Jutta LANGENAU

East German swimmer Jutta Langenau from Erfurt burst into the swimming scene in 1954, winning the first European title at Torino for the former GDR when she won the 100 butterfly with a new world record 1:16.6 minutes. She qualified for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics where she came sixth in the 100 butterfly. Between 1949-59 she won 14 East German titles. In 1958 she finished fifth at the European Championships in Budapest. After her competitive career, the graduated teacher of pedagogy became a swimming coach and, amongst others, coached one of the world greats, Roland Matthes. In 1954 she was the first sportswoman elected into the Volkskammer (People’s Chamber), the parliament of former GDR.