Rica Reinisch
Encyclopedia
Rica Reinisch is a retired swimmer from East Germany. She is 5'9" tall and weighs 132 lbs., and is a specialist in backstroke
, setting four world records in the Moscow Games
(three in 100 m backstroke: 1:01.51, 1:01.50 and 1:00.86; one in 200 m backstroke 2:11.77), at the age of fifteen. She won gold medals in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke and as a member of the 4 x 100 medley relay team.
Reinisch debuted at eight years old and her swimming abilities earned her a place in the Dresden Sports School. At 12 years old, she had already swum the 100 m backstroke in 1:14.3. Two years later, at 14, she was ranked as the twentieth female swimmer in the world in the 100 m backstroke with 1:04.84.
In January 1980, she realized that she had the potential to become an Olympic champion. In the swimming invitational in Austin
(Texas), a kind of "world female championship", she was barely beaten by the American world champion Linda Jezek
(1:03.74 to 1:03.15). One month later she recorded a time of 1:02.46, better than every active swimmer, less than one second away from the world record held by her countrywoman Ulrike Richter
. In the 200 m backstroke she went under 2:20 at 2:15.59. The "records route" was opened for Rica. The hardest was, maybe, winning the national championships where she suffered one defeat by Petra Riedel. But she improved in time for the Games. Shortly before she had swum the 100 m backstroke in 1:01.77.
derived from testosterone
. After suffering severe period pain and enlarged ovaries, her mother forced her to retire at the age of sixteen, just after the Moscow Olympics.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall
and the reintegration of East Germany, records confirmed the doping scandal. By this time, Reinisch had married and had already suffered two miscarriage
s. Like most of the East German athletes, Reinisch was compensated in an ensuing court case on the matter. Reinisch now has two children, and was later quoted as saying: "The worst thing is they took away from me the opportunity to ever know if I could have won the gold medals without the steroids. That's the greatest betrayal of all.".
Backstroke
The backstroke, also sometimes called the back crawl, is one of the four swimming styles regulated by FINA, and the only regulated style swum on the back. This has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disadvantage of swimmers not being able to see where they are going. It is also the only...
, setting four world records in the Moscow Games
1980 Summer Olympics
The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event celebrated in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events were held in Tallinn, and some of the preliminary matches and the quarter-finals of the football tournament...
(three in 100 m backstroke: 1:01.51, 1:01.50 and 1:00.86; one in 200 m backstroke 2:11.77), at the age of fifteen. She won gold medals in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke and as a member of the 4 x 100 medley relay team.
Reinisch debuted at eight years old and her swimming abilities earned her a place in the Dresden Sports School. At 12 years old, she had already swum the 100 m backstroke in 1:14.3. Two years later, at 14, she was ranked as the twentieth female swimmer in the world in the 100 m backstroke with 1:04.84.
In January 1980, she realized that she had the potential to become an Olympic champion. In the swimming invitational in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
(Texas), a kind of "world female championship", she was barely beaten by the American world champion Linda Jezek
Linda Jezek
Linda Jezek is an American backstroke swimmer. She was on the silver medal-winning Women's 4 x 100 metre medley relay team at the 1976 Summer Olympics. She once held a record in the 200 meter backstroke and in 2002 was inducted into the "George F. Haines International Swim Center Hall of Fame".-...
(1:03.74 to 1:03.15). One month later she recorded a time of 1:02.46, better than every active swimmer, less than one second away from the world record held by her countrywoman Ulrike Richter
Ulrike Richter
Ulrike Richter is a German former swimmer who competed for East Germany in the 1970s. At the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal she received three gold medals. She received two gold medals at the 1973 World Aquatics Championships, and two in 1975...
. In the 200 m backstroke she went under 2:20 at 2:15.59. The "records route" was opened for Rica. The hardest was, maybe, winning the national championships where she suffered one defeat by Petra Riedel. But she improved in time for the Games. Shortly before she had swum the 100 m backstroke in 1:01.77.
East German Doping
Reinisch, like many of the East German athletes of the time, was doped by her coaches under instruction from the Stasi. Swimmers were doped with oral-Turinabol, an anabolic steroidAnabolic steroid
Anabolic steroids, technically known as anabolic-androgen steroids or colloquially simply as "steroids", are drugs that mimic the effects of testosterone and dihydrotestosterone in the body. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue ,...
derived from testosterone
Testosterone
Testosterone is a steroid hormone from the androgen group and is found in mammals, reptiles, birds, and other vertebrates. In mammals, testosterone is primarily secreted in the testes of males and the ovaries of females, although small amounts are also secreted by the adrenal glands...
. After suffering severe period pain and enlarged ovaries, her mother forced her to retire at the age of sixteen, just after the Moscow Olympics.
After the fall of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
and the reintegration of East Germany, records confirmed the doping scandal. By this time, Reinisch had married and had already suffered two miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
s. Like most of the East German athletes, Reinisch was compensated in an ensuing court case on the matter. Reinisch now has two children, and was later quoted as saying: "The worst thing is they took away from me the opportunity to ever know if I could have won the gold medals without the steroids. That's the greatest betrayal of all.".