Quick Facts
Biography
Hans-Joachim Fassnacht (born November 28, 1950) is a retired German swimmer. He competed at the 1968 and 1972 Summer Olympics in various freestyle and butterfly events and won a silver medal in the 4 × 200 m freestyle in 1972. In 1972 he also won a 1500 m freestyle semifinal, setting an Olympic record, but withdrew from the final.
During his career Fassnacht set 41 German, 21 European and 2 world records, as well as five world best times. In 1969, while attending Long Beach State University, he broke the world record in the 400 m freestyle, and next year he broke another one, in the 200 m butterfly. He was selected as German Sportspersonality of the Year three times in a row: in 1969, 1970 and 1971, beating Franz Beckenbauer. In 1992 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.