Renate VOGEL

Renate Vogel, cousin of her 1972 teammate Helga Lindner, was a breaststroke specialist. She won the silver medal with the East German medley relay at the 1972 München Olympics, and was eliminated in the semi-finals of the 100 m breaststroke. Her greatest moment came in 1973 at the Belgrade Worlds when she won three gold medals in both breaststroke events and with the medley relay. One year later at the Wien (Vienna) Europeans, she again won gold with the medley relay, adding a silver in the 100 m breaststroke. In 1970, she won the East German nationals in both breaststrokes.

In 1979 Vogel escaped via Hungary to West Germany, where she worked as a swimming coach. From 1982-88 she was an assistant coach within the West German national team. Since her escape was only successful with identification papers borrowed from a kindergarten teacher from Göppingen, she was able to prove her identity beyond doubt only by using registration documents for the 1972 München Games. In a 1979 interview, she spoke for the first time about area-wide doping in the former GDR. She told about medical support by East German officials, coaches and physicians since she was a child.