 |
|
| Alexandra
WENK |
| Sport |
Swimming |
| NOC |
Germany
|
| Gender | Women |
| Born | 07 Feb 1995
in Munich, GER |
| Height | 1.80 m |
|
|
|
|
|
General Interest |
Hero / Idol |
German tennis player Steffi Graf, US swimmer Michael Phelps. (Facebook page, 12 Oct 2019) |
Sport Specific Information |
Club / Team |
SG Stadtwerke Munchen: Germany |
General Interest |
Most influential person in career |
Her mother Gabriela. (sueddeutsche.de, 18 Nov 2019) |
Milestones |
She was the youngest member of the German swimming team at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Mar 2020) |
Further Personal Information |
Residence |
Munich, GER |
General Interest |
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs |
She listens to music before races. (deutsche-bank.de, 01 May 2019) |
Sporting philosophy / motto |
"If you really want it, you will find a way." (deutsche-bank.de, 01 May 2019) |
Further Personal Information |
Family |
Partner Roman |
General Interest |
Famous relatives |
Her mother Gabriela Baka competed for Romania in swimming. Her younger brother Sebastian competed in swimming at the 2019 German national championships. (swm.de, 21 Aug 2011; sueddeutsche.de, 18 Nov 2019; titanium-sportservice.de, 04 Aug 2019) |
Sport Specific Information |
Why this sport? |
She was encouraged to try the sport by her mother. "She took me swimming and as I was learning I was having a lot of fun. My mother then left the decision up to me if I wanted to continue." |
General Interest |
Awards and honours |
She was named 2016 Best German Female Swimmer by the German Swimming Federation [DSV]. (bayerische-sortiftung.de, 20 Jun 2017)
She was named the Elite Sports Student of the Year in Munich, Germany, in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. The award is organised by the regional office of the German Olympic Sports Confederation [DOSB]. (Facebook page, 12 Oct 2019)
In 2009 and 2011 she was named Young Female Swimmer of the Year in Germany by the DSV. (Facebook page, 24 Jun 2015; bayerischer-schwimmverband.de, 01 Dec 2011) |
Sport Specific Information |
When and where did you begin this sport? |
She began swimming at age four. |
Further Personal Information |
Occupation |
Athlete, Consultant, Human Resources |
Languages |
English, German |
General Interest |
Hobbies |
Music, meeting friends, basketball, fashion. (Facebook page, 12 Oct 2019) |
Nicknames |
Alex, Wenky, Lexi (Facebook page, 12 Oct 2019; teamdeutschland.de, 01 Jan 2016) |
Injuries |
She tore a shoulder muscle in early 2019 and as a result missed several weeks of training and opted not to attempt to qualify for the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, Republic of Korea. (sueddeutsche.de, 18 Nov 2019)
In the early part of 2018, she suffered cartilage damage and an infection of the medial shelf in her right knee. She underwent surgery in August 2018. (Instagram profile, 08 Aug 2018; Facebook page, 11 Jul 2018; sueddeutsche.de, 13 Jun 2018)
She tore a shoulder muscle in 2016 which led to infections in early 2017. She had to recover for several months and missed the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, as a result. (sueddeutsche.de, 13 Jun 2018; swim.de, 07 Feb 2017) |
Other information |
RETIREMENT THOUGHTS
In 2019 she began considering retirement after a series of injuries. "I was standing in front of the doctor and thought, 'This is it, I am giving it all up'." After encouragement from her mother she decided to continue. She said she would consider retiring after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, depending on whether more support became available for German national swimmers. "If something happens in German swimming, maybe I'll continue [after the 2020 Games]. If not, at some point I will not feel like it anymore. Swimming is my passion, but you also have to sacrifice a lot for it. If there is a lack of recognition, also financially - and here I don't mean to get rich, but to be able to practise the sport professionally - that is difficult in the long run." (sueddeutsche.de, 06 Nov 2020, 18 Nov 2019; tagesspiegel.de, 12 Dec 2018)
OCCUPATION
She works part-time as an employee experience manager at a biopharmaceutical company in Germany. She has also served as a competitive sports consultant for the Bavarian State Sports Association [BLSV] in Germany. (LinkedIn profile, 21 Feb 2022)
FURTHER EDUCATION
After studying for a bachelor's degree at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, she went on to study another bachelor's degree in business psychology at the University of Applied Management in Erding, Germany. (LinkedIn profile, 21 Feb 2022; Facebook profile, 06 Jul 2020) |
