Daniela Hunger is a swimmer who has competed for East Germany and Germany. She competed at the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympic Games.
Hunger was one of the top swimmers from the former East Germany after the country's reunification in 1990. She arrived at her first Olympics in 1988 as a top medal favorite in the medley double (200 and 400). She claimed her first Olympic medal with a bronze under the sub-4:40 range in the 400 metres individual medley, trailing the winner Janet Evans by a couple of a seconds. She continued her success by setting a new Olympic record for the gold in the 200. She also helped the East German women solidify a gold medal triumph over the Americans by three seconds in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay.
Four years later in Barcelona, Hunger returned to her second Games as the defending champion of the 200 metres individual medley, but she missed her title defense with a bronze in the final behind the winner Lin Li and the runner-up Summer Sanders. Though she failed to attain another medal in the other half of a medley double (400), Hunger redeemed to share a bronze with Franziska van Almsick, Simone Osygus, and Manuela Stellmach in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay. She also received a silver as the butterfly swimmer of the German team in the 4x100 metres medley relay.
Hunger's swimming career was marred by the revelations of widespread performance-enhancing drugs used by East German athletes after the country's reunification. In 1998, several former East German swimmers have gone public with accusations against their coaches and physicians that they were systematically doped, including Hunger.[1]
Olympic Results[]
Year | Event | Rank |
---|---|---|
1988 | Women's 200m individual medley | |
Women's 400m individual medley | ||
Women's 4x100m freestyle relay | ||
1992 | Women's 200m individual medley | |
Women's 400m individual medley | 6th | |
Women's 4x100m freestyle relay | ||
Women's 4x100m medley relay |
1988[]
Discipline | Round | Time | |
---|---|---|---|
200 metres individual medley | Heats | 2:16.23 | |
A Final | 2:12.59 | OR | |
400 metres individual medley | Heats | 4:44.85 | |
A Final | 4:39.76 | ||
4x100 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 3:43.13 (55.83 split) |
|
Final | 3:40.63 (55.69 split) |
OR |
1992[]
Discipline | Round | Time |
---|---|---|
200 metres individual medley | Heats | 2:15.16 |
A Final | 2:13.92 | |
400 metres individual medley | Heats | 4:47.39 |
A Final | 4:47.57 | |
4x100 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 3:43.58 (55.28 split) |
Final | 3:41.60 (55.12 split) | |
4x100 metres medley relay | Heats | 4:10.62 (Reserve) |
Final | 4:05.19 (55.07 split) |
References[]
- ↑ "East German Cites Doping Nasal Spray : Olympics: Swimmer says drug developed before games in Seoul was virtually undetectable.", Los Angeles Times, 4 December 1990. Retrieved on 1 October 2023.