Werner Freitag

Butterfly swimmer Werner Freitag was eliminated in the semifinals of the 200 butterfly at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 100 butterfly at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, then representing West Germany. In 1963 and 1965 he was West German 200 butterfly champion. Freitag later studied sports science.

Freitag’s first textbook was published in 1962. From 1988-2004, he was responsible for the editorial publication Swimming - Learning and Optimizing for the German Swimming Association (DSTV) and he co-authored the curriculum Planning Swimming (2002). From 1967-80 he was a swimming coach in Rüsselsheim and from 1993-98 was regional coach of the Hessian Swimming Association, serving as its president from 1998 onwards.

His daughter Meike also became an internationally successful swimmer, participating in the Olympic Games from 1996-2004. His sons Sven and Nils were also nationally competitive.