Olympic Games |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| Heats |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
100m Butterfly |
58.49 |
| Semifinal |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
200m Individual Medley |
2:12.13 |
| Heats |
2016 |
Rio de Janeiro, BRA |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
|
| Heats |
2012 |
London, ENG |
100m Butterfly |
58.85 |
| Heats |
2012 |
London, ENG |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
|
World Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 7 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
100m Butterfly |
57.94 |
| Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:41.56 |
| Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
4 x 200m Freestyle Relay |
8:01.48 |
| Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
|
| Heats |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:28.99 |
| 3 |
2015 |
Kazan, RUS |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:44.13 |
| Heats |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
200m Individual Medley |
2:14.90 |
| Heats |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
200m Freestyle |
2:01.60 |
| Heats |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
50m Butterfly |
26.54 |
| 8 |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
4 x 100m Freestyle Relay |
3:39.57 |
| 8 |
2013 |
Barcelona, ESP |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
4:01.81 |
European Championships |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 7 |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
100m Butterfly |
58.59 |
| Heats |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
4:04.81 |
| 4 |
2014 |
Berlin, GER |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:47.61 |
| 7 |
2012 |
Debrecen, HUN |
200m Individual Medley |
2:14.95 |
| Heats |
2012 |
Debrecen, HUN |
100m Butterfly |
59.39 |
| 1 |
2012 |
Debrecen, HUN |
4 x 100m Medley Relay |
3:58.43 |
| 4 |
2012 |
Debrecen, HUN |
4 x 200m Freestyle Relay |
8:00.55 |
European Championships Short Course |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 6 |
2015 |
Netanya, ISR |
200m Individual Medley |
2:08.60 |
| 3 |
2015 |
Netanya, ISR |
100m Butterfly |
56.43 |
| Semifinal |
2015 |
Netanya, ISR |
100m Individual Medley |
59.93 |
| Semifinal |
2015 |
Netanya, ISR |
50m Butterfly |
25.94 |
| 6 |
2015 |
Netanya, ISR |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:47.53 |
| 5 |
2015 |
Netanya, ISR |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:39.32 |
World Cup |
| Rank |
Year |
Venue |
Event |
Result |
| 49 |
2018 |
|
Overall Ranking |
|
| 3 |
2018 |
Singapore, SGP |
200m Butterfly |
2:08.60 |
| 6 |
2018 |
Singapore, SGP |
100m Butterfly |
59.33 |
| 27 |
2017 |
|
Overall |
|
| 7 |
2017 |
Beijing, CHN |
200m Individual Medley |
2:12.96 |
| 7 |
2017 |
Beijing, CHN |
200m Butterfly |
2:10.92 |
| 4 |
2017 |
Beijing, CHN |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:43.98 |
| 4 |
2017 |
Beijing, CHN |
4 x 50m Freestyle Relay |
1:35.32 |
| 8 |
2017 |
Berlin, GER |
400m Individual Medley |
4:41.41 |
| 5 |
2017 |
Doha, QAT |
100m Butterfly |
58.82 |
| 5 |
2017 |
Doha, QAT |
200m Individual Medley |
2:11.78 |
| 2 |
2017 |
Doha, QAT |
200m Butterfly |
2:08.17 |
| 3 |
2017 |
Doha, QAT |
400m Individual Medley |
4:38.83 |
| 2 |
2017 |
Doha, QAT |
4 x 50m Freestyle Relay |
1:34.04 |
| 3 |
2017 |
Doha, QAT |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:43.75 |
| 4 |
2017 |
Eindhoven, NED |
200m Butterfly |
2:08.93 |
| 8 |
2017 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
100m Butterfly |
59.41 |
| 8 |
2017 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
200m Individual Medley |
2:13.47 |
| 4 |
2017 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
200m Butterfly |
2:10.10 |
| 4 |
2017 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:43.22 |
| 4 |
2017 |
Hong Kong, CHN |
4 x 50m Freestyle Relay |
1:34.31 |
| 8 |
2017 |
Moscow, RUS |
100m Butterfly |
59.16 |
| 3 |
2017 |
Moscow, RUS |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:42.71 |
| 5 |
2017 |
Moscow, RUS |
200m Individual Medley |
2:10.57 |
| 8 |
2017 |
Singapore, SGP |
200m Individual Medley |
2:15.00 |
| 8 |
2017 |
Singapore, SGP |
200m Butterfly |
2:10.54 |
| 6 |
2017 |
Singapore, SGP |
400m Individual Medley |
4:38.80 |
| 6 |
2017 |
Singapore, SGP |
4 x 50m Medley Relay |
1:41.98 |
| 4 |
2017 |
Singapore, SGP |
4 x 50m Freestyle Relay |
1:33.73 |
| 7 |
2012 |
Berlin, GER |
100m Butterfly |
59.42 |
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