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Petra Thümer

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Petra Thümer
Petra Thümer in 1976
Personal information
NationalityEast German
Born (1961-01-29) 29 January 1961 (age 63)
Karl-Marx-Stadt, Sachsen, East Germany (now Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany)
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesFreestyle
ClubSC Karl-Marx-Stadt
Medal record
Women's swimming
Representing  East Germany
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1976 Montreal 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1976 Montreal 800 m freestyle
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1977 Jönköping 200 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1977 Jönköping 400 m freestyle
Gold medal – first place 1977 Jönköping 800 m freestyle

Petra Thümer (later Deckert then Katzur, born 29 January 1961) is a former swimmer from East Germany. She won gold medals in the 400 m and 800 m freestyle at the 1976 Summer Olympics[1] and the 1977 European Aquatics Championships. During her career she set five world records in the 400 m and 800 m freestyle. In 1987 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.[2]

Later she admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs as part of the East German training system.[3][4] For this reason she missed the 1978 World Championships – coaches feared she would not pass the doping test and excluded her from the East German team, officially explaining her absence by injuries.[5]

In 1979 she retired from swimming and worked as a photographer.[3]

She was married to the German Olympic athletes Klaus Katzur (swimmer) and Alf-Gerd Deckert (cross-country skier).[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Petra Thümer". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Petra Thumer (GDR) - 1989 Honor Swimmer". ISHOF.org. International Swimming Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 12 January 2007.
  3. ^ a b Thümer, Petra. bundesstiftung-aufarbeitung.de
  4. ^ Von Männern geschlagen. Der Spiegel (14 September 1998)
  5. ^ Matthias Krause (21 April 1998). Die Spritzen waren immer fertig aufgezogen. berliner-zeitung.de