Heike Friedrich is a swimmer who has competed for East Germany. She competed at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games.
Friedrich was one of the top female freestyle swimmers through the late 1980s. A favorite for the distance-freestyle races (200 and 400), she beat the defending champion Mary Wayte on the third lap and lengthened her lead from the field to snatch the gold with a new Olympic record in the 200. She was also expected to challenge Janet Evans in the 400 metres freestyle, but she could not catch her at the closing stages of the race to finish with a European record for the silver. She also contributed to the East German women's gold-medal triumph in the 4x100 metres freestyle relay by swimming through the third leg in the heats.
After the country's reunification in 1990, Friedrich retired from competitive swimming but her career was marred by the revelations of widespread performance-enhancing drugs used by East German athletes. In 1998, several former East German swimmers have gone public with accusations against their coaches and physicians that they were systematically doped, including Friedrich.[1]
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | Women's 200m freestyle | 
|
| Women's 400m freestyle | 
| |
| Women's 4x100m freestyle relay |
|
1988[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 metres freestyle | Heats | 1:59.02 | |
| A Final | 1:57.65 | OR | |
| 400 metres freestyle | Heats | 4:11.30 | |
| A Final | 4:05.94 | AR | |
| 4x100 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 3:43.13 (55.68 split) |
|
| Final | 3:40.63 (Reserve) |
OR |
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.