Kathleen Nord

Kathleen Nord, later Schwartz and then Feldvoss, was a butterfly and medley swimmer from East Germany, born on 26 December 1965 and died on 24 February 2022. She won the 200 metre butterfly at the 1988 Summer Olympics and finished fifth in the 400 metre individual medley there. Between 1982 and 1989 she collected six gold, two silver and three bronze medals in individual medley and butterfly events at European and world championships. She missed the 1984 Olympics because East Germany joined the boycott and instead swam at the Friendship Games, taking silver in the 400 metre individual medley. She began swimming at six, medalled at the world championships at 16, retired at 25 in 1990 and briefly came back in 1995 and 1996 in the United States. She later studied at Palm Beach Community College in Florida, married the mathematician and former swimmer Jörg Feldvoss, had four daughters, and worked as a swimming coach in Magdeburg.