Christian Lietzmann

Christian Lietzmann was an East German swimmer who participated in both individual medleys at the 1972 München Olympics, although he was eliminated in the heats in both events. At the 1974 Wien (Vienna) Europeans however, he claimed two silver medals in both IM events. In 1974 and 1975 Lietzmann earned three East German nationals, adding 10 more podiums between 1972 and 1975.

In 1976, Lietzmann had an accident, broke his arm, and retired from swimming. He married non-Olympian teammate Andrea Hübner, although they divorced a few years later. By profession, Lietzmann first became a soldier in the Nationale Volksarmee (National People’s Army), and then worked as a mineworker with Wismut Werdau. After re-unification he owned a kiosk.

Lietzmann was not familiar with former GDR officials and during a competition in Wien (Vienna), he started in a US swimsuit. He was a strong smoker throughout his life, and in 2006, he died from a heart attack, weighing 150 kg at the time of his death.