into questioning most achievements of East German athletes. However, Matthes denied any involvement in doping, claiming that his swimming club was too small to be part of the government system. Death Matthes died on December 20, 2019 at the age of 69. His competitor in the backstroke and five time Olympic champion John Naber said of Matthes upon his death "Roland was the greatest backstroker that ever lived. He is the only swimmer to successfully defend both Olympic backstroke titles, and he also won medals in international competition in freestyle and butterfly. Some say that only a slow reaction to the gun kept Roland from giving Mark Spitz the race of his life in the 1972 Olympic 100-meter butterfly final in Munich. Matthes was invincible on his back for a decade. His smooth strokes and powerful acceleration made every race I watched him swim become a foregone conclusion". See also List of members of the International Swimming Hall of Fame World record progression 100 metres backstroke World record progression 200 metres backstroke World record progression 4 × 100 metres medley relay References External links 1950 births 2019 deaths People from Pößneck East German male backstroke swimmers East German male butterfly swimmers East German male freestyle swimmers Sportspeople from Thuringia East German physicians 20th-century German physicians German orthopedic surgeons Olympic swimmers of East Germany Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1972 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Olympic silver medalists for East Germany Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany World record setters in swimming Olympic bronze medalists in swimming World Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming European Aquatics Championships medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in swimming Olympic silver medalists in swimming Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit (honor clasp) 20th-century surgeons