Silke Hörner (born 12 September 1965) is a German former

breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...

swimmer, a leading member of the 1980s

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

swimming team. She won two Olympic gold medals, in the 200 m breaststroke and 4×100 m medley relay at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, and set four individual world records. She was named by

Swimming World Magazine } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

as European Swimmer of the Year in 1985 and 1987, but her achievements are regarded with suspicion due to the state-run systematic doping program run by East Germany. In 1991, former East German swimming coach Michael Regner claimed that in the 1980s he had been instructed to distribute anabolic steroids to team swimmers, including Hörner.
"Political Pressure Dismantles East German Sports Machine", New York Times 12 February 1991 Hörner came to prominence when she set a world record in the 200 m breaststroke of 2:28.33 at

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

in qualifying for the East German team for the 1985 European Championships. There she stumbled, swimming outside her best to place third in the 200 m event. She also claimed silver behind teammate

Sylvia Gerasch Sylvia Gerasch (born 16 March 1969) is a former swimmer who competed for East Germany and Germany. Career Gerasch was fifteen years old when she participated in the 1983 European Championships and placed second behind Ute Geweniger in the 100& ...

in the 100 m event. Despite winning neither event, she was named as the European Swimmer of the Year. At the 1986 World Championships in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

, Hörner, set a world record in the 200 m breaststroke on her way to gold, reclaiming the record from Gerasch who had broken it earlier in the year. At the 1987 European Championships in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Hörner won both breaststroke events, claiming the 100 m breaststroke record from Gerasch in the process and also a gold medal in the 4×100 m medley relay, resulting in her second European Swimmer of the Year award. At the

, Hörner, set a world record in the 200 m breaststroke on her way to gold, reclaiming the record from

Allison Higson Allison Ann Higson (born March 13, 1973), later known by her married name Allison Cavanaugh, is a former 2-time Olympic breaststroke, individual medley, and freestyle swimmer from Canada. Born in Mississauga, Ontario, she grew up in Brampton, On ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

who had broken it earlier in the year. She was well outside her world record in the 100 m breaststroke, finishing with the bronze medal. She later combined with

Kristin Otto Kristin Otto (; born 7 February 1966) is a former German swimmer, becoming Olympic, World and European champion, multiple times. She is most famous for being the first woman to win six gold medals at a single Olympic Games, doing so at the 1988 ...

Birte Weigang Birte Weigang (born 31 January 1968 in Leipzig) is a former butterfly and backstroke swimmer from East Germany, who won three medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The twenty-year-old triumphed with the DDR women's relay tea ...

and

Katrin Meissner Katrin Meissner (, born 17 January 1973) is a former freestyle swimmer from East Germany, who won three medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The fifteen-year-old triumphed with the GDR women's relay team in the 4×100&nb ...

to win gold in the 4×100 m medley relay. She is married to

canoe sprint Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

Alexander Schuck Alexander Schuck (born 18 May 1957) is an East German canoe sprinter who competed in the 1980s. He won two medals in the C-2 1000 m event at the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships with a gold in 1985 and a silver in 1983. Schuck also fi ...

Awards and honours

:* 1988

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

in Gold

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Horner, Silke 1965 births Living people Swimmers from Leipzig East German female breaststroke swimmers German female breaststroke swimmers Olympic swimmers for East Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany Swimmers at the 1988 Summer Olympics World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in gold Sportspeople from Bezirk Leipzig