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Franziska van Almsick

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Franziska van Almsick
Personal information
Nationality Germany
Born (1978-04-05) 5 April 1978 (age 46)
East Berlin, East Germany
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight66 kg (146 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubSG Neukölln
Medal record

Franziska van Almsick (German pronunciation: [fʁanˈt͡sɪska fan ˈalmsɪk] ; born 5 April 1978) is a retired German swimmer, former world record holder in 200 metres freestyle. She was multiple World and European champion, in both Long and Short Course Championships.

Career

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Jörg Hoffmann and van Almsick (11 years old) at the Children's and Youth Spartakiad in July 1989

Her career began at the SC Dynamo Berlin in East Germany.[1] Franziska van Almsick won 2 gold medals at the World Championships, 18 gold medals at the European championships and 4 gold medals at the European championships (SC).

At the World Championships in 1994, her teammate Dagmar Hase qualified for the 200 metre freestyle final as the eight best swimmer, leaving Franziska only with the ninth best qualification time. Therefore, Hase abandoned her start place and offered it to van Almsick, who then won the gold medal in the final bettering the world record.[2]

Franziska won her first Olympic medals in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympic Games aged only 14. She won a Silver and Bronze respectively in 200 m freestyle and 100 m freestyle. In other team events, she won a Silver and Bronze respectively in 4x100 m medley relay and 4x100 m freestyle relay for the German swimming team.[2]

She has the distinction of having the most career Olympic medals, ten, without ever winning a gold medal. She ended her career at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.

In 1993, she was named by Swimming World magazine as the Female World Swimmer of the Year.

In 1995, she was described by the New York Times as "the swimmer who united a nation", due to her status as "the first big star of German reunification".[3]

Personal life

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She has two sons, born in 2006 and 2013. Her family resides in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

In 1993, evidence revealed that her mother Jutta, a sports coach, had been a Stasi informer, though Jutta disputed this.[3][4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Zeiten der Liebe : Textarchiv : Berliner Zeitung". Archived from the original on 11 January 2005. Retrieved 30 November 2007.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Franziska van Almsick". Olympics.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "OLYMPICS;The Swimmer Who United a Nation". The New York Times. 15 July 1996. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  4. ^ Hersh, Philip (12 July 1996). "MAKING A VERY BIG SPLASH". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
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Records
Preceded by Women's 200 metre freestyle
world record holder (long course)

6 September 1994 – 27 March 2007
Succeeded by
Awards
Preceded by German Sportswoman of the Year
1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by German Sportswoman of the Year
1995
Succeeded by
Preceded by German Sportswoman of the Year
2002
Succeeded by
Preceded by World Swimmer of the Year
1993
Succeeded by
Preceded by European Swimmer of the Year
1993–1994
Succeeded by
Preceded by European Swimmer of the Year
2002
Succeeded by