Reinhard Merkel

Swimmer Reinhard Merkel finished sixth in the 400 individual medley event at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. He also swam the heats of the 200 metres but failed to reach the final. Reinhard Merkel later studied law at the Universities of Bochum, Heidelberg and München.

He then became a law professor and taught at the Universities of Bielefeld, Rostock and Hamburg. From 1988-90 he worked as a freelance journalist for the German newspaper Die Zeit. He later became Emeritus Professor of Criminal Law and Philosophy of Law at the University of Hamburg. From 2012-16 he was a member of the German Ethics Council.