The first week of June 1976 witnessed 15 World records by GDR swimmers (with three more to follow in the second week that year). Fourteen of those 17 performances were set at the Olympic trials and East German Championships in East Berlin.  

Some, but not all, the holders, then converted those swims to an astonishing outcome and change of guard in Olympic women's swimming: 17 medals, 10 gold, 6 silver and one bronze for the GDR - dominance over the USA, the rest of the world trounced, dozens of women who might have gone down in Olympic history as "the first black swimmer ever to claim Olympic gold" (Enith Brigitha, NED); "the first gold medallist", "the first podium placer"; "the first finalist" for their nations, among many other variants on results that might have been, robbed of their rightful reward on the day and for the rest of life. 

They wait for justice yet, even though the hard evidence, with witness and confession directly from one of the leaders of the GDR doping program on his way to criminal conviction a decade later, has been available to Olympic authorities for at least 35 years. Meanwhile, Nancy Garapick joined the shoal of swimmers who passed away without ever having seen any official recognition from swimming and/or Olympic authorities for achievements masked by a systematic doping program run out of an IOC-accredited laboratory:

Nancy Garapick Passes At 64 Without The IOC Or World Aquatics Having Recognised Her Golden Career

RIP Nancy Garapick, first home with head held high in two Olympic finals at a home Olympics in 1976…

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

GDR Doping - State Of Swimming +

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Part of that vast body of evidence includes some on the list of record holders below, with relevance to Montreal 1976. 

The story of Petra Thumer is a case in point. Fifty years ago this year, she was 14 when she came to prominence by winning the 1975 European junior 800m freestyle title in 8mins 59.31, and taking silver in the 400m freestyle, in 4mins 27.08, behind a teammate (who never made it to senior stardom) at the same event in Geneva, Switzerland.

Thumer entered 1976 well off the pace she would need to have a chance of winning a medal at the Olympic Games in Montreal that year. Over 400m, she was in no sense a contender: her best time was 13 seconds slower than American Shirley Babashoff’s world record and outside the fastest 50 times in the world in 1975.

Just six months later, on June 4, 1976, at East German trials a month before the Olympics, she set a World record of 8:40.68 in the 800m freestyle. She also finished second to compatriot Barbara Krause in the 400m freestyle, both women racing inside Babashoff’s 4mins 14.76 world record.

Krause’s pioneering time was a staggering 4mins 11.69 - but she did not make it to Montreal. At the Games, East German officials told the media that she was ill. Years later, state documents would show that she had returned a positive test for an anabolic steroid because doctors had miscalculated the dose of banned substances they had given her and they could not risk Krause testing positive in competition.

For the GDR, she was dispensable. After all, they had another lined up for gold. Thumer took the 400m and 800m Olympic titles in astonishing times of 4mins 09.89 and 8mins 37.14 respectively. Her curve of progress was, like many other East German swims in that era, off the chart. 

Thumer would go on to break the World records in those two events once more to take the 1977 European titles. And then, she was gone, at 16. We never saw her in international waters again but we would, eventually, find out why. What had happened to Krause would also befall Thumer, who, with a teammate, was recalled from the national squad before it headed to 1978 World titles beyond Checkpoint Charlie in West Berlin. The two swimmers had returned positive test, were taken to the facility that housed the IOC accredited laboratory in Saxony, to be "cleaned up". Neither swimmer appeared at World titles: one was said to have slipped in the shower and injured herself, the other said to have caught a bad cold. 

In 1990, after the first details of the doping program were revealed on the eve of German reunification, the head of the doping program, Manfred Höppner, would confirm to Stern Magazine that the IOC-accredited laboratory at Kreischa in Saxony was part of the dark secret. Instead of trying to catch cheats, they tested to detect and hide positive tests to make sure that anyone who might get caught, like Krause and Thumer, did not travel outside the country.

None of which is an argument in favour of doping as long as you admit and embrace it. Indeed, all of the above - based on an extract from Unfair Play: The Battle For Women's Sport, by Sharron Davies, with me - and a great deal more in our book and Sharron's story of her personal experience and how it impacted her life and those of others, including teammates and her coach and father, Terry Davies, offers myriad reasons why the Enhanced project ought to be and has been roundly rejected by those who care about Fair and Safe Play and integrity in sport. 

Sharron Davies Lifts SOS Courage Cup On Front Line Of Fight To Save Women’s Sport

To mark the 50th anniversary of East Germany’s doping State Research Plan 14:25, we recall how Sharron Davies’ lead role in the fight to save women’s sport links the events of the Cold War in the 1970s and 1980s to today’s battle to ring fence women’s sport for females only

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

The past week in 2026 saw momentum build for a new independent and collective voice for Olympians in their struggle to secure Fair Pay for Fair Pay:

The wrap and links to related coverage:

FORUM: Will This Season’s Athlete Bloom Be The One That Lifts The Olympic Game To Next Level?

By aping the Olympic status quo that says no matter how wealthy we become, sports stars should not be paid, Kirsty Coventry has triggered a revolution, in which the real Athlete Voice could finally be heard through the truly independent collective that is essential to change

State Of Swimming +Craig Lord

Meanwhile, On This Day in history:

World records set this week, June 1-7, throughout history:

The Timeline in full, day by day throughout the year, available in full every day for subscribers: