Cornelia Sirch (born 23 October 1966) is a former East German backstroke swimmer. She competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in three events and won two bronze medals in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke and a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, in which she swam in a preliminary round. In 1982 she was named Swimming World's European Swimmer of the Year, after winning 200 m backstroke at the World Championships in Guayaguil in a world record time of 2:09.91, becoming the first woman to dip under 2 minutes 10 seconds.^[1]

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Cornelia Sirch

Sirch in 1986
Personal information
Born	(1966-10-23) 23 October 1966 (age 57) Erfurt, East Germany
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	70 kg (154 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Club	SC Turbine Erfurt
Medal record Representing  East Germany Olympic Games 1988 Seoul 4 × 100 m medley relay 1988 Seoul 100 m backstroke 1988 Seoul 200 m backstroke World Championships 1982 Guayaquil 200 m backstroke 1986 Madrid 200 m backstroke European Championships 1983 Rome 200 m backstroke 1983 Rome 4 × 100 m freestyle 1983 Rome 4 × 200 m freestyle 1985 Sofia 200 m backstroke 1987 Strasbourg 200 m backstroke 1987 Strasbourg 200 m individual medley 1983 Rome 100 m backstroke 1985 Sofia 200 m individual medley

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Between 1983 and 1987 she won six gold and two silver medals at European championships.^[2] She retired shortly after the 1988 Olympics and later had serious health problems, which she attributed to doping she had to take as part of the East German training system.^[1] Her European Swimmer of the Year title was vacated in 2013, due to her participation in the doping program.^[3]