Katrin Borchert (born 11 April 1969) is an

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

-born

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

sprint canoeist Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

who competed from the late 1980s to 2001. Competing in three

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

, she won three medals with one silver (

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

: K-4 500 m for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) and two bronzes (both

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

: K-2 500 m,

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

: K-1 500 m). During her career, she has represented four countries: East Germany, then West Germany, then Germany followed by Australia. Borchert was born in 1969 in

Waren an der Müritz Waren may refer to: *Waren (Müritz) Waren (Müritz) (; also Waren an der Müritz) is a town and Luftkurort, climatic spa in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It was the capital of the former district of Müritz (district), Müritz ...

, a town in

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; ), also known by its Anglicisation, anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a Federated state, state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's States of Germany, sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpom ...

, East Germany. She won the Junior World Championship in 1987 but was overshadowed by

Birgit Fischer Birgit Fischer (; born 25 February 1962) is a German former kayaker, who has won eight gold medals over six different Olympic Games, a record she shares with Aladár Gerevich and Isabell Werth, spanning seven Olympiads: twice representing East ...

. Borchert went to the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, Korea, as a reserve for East Germany but did not compete. Her opportunity arose when Fischer went on maternity leave after the Seoul Olympics; she won three gold medals at the 1989 World Championships in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

. Borchert and her coach, Kersten Neumann, went to West Germany for the 1990 season; this was a year prior to the

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

. From a base in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, she competed at the 1990 World Championships and won one gold medal and three bronze medals. In 1991, she competed for the reunited Germany and won two gold medals and a bronze medal at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. Fischer made a return for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain, and old rivalries became hostile when Borchert lost nomination to Fischer in the K-1 and K-2, and only got nominated for the K-4. Things came to a head when the national coach, Joseph Capousek, did not nominate Borchert for the 1993 World Championships; Capousek was at the time in a relationship with Fischer. Borchert resigned from the national team in 1993 and in February 1994, she emigrated to Australia. Borchert won K-2 500 m and K-2 1000 m events at the 1998 World Championships in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

with Anna Wood. They won the K-2 1000 m

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

title in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. Borchert would win a total of twenty medals at the

ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two top-tier Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). They ...

with nine golds for four countries (1989 for

East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

, 1990 for

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

, 1991-93 for Germany, and 1994–2001 for Australia). At the

Sydney Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

the pairing finished sixth in the K-2 500 m, while she won bronze in the K-1 500 m event. In March 2003, Borchert decided to return to Germany to win nomination for the 2004 German Olympic team. She was prevented from competing for Germany at the 2003 World Championships through the Australian Canoe Federation not granting their permission quickly enough. In 2009 Borchert was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.

References

* * * Wallechinsky, David and Jaime Loucky (2008). "Canoeing: Women's Kayak Pairs 500 Meters." In ''The Complete Book of the Olympics: 2008 Edition''. London: Aurum Press Limited. p. 493.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Borchert, Katrin 1969 births Australian Institute of Sport canoeists Australian female canoeists Australian people of German descent Canoeists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics German female canoeists Living people Olympic canoeists for Australia Olympic canoeists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Australia Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak East German female canoeists West German female canoeists People from Waren (Müritz) Canoeists from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 20th-century Australian sportswomen