Dirk Korthals

Dirk Korthals ( born March 22, 1962 in Vreden ) is a former German swimmer who in 1984 won an Olympic silver medal.

Dirk Korthals won the 1981 national title in the 4 x 200 meter freestyle relay in the relay of the SG Gladbeck. At the European Championships in Split he won the 200 meters the ninth. His first medal at a major international event Korthals won at the World Championships 1982 in Guayaquil. The West German 4x200 -meter freestyle relay in the occupation Andreas Schmidt, Dirk Korthals, Rainer Henkel and Michael Gross won bronze behind the seasons from the United States and the Soviet Union.

1984 occupied Korthals at the German Championships in second place over 200 meters behind Michael Gross. In 1:49,93 seconds he was about the seventh swimmers in the world, which remained under 1:50 minutes. At the Olympic Games in 1984, the 4-by- 200-meter freestyle relay was the first of the four competitions on the program at which Korthals participated. In the run, the U.S. squadron had undercut the world record of the German relay from the previous year. In the final, the swimmer from the United States from the start led away, the German squadron with Thomas Fahrner, Dirk Korthals, Alexander Schowtka and Michael Gross came through the final float large indeed to four hundredths of a second to the American approach and improved in 7:15, 73 minutes their European record by over four seconds, but only got the silver medal. About 100 meters freestyle Korthals reached the finals, finishing in eighth place. The 4 x 100 meter freestyle relay finished second in the occupation Korthals, Andreas Schmidt, Schowtka and Great fourth place, just behind the Swedish squadron. In the 4 x 100 -meter medley relay Korthals swam only in the finale, Stefan Peter, Gerald Mörken, Michael Gross and Dirk Korthals finished fourth.

In 1985, Korthals once again participate in the European Championship in Sofia. About 4 x 100 meters won Schowtka Alexander, Thomas Fahrner, Dirk Korthals, Michael Gross in front of the scales from the GDR and from Sweden.