Rainer Henkel (born 27 February 1964 in Opladen

Opladen

Opladen, now a suburb of Leverkusen, used to be the capital of the Rhein-Wupper-Kreis up to 1975. Opladen station is located 10 m. N.E. from Cologne on the railway to Wuppertal. Its is also on the Autobahn A3. Pop. 6338, 42,000. It has an Evangelical and several Roman Catholic churches...

) is a former freestyle swimmer

Freestyle swimming

Freestyle is an unregulated swimming style used in swimming competitions according to the rules of FINA. The front crawl stroke is almost universally used during a freestyle race, as this style is generally the fastest...

 from Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, who won the bronze medal in the 4×200 m freestyle relay for West Germany

West Germany

West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....

 at the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 in Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

.

At the World Championships Henkel won four medals: two golds in the 400 m freestyle and 1500 m freestyle in 1986, silver in the 4×200 m freestyle, and bronze in the 4×200 m freestyle. Furthermore he won five medals at the European Championships: two golds in the 1500 m freestyle and 4×200 m freestyle in 1987, two silver medals in the 1500 m freestyle in 1985 and the 400 m freestyle in 1987, and one bronze in the 400 m freestyle in 1985.

From 1989 to 2001 he was married to the former German high jumper Heike Henkel

Heike Henkel

Heike Henkel is a German former athlete competing in high jump...

.