Franziska van Almsick is a retired German competitive swimmer, born April 5, 1978, in East Berlin, who specialized in freestyle events. A former world record holder in the 200 meter freestyle, she won ten career Olympic medals, four silver and six bronze, across four Olympic Games from 1992 to 2004, competing at age 14 in Barcelona. She won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals in long course World Championships, and 18 gold medals at European Championships. She holds the record for the most career Olympic medals, ten, without ever winning a gold medal, was named Swimming World's Female Swimmer of the Year in 1993, and was named German Sportswoman of the Year in 1993, 1995 and 2002. In 1995 the New York Times described her as the swimmer who united a nation during the period of German reunification.
Facts
Career HighlightHolds the record for most career Olympic medals, ten, without ever winning a gold medal 1 Classification
Competition Category FAQs
How did Franziska van Almsick come to race the 200 metre freestyle final at the 1994 World Championships?
Teammate Dagmar Hase gave up her place in the final, and van Almsick won gold and bettered the world record.
At the 1994 World Championships her teammate Dagmar Hase qualified for the 200 metre freestyle final as the eighth best swimmer, which left van Almsick with only the ninth best qualification time. Hase gave up her start place and offered it to van Almsick, who then won the gold medal in the final and bettered the world record.
Connections
Competed In
Source Wikipedia: Franziska van Almsick
Plays
Source Wikipedia: Franziska van Almsick
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikipedia: Franziska van AlmsickLead sentence 1Quote, Lead sentence 1
Franziska van Almsick (German pronunciation: [fʁanˈt͡sɪska fan ˈalmsɪk] ; born 5 April 1978) is a retired German swimmer, former world record holder in 200 metres freestyle.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Franziska van Almsick
Intro, birth clause
born 5 April 1978
Infobox: birth_date
April 5, 1978
Infobox, nationality
Germany
Career
having the most career Olympic medals, ten, without ever winning a gold medal
Wikipedia, article summary lead
Franziska van Almsick (German pronunciation: [fʁanˈt͡sɪska fan ˈalmsɪk] ; born 5 April 1978) is a retired German swimmer, former world record holder in 200 metres freestyle.
Plays: Swimming, lead paragraph, plays
Franziska van Almsick (German pronunciation: [fʁanˈt͡sɪska fan ˈalmsɪk] ; born 5 April 1978) is a retired German swimmer, former world record holder in 200 metres freestyle.
Competed In: Olympic Games, Lead or career section
Franziska won her first Olympic medals in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympic Games aged only 14.
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