Dagmar Hase

Dagmar Hase (born 22 December 1969) is a retired German swimmer. She was an Olympic champion, World champion and a European champion.

Career

Hase specialised in the freestyle and backstroke. She won seven Olympic medals in her career, including a gold medal in the 400 m freestyle at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Her defeat of American swimmer Janet Evans in the 400 metre freestyle at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics was Evans's only loss in a 400 or 800 metre freestyle between 1986 and 1994.

She also defeated the highly decorated, record-breaking Olympic gold medalist Krisztina Egerszegi in the 200 metre backstroke at the 1989 European Aquatics Championships. Notably, Egerszegi had won gold in the event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and this would be her only loss in the 200 m backstroke until 1994. Hase received Olympic and World Championship medals across the 200 freestyle, 400 freestyle, 800 freestyle, and 200 backstroke events.

At the World Championships in 1994 she qualified for the 200 metre freestyle as the eighth best swimmer, but her teammate Franziska van Almsick swam only the ninth best qualification time. Hase abandoned her start place and offered it to van Almsick, who then won the gold medal in the final, bettering the world record.