Birte Weigang

Who is Birte Weigang?

Birte Weigang is a former butterfly and backstroke swimmer from East Germany, who won three medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The twenty-year old triumphed with the DDR women's relay team in the 4×100 m medley together with her teammates Kristin Otto, Silke Hörner and Katrin Meißner, and finished second in both the 100 m and the 200 m butterfly. She won a gold medal in 1987 at the European Championships, at women's 4×100 m medley.

She is a daughter of the legendary Horst Weigang, once a footballer of the year for East Germany. She started her career in SC Turbine Erfurt. Weigang celebrated her biggest success in 1985, when at the age of 17 she became a European backstroke champion. Later she concentrated on butterfly style and won a silver medal at the World Championships in 1986, which were held in Madrid.

After Birte has given up her swimming career, she became a coach.