Otto, Kristin (1966–)

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Otto, Kristin (1966–)

East German swimmer. Born Feb 7, 1966, in Leipzig, East Germany.

At World championships, won gold medals for the 100-meter backstroke, 4 × 100-meter medley relay and 4 × 100-meter free relay (1982) and gold medals for the 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter indiv. medley, 4 × 100-meter medley relay and 4 × 100-meter free relay (1986); won Olympic gold medals at Seoul in the 50-meter free-style, 100-meter freestyle, 100-meter backstroke, 100-meter butterfly, 4 × 100-meter freestyle relay and 4 × 100-meter medley relay (1988); set the world record in the 100-meter with a time of 54.73 (1986), which stood for years. After German reunification, Stasi (secret police) documents revealed that most of the GDR woman swimmers, including Otto, had been forced to take performance-enhancing drugs.

See also Women in World History.