Jens-Peter Berndt

Jens -Peter Berndt in the GDR Swimming Championships in Magdeburg (1984 )

Jens -Peter Berndt ( born August 17, 1963 in Potsdam ) is a German former swimmer who competed for East Germany ..

Career

Berndt was in 1975, five times the age of eleven Spartakiade winner. When his children's and youth sports school a month later moved from Brandenburg to Potsdam, Berndt, however, abruptly ended the competitive sports. Three years later, he decided to start again with the swimming.

On May 23, 1984, he swam in Magdeburg a world record in 4:19,61 minutes on the 400 meter track position. In 1981, he was capable of stretching on both DDR - runner and at the European Championships in Split fifth over 400 meters individual medley. At the World Championships in Guayaquil, in the following year, he won the silver medal over 400 meters and finished fourth over 200m individual medley. At the European Championships 1983 in Rome, he was second on both routes. His good form he could not by the GDR exploit due to the boycott of the Games at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and won only two, capable of stretching in the spare Games in Moscow, where he though his own world record in the 400 meter medley route to 4: 18.29 min improved.

Berndt, who studied education in the early 1980s, started for the forward ASK Potsdam. There, the second lieutenant of the NVA by Lutz Vanya was trained. He disagreed with his coach and his club Berndt began on January 7, 1985 a stopover in Oklahoma just decided from. He received the sought U.S. citizenship but not immediately, so in 1987 he first went into the Federal Republic, for which he wanted to participate in the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. He swam 1988 on both Medley relays DSV Records and became German champion in the 400 meters individual medley. In Seoul he was about his parade route sixth. Then Berndt went back to the USA and studied at the University of Alabama Public Relations and Marketing. After graduation, he worked for Mark McCormack's International Management Group and settled in Alabama trained as programmers.