Martin Hollstein (born 2 April 1987 in

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (, Low German ''Niegenbramborg'', both lit. ''New Brandenburg an der Havel, Brandenburg'') is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban c ...

) is a German

sprint canoer 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 ...

and

Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

. He has been competing since the late 2000s, mostly in kayak single, double or four. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

Hollstein won the gold in the K-2 1000 m event with partner

Andreas Ihle Andreas Ihle (born 2 June 1979 in Bad Dürrenberg, Saxony-Anhalt) is a German canoe sprinter who has competed since 1997. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he has won three medals with a gold (K-2 1000 m: 2008), a silver (K-4 ...

. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he and

Ihle The Ihle is a river of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. A former tributary of the Elbe, it discharges into the Elbe–Havel Canal (and its predecessor ''Ihlekanal'') since the 1860s. See also *List of rivers of Saxony-Anhalt A list of rivers of Saxon ...

won the Olympic bronze medal. Hollstein also won a gold medal in the K-2 1000 m event at the

2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 19–22 August 2010 in Poznań, Poland, on Lake Malta. This was the third time that the Polish city hosted the championships, having done so previously in 1990 and 2001. Paracanoe (form ...

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

and several

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

Early life

Hollstein, short "Holly", grew up in the German State of

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 ...

in the city of

. There he joined the sports club

SC Neubrandenburg 1. FC Neubrandenburg 04 is the German football club based in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, playing in the 2019-20 Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (VI). History The earliest forerunner of 1. FC Neubrandenburg 04 was founded in 19 ...

in which he remains as a member to this day. His original trainer is Jürgen Lickfett. His first medal won Hollstein at the canoe state championships in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch dialect, Mecklenburgisch-Vorpommersch Low German: ''Swerin''; Polabian language, Polabian: ''Zwierzyn''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germ ...

in the year 1998. Hollstein startet in September 2005 an education as a mechanic at the Webasto AG company in his hometown

. There he worked for three years but concentrated mainly on his career as a competitive athlete.

Professional career

2008 Summer Olympics

In the national qualification for Olympic Games in 2008 Hollstein he paddled his way to fifth place and was called up to the national team. At the decisive World Cup in

Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) is List of cities and towns of Hungary#Largest cities in Hungary, the third largest city of Hungary, the largest city and regional centre of the Southern Great Plain and the county seat ...

, he finished fourth in the 500m double with Rupert Wagner, but that fell short of the norm as Olympic champions

Ronald Rauhe Ronald Rauhe (born 3 October 1981) is a German sprint canoeist who has competed since 1997. Competing in six Summer Olympics, he won a complete set of medals in the K-2 500 m event (gold: 2004, silver: 2008, bronze: 2000). Rauhe has won 16 world ...

and

Tim Wieskötter Tim Wieskötter (born March 12, 1979, in Emsdetten, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German sprint canoer who has competed since the late 1990s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won a complete set of medals in the K-2 500 m ev ...

won the race. Shortly before the

, he surprisingly moved to the side of

in the kayak double over 1000 meters for the ill Rupert Wagner. In a run-off, they were able to defeat Norman Zahm and Marcus Groß and thus secure participation in the Olympics. On the Olympic canoe course, the duo won the final and with that the

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

. For this success, Hollstein received the

Silver Laurel Leaf Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (, ), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and Paralympic Games ...

award in November 2008, the highest state award for top performance in German sport, awarded by the then Federal President

Horst Köhler Horst Köhler (; 22 February 1943 – 1 February 2025) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2004 to 2010. As the candidate of the two Christian Democratic sister parties, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, CDU ...

World and European championships

In 2010, Hollstein competed again with his double partner

and won the gold medal at the 2010 European Canoe Racing Championships in Trasona. In the same year, the team also won the gold medal at the 2010 World Championships in

. A year later, Hollstein won gold again at the 2011 European Canoe Racing Championships in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. At the

the following year in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, the canoeist took 2nd place.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, he won the bronze medal in kayak double over 1000 m with

. Hollstein again received the

for this Olympic medal success. It was awarded by the Federal President

Joachim Gauck Joachim Wilhelm Gauck (; born 24 January 1940) is a German politician who served as President of Germany from 2012 to 2017. A former Lutheran pastor, he came to prominence as an anti-communist civil rights activist in East Germany. During the P ...

at a ceremony in Bellevue Palace.

Injury

In September 2013, Hollstein had to take an injury-related break due to a broken hand. Despite his lack of training, the canoeist received a promise from the

sports association A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports. Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...

that he would continue to receive maximum support, even if he missed out on the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

team due to injury. After missing the finals at the

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

2014 in

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

, intense training weeks followed for the four-man team around Hollstein with his partners Marius Radow, Martin Schubert and Kai Spenner. In 2015 Hollstein had to undergo a surgery on his shoulder and had to take an injury-related break again.

End of active career

The last major competition for Hollstein were the 2016

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. There he competed under national coach Reiner Kießler. In the kayak double over 500 meters, the team took 4th place.

Federal Police and personal life

In September 2009 he began training as a

police officer A police officer (also called policeman or policewoman, cop, officer or constable) is a Warrant (law), warranted law employee of a police, police force. In most countries, ''police officer'' is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. ...

at the

German Federal Police The Federal Police (, , BPOL) is the national and principal Federal police, federal law enforcement agency of the German Federal Government, subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community. The Federated Police is meant to be r ...

. During his active career the police officer trainee was a member of the Kienbaum National Training Centre, the Federal Police's top sports promotion facility for summer and year-round sports. (retrieved 13 January 2014) He is currently working for the

Federal Police A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for law enforcement within a specific jurisdiction through the employment and deployment of law enforcement officers and their resources. The most common type of law enforcement ...

Berlin-Brandenburg Airport Berlin Brandenburg Airport () () is an international airport in Schönefeld, just south of the German capital and state of Berlin, in the state of Brandenburg. Named after the former West Berlin mayor and West German chancellor Willy Brand ...

. Hollstein currently resides in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and continues to compete privately in various competitions throughout Germany and internationally.

Awards

* Awarded the

by Federal President

in 2008 * "Champion of the Year" 2008 Award at the Robinson Club in September 2008 in

Agadir Agadir (, ; ) is a major List of cities in Morocco, city in Morocco, on the shore of the Atlantic Ocean near the foot of the Atlas Mountains, just north of the point where the Sous River, Souss River flows into the ocean, and south of Casabla ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

* Awarded the

by Federal President

in November 2012 in Bellevue Palace * Bronze star at the Walk of Sport in January 2022 in

Greatest competitions

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollstein, Martin 1987 births Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics German male canoeists Living people Olympic canoeists for Germany Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in canoeing Olympic bronze medalists for Germany ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Neubrandenburg Canoeists from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 21st-century German sportsmen