Petra Thumer

Petra Thümer

Petra Thümer in 1976
Personal information
Nationality	East German
Born	(1961-01-29) 29 January 1961 (age 56) Karl-Marx-Stadt, Sachsen, East Germany now Germany
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	62 kg (137 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Strokes	Freestyle
Club	SC Karl-Marx-Stadt
Medal record Women's swimming Representing  East Germany Olympic Games 1976 Montreal 400 m freestyle 1976 Montreal 800 m freestyle European Championships 1977 Jönköping 200 m freestyle 1977 Jönköping 400 m freestyle 1977 Jönköping 800 m freestyle

Petra Thümer (born 29 January 1961) is a former swimmer from East Germany. She won gold medals in the 400 m and 800 m freestyle at the 1976 Summer Olympics and the 1977 European Aquatics Championships. During her career she set five world records in the 400 m and 800 m freestyle. In 1987 she was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

Later she admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs as part of the East German training system. For this reason she missed the 1978 World Championships – coaches feared she would not pass the doping test and excluded her from the East German team, officially explaining her absence by injuries.

In 1979 she retired from swimming and worked as a photographer.

She was married to the German Olympic athletes Klaus Katzur (swimmer) and Alf-Gerd Deckert (cross-country skier).