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Franziska van Almsick (German pronunciation:[fʁanˈt͡sɪskafanˈalmsɪk]ⓘ; born 5 April 1978) is a retired Germanswimmer, former world record holder in 200 metres freestyle. She was multiple World and European champion, in both Long and Short Course Championships.
Career
Jörg Hoffmann and van Almsick (11 years old) at the Children's and Youth Spartakiad in July 1989
At the World Championships in 1994, her teammate Dagmar Hase qualified for the 200 metre freestyle final as the eight best swimmer, leaving Franziska only with the ninth best qualification time. Therefore, Hase abandoned her start place and offered it to van Almsick, who then won the gold medal in the final bettering the world record.[2]
Franziska won her first Olympic medals in 1992 at the Barcelona Olympic Games aged only 14. She won a Silver and Bronze respectively in 200 m freestyle and 100 m freestyle. In other team events, she won a Silver and Bronze respectively in 4x100 m medley relay and 4x100 m freestyle relay for the German swimming team.[2]
She has the distinction of having the most career Olympic medals, ten, without ever winning a gold medal. She ended her career at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.
In 1995, she was described by the New York Times as "the swimmer who united a nation", due to her status as "the first big star of German reunification".[3]
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