Petra Thümer (later Deckert then Katzur, born 29 January 1961) is a 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 ...

from

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...

. She won gold medals in the 400 m and 800 m freestyle at the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

and the

1977 European Aquatics Championships The 1977 European Aquatics Championships were held at the swimming complex Rosenlundsbadet in the southern Swedish city of Jönköping, from 14 August to 21 August. Besides swimming, there were titles contested in diving, the women's event of syn ...

. During her career she set five world records in the 400 m and 800 m freestyle. In 1987 she was inducted into the

International Swimming Hall of Fame The International Swimming Hall of Fame and Museum (ISHOF) is a history museum and hall of fame, located at One Hall of Fame Drive, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States, operated by private interests and serving as the central point for the stu ...

. Later she admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs as part of the East German training system. For this reason she missed the 1978 World Championships – coaches feared she would not pass the doping test and excluded her from the East German team, officially explaining her absence by injuries. In 1979 she retired from swimming and worked as a photographer. She was married to the German Olympic athletes

Klaus Katzur Klaus Katzur (26 August 1943 – 4 September 2016) was a German swimmer who competed in the 1964, 1968, and 1972 Summer Olympics. In 1972, he won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 metre medley relay and finished eighth in the 200 metre breaststrok ...

(swimmer) and Alf-Gerd Deckert (cross-country skier).

References

1961 births Sportspeople from Chemnitz Doping cases in swimming German sportspeople in doping cases German female swimmers East German female freestyle swimmers Olympic swimmers of East Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Living people World record setters in swimming Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver Olympic gold medalists in swimming {{Germany-swimming-bio-stub

See also

References