Birgit Fischer

Birgit Fischer (born 25 February 1962 in Brandenburg an der Havel, then East Germany) is a kayaker, who has won 8 gold medals over a record 6 different Olympic Games spanning 7 Olympiads: twice representing East Germany (interrupted by the boycott of 1984), then four times representing the reunited nation. After both the 1988 and 2000 games, she announced her retirement, only to return for the subsequent games. She has been both the youngest- and oldest-ever Olympic canoeing champion (ages 18 and 42). In 2004 she was voted German sportswoman of the year.

She attended an ASK (army sports club) boarding school in Potsdam, and worked as a sports instructor in the National People's Army, attaining a rank of major by the time of German reunification in 1990. She was married from 1984 to 1993 to canoeist Jörg Schmidt. She lives with their two children in Brandenburg. In 1999 she stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the FDP in the European Parliament election. Fischer's niece, Fanny, competed for Germany at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, winning a gold in the K-4 500 m event.

She also won 36 different ICF Flatwater Racing World Championships medal between 1979 and 2005, including 27 golds.

References

* [http://www.kanufisch.com/ Official website] de icon
* [http://www.mein-brandenburg.com/ Fotographie by Birgit Fischer] de icon