Vipa Bernhardt

Vipa Bernhardt (born September 20, 1982 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) is a German swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. She is a member of the swimming team for Frankfurt Society Club (Sozialgericht Frankfurt am Main) in Frankfurt, and is coached and trained by Christian Hildebrandt.

Bernhardt qualified for the women's 100 m breaststroke at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, by attaining an A-standard entry time of 1:09.04 from the German Olympic trials. Bernhardt, however, failed to advance into the final, as she placed thirteenth overall in the semifinal run, with a fourth slowest time of 1:09.72.

Bernhardt sought her bid to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but she finished third in the same discipline at the German national championships, failing to secure a top-two spot needed to make the team. Bernhardt had earned the court injunction forcing the German Olympic Committee (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund, DSV) to add her on the national team roster. Her court challenge was based on documents, arguing that second-place swimmer and former Olympic bronze medalist Anne Poleska had raced in 10 meets for the Coral Springs Swimming Club in Florida, which considered against the rules by the German Swimming Federation. Poleska, on the other hand, presented affidavits, proving that she was not a member of the said club. Despite that she won the court order, Bernhardt decided to withdraw from a legal challenge, allowing Poleska to keep her spot on the German Olympic team.

Bernhardt is also a varsity swimmer for the Florida Gators under her personal coach Gregg Troy, and a graduate of neurobiology and music at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida.