Thomas Lurz (born 28 November 1979) is a German

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

who specializes in long-distance

freestyle swimming Freestyle is a category of Swimming (sport), swimming competition, defined by the rules of World Aquatics, in which competitors are subject to only a few limited restrictions on their swimming stroke. Freestyle races are the most common of all ...

, especially

open water swimming Open water swimming is a swimming discipline which takes place in outdoor bodies of water such as open oceans, lakes, and rivers. Competitive open water swimming is governed by the International Swimming Federation, World Aquatics (formerly kno ...

. Lurz lives in Gerbrunn and swims for the SV Würzburg 05 sports club.

Biography

He competed for Germany at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

in the 1500 m freestyle, where he missed the final, but returned to the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

, where he won a bronze medal in the 10 km open water race. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he finished one place higher, claiming the silver medal. He was the world champion in the 10 km open-water swimming event in 2004, 2006 and 2009. From to 2005 to 2011, he won gold in the 5 km event seven times in a row. He was jointly awarded the inaugural Open Water Swimmer of the Year by ''

Swimming World Magazine } ''Swimming World'' is a US-based quarterly swimming magazine that was first published in a magazine format as ''Junior Swimmer'' in January 1960. It concurrently runs online websites ''Swimming World Magazine'' and ''Swimming World News'' (kn ...

'' with

Chip Peterson Charles Bowne "Chip" Peterson (born December 3, 1987) is an American competition swimmer who specializes in long-distance freestyle swimming, especially open water swimming, in which he is a world champion. Career At the 2005 World Aquatics C ...

, winning following titles in 2006 and 2009 alone and 2011 together with Spyridon Gianniotis.

International medals

He won 20 medals at the World Open Water Swimming Championships.

Achievements

* Ten German titles for 800 m, 1500 m, 5000 m and 10,000 m (open-water) freestyle * Winner of the European Open Water Competition 2005 * Silver medal in the 1500 m freestyle at the

2005 Summer Universiade The 2005 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXIII Summer Universiade, took place in İzmir, Turkey, in August. Emblem The emblem is the letter "U", inspired by the bird's-eye view of the Gulf of İzmir. This shape has perfectly fit the letter ...

* Gold medal in 5 km event at the 2005 World Aquatics Championships * Gold medals in 5 km and 10 km events at the 2006 European Aquatics Championships in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

* Gold medal in 5 km event at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships * Gold medals in 5 km and 10 km events at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships * Gold medal in 10 km event at the

2010 European Aquatics Championships The 2010 European Aquatics Championships were held from 4–15 August 2010 in Budapest and Balatonfüred, Hungary. It was the fourth time that the city of Budapest hosted this event after 1926, 1958 and 2006. Events in swimming, diving, synch ...

. * Gold medal in 5 km event at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships * Silver medal in 10 km event at the 2011 World Aquatics Championships * Silver medal in 10 km event at the 2012 Olympics in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

* Gold medals in 25 km and 5 km team events at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships * Silver medal in 10 km event at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships * Bronze medal in 5 km event at the 2013 World Aquatics Championships

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lurz, Thomas 1979 births German male long-distance swimmers Living people Olympic swimmers for Germany Sportspeople from Würzburg Swimmers from Bavaria Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in open water swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Summer World University Games medalists in swimming FISU World University Games silver medalists for Germany Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade European Open Water Swimming Championships medalists

Biography

International medals

Achievements

See also

References

External links