Athletes from East Germany competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, West Germany. 297 competitors, 231 men and 66 women, took part in 161 events in 18 sports.
Thomas Rupprath is an Olympic swimmer from Germany, who is nicknamed "The New Albatross".
The men's 200 metre backstroke event for the 1976 Summer Olympics was held in Montreal. The event took place on 24 July. There were 33 competitors from 23 nations, with each nation having up to 3 swimmers. The event was won by John Naber of the United States in world-record time; he was the first person to swim the event in under 2 minutes (1:59.19). It was Naber's fifth medal of the Games: completing a double in the backstroke events as well as golds in the medley relay and the 4×200 free relay, along with a silver in the 200 free. It was the second American victory and second American medal sweep in the men's 200 metre backstroke, after 1968; of the 12 medals from 1968 through 1976, 10 were won by Americans and the other two by Roland Matthes. Peter Rocca (silver) and Dan Harrigan (bronze) were the other two Americans, along with Naber, to reach the podium in 1976. The rules changed in 1984 to limit nations to two swimmers each, preventing further sweeps.
Alexandre Massura Neto is a retired male freestyle and backstroke swimmer from Brazil, who competed at two consecutive Summer Olympics for his native country, starting in 1996. Actually a resident of Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Fabíola Pulga Molina is a butterfly and backstroke swimmer from Brazil, who competed at the 2000, 2008 and 2012 Olympics.
The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1984 Summer Olympics was held in the Uytengsu Aquatics Center in Los Angeles on July 31, 1984. There were 34 competitors from 25 nations, with each nation limited to two swimmers. The event was won by Rick Carey of the United States, the nation's third victory in the men's 200 metre backstroke. Frédéric Delcourt of France took silver and Cameron Henning of Canada earned bronze; it was the first medal in the event for each of those two nations.
Guilherme Augusto Guido is a Brazilian backstroke swimmer who specializes in sprint events. He was twice a finalist in the 100 metre backstroke at World Championships
The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1968 Summer Olympics took place on 25 October at the Alberca Olímpica Francisco Márquez. There were 30 competitors from 21 nations, with each nation having up to three swimmers. The event was won by Roland Matthes of East Germany, the second gold medal for a German swimmer after Ernst Hoppenberg won in 1900. Matthes completed the backstroke double in the first Games both events were held, with Olympic record times in both. The United States, which had swept the podium in 1964, finished in the next three places behind Matthes: Mitch Ivey took silver, Jack Horsley bronze, and Gary Hall Sr. 4th.
The men's 200 metre backstroke event at the 1988 Summer Olympics took place on 22 September at the Jamsil Indoor Swimming Pool in Seoul, South Korea. There were 44 competitors from 32 nations. Each nation had been limited to two swimmers in the event since 1984. The event was won by Igor Polyansky of the Soviet Union. Frank Baltrusch of East Germany took silver, while Paul Kingsman of New Zealand earned bronze. The medals were the first in the men's 200 metre backstroke for the Soviet Union and New Zealand; East Germany had not medaled in the event since Roland Matthes won gold in 1968 and 1972. For the first time, the United States competed and did not earn at least silver.
Thomas Stachewicz is a former freestyle and backstroke swimmer, who represented Australia at three Summer Olympics.
Apostolos Christou is a Greek swimmer specializing in backstroke. He is the Greek National Record holder in the 100 metre freestyle and 50, 100, and 200 metre backstroke events, as well as contributing to national record efforts in the 4x100 metre freestyle and medley relays. He is a three-time Olympian, qualifying in 2016, 2021, and most recently 2024, where he became Greece's first Olympic medalist in swimming since the inaugural 1896 Games through his 2nd place finish in the 200 metre backstroke.
