Thomas Fahrner is a swimmer who has competed for West Germany. He competed at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympic Games.
Fahrner is the one of the most successful West German swimmers in the 1980s though he never attained a single gold medal. At his first Olympics in 1984, he helped his teammates Dirk Korthals, Alexander Schowtka, and the two-time champion Michael Groß secure a runner-up spot in the 4x200 metres freestyle relay with a new European record time in 7:15.73, narrowly losing the title to their American rivals by the closest margin. He also added a bronze and overhauled a 1:50 barrier in the 200 metres freestyle, despite a fast finish that almost caught Michael Heath. He was also favored to win a gold in the 400, along with the eventual champion George DiCarlo. He wanted to save himself for the evening final and aimed for a qualifying time that would assign him to the outside lane, but he misjudged his prelims time, slipping him to ninth overall and relegating him to the consolation final. There, he pulled away from the field to set a new Olympic record of 3:50.91, more than thirty hundredths of a second faster than DiCarlo.
Four years later in Seoul, Fahrner elected to swim in the 100 and 200 metres freestyle. Although he failed to obtain a single medal in either of his individual races, he continued to assist the West German men to lock the podium spot with a bronze over their Australian rivals in the 4x200 metres freestyle relay.
Olympic Results[]
| Year | Event | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Men's 200m freestyle | 
|
| Men's 400m freestyle | 9th | |
| Men's 4x200m freestyle relay | 
| |
| 1988 | Men's 100m freestyle | 14th |
| Men's 200m freestyle | 8th | |
| Men's 4x100m freestyle relay | 6th | |
| Men's 4x200m freestyle relay |
|
1984[]
| Discipline | Round | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 metres freestyle | Heats | 1:50.00 | |
| A Final | 1:49.69 | ||
| 400 metres freestyle | Heats | 3:55.26 | |
| B Final | 3:50.91 | OR | |
| 4x200 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 7:25.29 (1:51.16 split) |
|
| Final | 7:15.73 (1:49.83 split) |
AR |
1988[]
| Discipline | Round | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 100 metres freestyle | Heats | 50.78 |
| B Final | 51.12 | |
| 200 metres freestyle | Heats | 1:49.02 |
| A Final | 1:49.19 | |
| 4x100 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 3:23.19 (51.09 split) |
| Final | 3:21.65 (50.00 split) | |
| 4x200 metres freestyle relay | Heats | 7:19.38 (Reserve) |
| Final | 7:14.35 (1:47.75 split) |