Walther Binner set a world record in the 100m breaststroke in 1909. He participated in 1912 at the Stockholm Games in the 100m freestyle, but was eliminated in the heats. In 1928 at Amsterdam, Binner became a jury member and member of the Deutscher Olympischer Ausschuss, at that time the NOC of Germany. In 1932 in Los Angeles he participated as a jury member and team leader.
In 1936, Binner was not allowed to participate at the Berlin Olympics because of his political views. In his absence he was voted out of his post as FINA President, a position he had held since 1932. After World War II he was Chairman of the Hessian Swimming Association from 1947-55. He became one of the co-founders of the Liberal Democratic Party in 1945 in Erfurt, and director of the Landesversicherungsanstalt Thüringen. Binner later fled to West Germany and worked as a teacher in Frankfurt am Main until his retirement.
Germany