Luke Greenbank is an English professional swimmer who specialises in backstroke. A medalist in the 200 metre backstroke at the Olympic Games and the World and European championships, he also swam the first leg in the 2019 World and 2020 European Championship gold medal-winning Great Britain medley relay teams. He won a silver medal as lead-off for Great Britain in the 4 x 100 metre medley relay for men at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He won a gold medal as lead-off for England in the heats of the 4 x 100 metre medley relay for men at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Evgeny Mikhailovich Rylov is a Russian competitive swimmer and Olympic champion specializing in backstroke events. He won three gold medals at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics in Nanjing, and a bronze medal at his senior international debut at the 2015 World Championships in Kazan. He also won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, both were in the 200 metre backstroke event. In 2018, at the 2018 World Short Course Championships, he won gold medals in the 200 metre backstroke and 50 metre backstroke. At the 2019 World Championships, he won a gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke, silver medal in the 100 metre backstroke, and silver medal in the 50 metre backstroke. He won the gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke and 200 metre backstroke at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
Simone Sabbioni is an Italian competitive swimmer and two-time Olympian who competed at the 2016 Olympics and the 2020 Olympics. He is a former Italian record holder in the short course 50 metre backstroke, 100 metre backstroke, 200 metre backstroke, 4×50 metre medley relay and the long course 100 metre backstroke.
Corey Charles Garth Main is a New Zealand swimmer who qualified to compete at the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in the men's 100 metre backstroke.
Dylan Carter is a competitive swimmer. Born in the United States, he represents Trinidad and Tobago internationally. He is the Trinidad and Tobago record holder in the long course and short course 100 metre freestyle, 50 metre backstroke, 100 metre backstroke, 50 metre butterfly, and 100 metre butterfly. At the 2021 World Short Course Championships, he became the first swimmer representing Trinidad and Tobago to win a silver medal a World Short Course Championships, winning the silver medal in the 50 metre butterfly. In 2018 and 2022, he won the bronze medal in the 50 metre butterfly and the 50 metre freestyle at the World Short Course Championships, respectively. He was the male overall winner for the 2022 FINA Swimming World Cup, winning nine gold medals, five in Trinidad and Tobago record times, to become the first Trinidad and Tobago overall winner. He is of Portuguese descent.
Kaylee Rochelle McKeown is an Australian swimmer and quintuple Olympic gold medalist. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the 100 and 200 metres backstroke. She is the world record holder in the long course 50 metre backstroke, the short course 100 metre backstroke and both the long course and short course 200 metre backstroke. She won gold in both the 100 metre and 200 metre backstroke at both the 2020 and 2024 Olympics. In 2023, she was named as the "Best Female Swimmer of the Year" by World Aquatics, after sweeping gold in all three events of backstroke at all three World Cup legs, held in Berlin, Athens and Budapest in October, 2023.
Thomas Ceccon is an Italian swimmer. He is a world record holder in the long course 100 metre backstroke and the short course 4×100 metre freestyle relay. He is also the Italian record holder in the long course 50 metre backstroke and 50 metre butterfly. He is the 2022 World champion in the 100 metre backstroke and 2022 European champion in the 100 metre backstroke and 50 metre butterfly. In the 100 metre individual medley, he won the gold medal at the 2022 World Short Course Championships and the bronze medal at the 2021 World Short Course Championships. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, he won a silver medal in 4×100 metre freestyle relay, a bronze medal in the 4×100 metre medley relay, placed fourth in the 100 metre backstroke, and placed twelfth in the 100 metre freestyle. On 29 July 2024 he won gold for the 100m backstroke in the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Pieter Coetze is a South African swimmer. He is the African record holder in the long course and short course 100 metre backstroke and short course 50 metre backstroke. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, he won the gold medal in the 100 metre backstroke, the silver medal in the 50 metre backstroke, and the bronze medal in the 200 metre backstroke. At the 2022 World Junior Championships, he competed in ten events, including winning the gold medal in the 200 metre backstroke, silver medals in the 50 metre backstroke, 100 metre backstroke, and the 4×100 metre medley relay, as well as a bronze medal in the 4×100 metre mixed medley relay.
Lorenzo Mora is a competitive Italian swimmer. He is a world record holder in the short course 4×50 metre medley relay. He is the Italian record holder in the short course 100 metre backstroke and 200 metre backstroke. In the 50 metre backstroke, he won the silver medal at the 2021 World Short Course Championships and the bronze medal at the 2022 Mediterranean Games. In the 100 metre backstroke, he won the silver medal at each the 2022 World Short Course Championships and the 2022 Mediterranean Games. In the 200 metre backstroke, he won the bronze medal at the 2022 World Short Course Championships, the silver medal at the 2021 European Short Course Championships, and the gold medal at the 2022 Mediterranean Games.
West Germany 
