Heike Friedrich (born 18 April 1970 in Karl-Marx-Stadt, Saxony

Saxony

The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

) is a former freestyle

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

 swimmer from East Germany, who won two medals at the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 in Seoul, South Korea.

At the age of 15, Friedrich won five gold medals in the 1985 European championships and won four more in the World Championship the next year. She had not lost in a single major international championship in any event until she was defeated by Janet Evans

Janet Evans

Janet Beth Evans is a American competitive swimmer who specializes in distance freestyle. She recently announced her comeback to the sport with intentions to swim in the 2012 Olympic Trials.-Biography:...

in the 400 m in the Seoul Olympics, taking the silver medal. Freidrich had already won the gold medal in the 200 m freestyle on the previous day.