Frank Pfütze


Frank Pfütze was a German freestyle swimmer who competed at the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics in five events.

Career

He won a silver medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay in 1980 and finished fifth in the same event in 1976. In individual events he was eliminated in the preliminaries
He also won four medals at the 1975 World Aquatics Championships and LEN European Aquatics Championships of 1974 and 1977, including one gold in the 1500 m freestyle, setting a new European record. He broke another European record in 1976, in the 400 m freestyle.

Death

Pfütze died of a sudden heart failure at age 32, leaving a wife and a son. Whereas the cause of his death remained uncertain, it was tentatively related to the East German doping program that Pfütze was involved in.