Heidi Pechstein (later Kunze, born 4 July 1944 in

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

) is a German former

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 in the

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

and

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this ho ...

and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay in 1960. In 1964 she finished sixth with the German team in the same event. At the

1962 European Aquatics Championships The 1962 European Aquatics Championships were held in Leipzig, East Germany from 18 to 25 August 1962. Titles were contested in swimming, diving and water polo (men). In the men's swimming program, the 100 m backstroke had been replaced by the 200 ...

, she won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, setting the new world record. For this achievement, the relay team members were named German Sportspersonalities of the Year in the team category in 1962.Mannschaften des Jahres seit 1947
. sportler-des-jahres.de Individually, Pechstein won a gold medal in the 100 m freestyle at the same championships and a silver medal in the 400 m medley four years later.

References

1944 births Living people German female freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of the United Team of Germany Swimmers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for the United Team of Germany Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Swimmers from Leipzig European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics {{Germany-swimming-bio-stub