In 1972 he also won a 1500 m freestyle semifinal, setting an Olympic record, but withdrew from the final.

In 1969, while attending Long Beach State University under Coach Don Gambril, he broke the world record in the 400 m freestyle, and next year he broke another one, in the 200 m butterfly.

He was selected as West German Sportspersonality of the Year three consecutive times: in 1969, 1970 and 1971, beating Franz Beckenbauer.

In 1992 he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame.

This biographical article related to a German swimmer is a stub.