Alexander Shovtka

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Alexander Schowtka (born September 18, 1963 in Valencia , Venezuela ) is a former German swimmer who won an Olympic silver medal in 1984.

Career

Schowtka grew up in Ecuador and won for Ecuador at the South American Junior Championship in 1981 over 200 meters freestyle. In 1982 Schowtka moved to Hamburg to study computer science and joined the Hamburg swimming community . From 1983 he was allowed to start for the Federal Republic of Germany. At the European Championships in Rome in 1983, Schowtka just barely missed a medal with the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay in fourth. The 4-by-200-meter freestyle relay improved the world record to 7: 20.40 minutes on August 23 and won in the line-up of Thomas Fahrner , Alexander Schowtka, Andreas Schmidt and Michael Groß before the relay from the GDR.

In 1984 Schowtka won his first German championship title in the 100 meter freestyle . At the 1984 Olympic Games , the 4-by-200-meter freestyle relay was the first of the four competitions in which Showtka took part. In the run-up, the US season had undercut the world record of the German season from the previous year. In the final, the swimmers from the United States led from the start, the German relay team with Thomas Fahrner, Dirk Korthals , Alexander Schowtka and Michael Groß came within four hundredths of a second to the Americans thanks to the final swimmer Groß and improved in 7:15 , 73 minutes her European record by over four seconds, but only received the silver medal. After Schowtka was eliminated over 100 meters freestyle in the preliminary run, he finished fourth with the 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay, just behind the Swedish relay. In the 4-by-100-meter layer relay, Shovtka only swam in the lead-up, the relay also took fourth place in the final.

In 1985 Schowtka won again at the German championships over 100 meters freestyle. At the European Championships in Sofia Shovtka swam in both freestyle relays. Alexander Schowtka, Thomas Fahrner, Dirk Korthals and Michael Groß won over 4 x 100 meters in front of the relay teams from the GDR and Sweden. Alexander Schowtka, Michael Groß, André Schadt and Thomas Fahrner won over 4 x 200 meters before the Swedes.

In 1986 Alexander Shovtka won his last major medal at the World Cup in Madrid. The German 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay with Rainer Henkel , Michael Groß, Alexander Schowtka and Thomas Fahrner won silver in 7: 15.96 minutes. Although the four swimmers had left the US relay behind them this time, the relay from the GDR had a lead of five hundredths of a second to win the world championship.

literature

  • Volker Kluge : Summer Olympic Games. The Chronicle III. Mexico City 1968 - Los Angeles 1984. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-328-00741-5 .
  • National Olympic Committee for Germany: Los Angeles 1984. The Olympic team of the Federal Republic of Germany . Frankfurt am Main 1984

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Individual times in the world record
personal data
SURNAME Shovtka, Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German swimmer
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1963
PLACE OF BIRTH Valencia , Venezuela