Cornelia Sirch (born 23 October 1966) is a former East German backstrokeswimmer. She competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics in three events and won two bronze medals in the 100 m and 200 m backstroke and a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m medley relay, in which she swam in a preliminary round. In 1982 she was named Swimming World's European Swimmer of the Year, after winning 200 m backstroke at the World Championships in Guayaguil in a world record time of 2:09.91, becoming the first woman to dip under 2 minutes 10 seconds.[1]
Between 1983 and 1987 she won six gold and two silver medals at European championships.[2] She retired shortly after the 1988 Olympics and later had serious health problems, which she attributed to doping she had to take as part of the East German training system.[1] Her European Swimmer of the Year title was vacated in 2013, due to her participation in the doping program.[3]
