Architect behind Britta Steffen’s Meteoric Success, Norbert Warntzsch, Bids Farewell at 77

German swimming coach Norbert Warnatzsch, recognized as one of the nation’s most accomplished swim mentors in history, announced his retirement earlier this month. Warnatzsch guided some of the most skilled German and East German swimmers of all time.

Throughout a coaching career spanning 55 years, Warnatzsch, aged 77, played a significant role in leading swimmers to secure seven Olympic medals. He was named German Swimming Coach of the Year in 2002, 2006, 2008, and 2009.

In 1980, he coached East German Olympic Champion Jorg Woithe to achieve a gold medal in the 100 free. Following Germany’s reunification, he mentored several prominent swimmers from the country, including two legendary figures in the nation’s swimming history: Franziska van Almsick and Britta Steffen. He was Steffen’s coach at the Berlin Olympic Training Center in 2008 when she clinched double Olympic gold in the 50 and 100 free, ultimately setting World Records in both events during the late 2000s.

Steffen recalls less about the grueling training sessions and more the early morning espresso discussions about life and philosophy with her “substitute father” before their 7 a.m. training. “For me, what made Norbert so exceptional was his unique blend of immense ambition and his witty approach to interacting with people. It worked seamlessly for us for a decade,” shared the Berliner. “Naturally, he had to reprimand us at times. Yet he always ensured that the team’s atmosphere and training remained positive.

“I often joked that his only pastimes outside of swimming were assessing, printing, and laminating,” Steffen mused, illustrating his attention to detail. “Norbert consistently aimed to make everything quantifiable. In the end, he proved right: when the series times and lactate levels were accurate, success invariably followed. That granted him essential confidence during crucial weeks.”

For the past five years, he has served as the assistant coach to the German national coach Bernd Berkhahn in Magdeburg, collaborating with Tokyo and Paris medalists Florian Wellbrock, Lukas Maertens, Oliver Klemet, and Isabel Gose.

“Norbert enhanced my efforts both professionally and through effective communication. I brought him to Magdeburg in 2019 because I desired a coach who had already demonstrated that Germans could win Olympic gold. It was essential to instill the necessary self-assurance in the athletes here,” Berkhahn noted. “We often engaged in spirited debates about training methods, but in the end, this always improved our approach,” he added with a grin.

“Collaborating with Norbert always provided me with a sense of reassurance,” remarked 400 free Olympic champion Maertens. “He has encountered so much and always had a solution for each scenario. His empathy was remarkable, and he consistently supported me.”

Warnatzsch is a former major in East Germany’s secret police. He has consistently denied any involvement in the East German doping initiative. A 1997 investigation by the public prosecutor’s office regarding his participation in experiments involving anabolic steroids on young swimmers during the 1970s was eventually dismissed.

“Being a coach is a passion” has always been one of the guiding principles of the soon-to-be 78-year-old. Working with young athletes has perpetually brought him joy, Warnatzsch emphasizes. The years he dedicated to training camps far from home were therefore not a hardship for him. But now the moment has come for retirement. Starting in 2025, Norbert Warnatzsch will reside with his wife in Kühlungsborn. By the Baltic Sea, naturally: with a view of the water.

A press release from the DSV contributed to this article.