Klaus Steinbach (born 14 December 1953 in Kleve

Kleve

Kleve , is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Kleve was capital of a county and later a duchy...

, North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with four of the country's ten largest cities. The state was formed in 1946 as a merger of the northern Rhineland and Westphalia, both formerly part of Prussia. Its capital is Düsseldorf. The state is currently run by a coalition of the...

) is a former World Record holding and Olympic 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 Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. He swam for Germany at the 1972

West Germany at the 1972 Summer Olympics

West Germany was the host nation of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich. 423 competitors, 340 men and 83 women, took part in 183 events in 23 sports.-Medalists:...

 and 1976 Olympics

West Germany at the 1976 Summer Olympics

West Germany competed at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Canada. 290 competitors, 233 men and 57 women, took part in 163 events in 20 sports.-Medalists:...

.

At the '72 Games

Swimming at the 1972 Summer Olympics

The 1972 Summer Olympics were held in Munich, West Germany, 29 events in swimming were contested. There was a total of 532 participants from 52 countries competing....

, he was a member of West Germany's silver medal winning 4×200 m freestyle relay. At the '76 Games

Swimming at the 1976 Summer Olympics

The 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montréal, Canada, 26 events in swimming were contested. There was a total of 471 participants from 51 countries competing.-Medal table:-Men's events:-Women's events:-References:...

, he was part of West Germany's bronze medal winning 4×100 m medley relay. He also has a one individual bronze medal and six relay medals from the World Aquatics Championships between 1973 and 1978.

Steinbach was the first man under 50 seconds on 100 m freestyle in a short course meters pool.

He also served as Germany's Chef de Mission for the 2004

Germany at the 2004 Summer Olympics

Germany competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.German athletes participated in all sports except for baseball, basketball, men's football, women's handball, softball, synchronized swimming, taekwondo, women's tennis, men's volleyball, and women's water polo.-Medalists:Germany...

 and 2006 Olympics

Germany at the 2006 Winter Olympics

Germany competed at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, winning once again the most total medals of any nation. The Nationales Olympisches Komitee für Deutschland nominated a total of 162 athletes to compete, as the 5th largest team, in all 15 of the Winter Olympic...

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