German rower Kerstin Köppen partnered Katrin Boron at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the double sculls, and won the gold medal. Therefore, the pair were awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award. Four years later they both rowed with the quadruple sculls, and again won the gold medal.
At World Championships, Köppen won gold medals in the quadruple sculls with the former GDR in 1990, and then with re-unified Germany in 1990, 1994-95, and 1997. With Boron, she also added a silver medal in the double sculls in 1993. In 1998, Köppen, was awarded the Thomas-Keller-Medal, the highest sports award for rowers worldwide. Köppen later became a graduated sports teacher and married rowing coach Ralf Holtmeyer.