Raik Hannemann

Raik Hannemann was an East German swimmer who participated at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He placed 20th in the 100 metres backstroke and seventh in the 200 IM. At European Championships, he won a silver medal in 1989 and two bronzes in 1985 and 1987, all in medley events.

Hannemann domestically won six individual national titles. He later became a sports journalist and worked with Welt am Sonntag and Berliner Morgenpost. In 2019, he became Senior Press Officer for the German Swimming Federation.

After German re-unification, Hannemann openly admitted that he had received performance-enhancing substances within the framework of the state doping system. Among other things, he coined the phrase: “We were all little Ben Johnsons.”