Ernst-Joachim Küppers

Ernst-Joachim Küppers

Ernst-Joachim Küppers, 1962

Ernst-Joachim Küppers (born August 24, 1942 in Halle (Saale) ) is a former German swimmer who originally came from the Nordhorn water sports club . Küppers comes from a swimmer family. Father Ernst Küppers was one of the best back swimmers in Europe between 1927 and 1934 and in the world as well in 1932. In 1928 and 1932 he was fifth in the Olympics and fastest European over 100 m back. Mother Reni, b. Erkens , won eight German championships between 1926 and 1938 and was 4th at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam in 1928 with the 4 × 100 m freestyle relay. Father Küppers set his most important European record in 1934 with 1: 08.2. 28 years later, his son did the same. Ernst-Joachim Küppers only needed a year to reach the international elite. Still unknown in 1958, he was already double champion in 1959.

Küppers dominated the backstroke discipline in Germany in the late 1950s and 1960s, and was unbeaten in Germany between 1959 and 1967. In 1962 he swam his first European record in San Remo with 2: 15.0. At the 6-nation competition in Rotterdam in 1962, he swam a European record of 1: 02.1, which was not recognized because there were no three timekeepers. His time was then set to 1: 02.2 and remained a tenth of a second above the European record. Like all swimmers in the Federal Republic of Germany, he was not allowed to take part in the 1962 European championships in Leipzig (construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961). Strong improvements in the 1964 Olympic year brought four European records with 2: 14.8 and 2: 12.6 over 200 m as well as 1: 01.0 and 1: 00.8. The time of 1: 00.8 at the Olympic eliminations in Dortmund was even a world record. Küppers swam 70 German records , nine European records from 1962 to 1965 and in 1964 a world record over 100 m back.

He was 20 times German champion , including a. a .:

• Over 100 m back: 1959–1961, 1966–1967 (in the meantime the discipline was not held)
• Over 200 m back: 1959–1964, 1966

The highlight of his career was winning a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m individual medley at the XVIII. 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo . In addition, Küppers was 5th fastest European over the 200 m back, just like his father in 1928 (Amsterdam) and 1932 (Los Angeles).

For his services to sport in Lower Saxony , he was included in the Lower Saxony Sports Honor Gallery of the Lower Saxony Institute for Sports History.

Web links

• Ernst-Joachim Küppers in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )