Kathrin Boron was one of the most successful female rowers of all time. While three Romanian rowers have won more Olympic medals, Boron is unsurpassed at the World Championships. She won eight world titles between 1989 and 2001 in the double and quadruple sculls, adding a further five silver medals, the last one being in 2007. Boron also competed in the single sculls and placed fourth at the 1995 Worlds.
Boron ended her long career with a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in her fifth consecutive Games going back to 1992. She won double sculls gold medals in 1992 and 2000 and the quadruple sculls in 1996 and 2004 when she was the flagbearer of the German team at the closing ceremony.
Boron later married her teammate Jens Köppen but they subsequently divorced. In 2009, she was awarded the Thomas-Keller-Medal, the highest sports award for rowers worldwide. She was also awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award, four times in 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004. She also received the Bambi media prize in 1992. By profession, she first trained as a bank clerk, but later joined the Deutsche Sporthilfe, and took care of German athletes.
Germany