Frank Pfütze

Frank Pfütze (15 January 1959 – 20 January 1991) was a German freestyle swimmer who competed at the 1976 and 1980 Summer Olympics in five events. He won a silver medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle relay in 1980 and finished fifth in the same event in 1976. In individual events he was eliminated in the preliminaries^[1]

Frank Pfütze

Pfütze in 1977
Personal information
Born	(1959-01-15)15 January 1959 Rostock, East Germany
Died	20 January 1991(1991-01-20) (aged 32) Berlin, Germany
Height	1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	74 kg (163 lb)
Sport
Sport	Swimming
Club	SC Dynamo Berlin
Medal record Men's swimming Representing  East Germany Olympic Games 1980 Moscow 4×200 m freestyle World Championships 1975 Cali 400 m freestyle European Championships 1974 Vienna 1500 m freestyle 1977 Jönköping 4×200 m freestyle 1977 Jönköping 400 m freestyle

He also won four medals at the 1975 World Aquatics Championships and LEN European Aquatics Championships of 1974 and 1977, including one gold in the 1500 m freestyle (1974), setting a new European record.^[2][3] He broke another European record in 1976, in the 400 m freestyle.^[4]

Pfütze died of a sudden heart failure at age 32, leaving a wife and a son. Whereas the cause of his death remained uncertain, it was tentatively related to the East German doping program that Pfütze was involved in.^[5]