Hermann Gericke took up swimming at the age of 11, and by 17 had won his first national title in the 100 metres backstroke. He was eventually selected to represented Switzerland in that event at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, where he placed 29th. He was also a skier, and while studying mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich captured medals in both sports at the university level. He was also selected to represent his country at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, but Switzerland joined the boycott of those Games and thus Gericke could not participate. Shortly thereafter he joined his family manufacturing company, the Gericke Group, and eventually received a doctorate in economics in 1969.
Switzerland