oral contraceptives, abbreviated OCPs, also known as birth control pills, are medications taken by mouth for the purpose of birth control. Female Two types of female oral contraceptive pill, taken once per day, are widely available: * The combin ...

. In 1998, former coach Rolf Gläser admitted to administering steroids to Meineke and her teammates and was fined $4000 for causing bodily harm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meineke, Birgit 1964 births Living people Swimmers from Berlin People from East Berlin East German female swimmers East German physicians East German women 20th-century German physicians World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming German sportspeople in doping cases Doping cases in swimming German women physicians German surgeons 20th-century women physicians Women surgeons 20th-century surgeons