Birgit Fischer

Birgit Fischer is a German kayaker, who has won eight gold medals over six different Olympic Games, a record she shares with Aladr Gerevich, spanning seven Olympiads twice representing East Germany , 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 oldestever Olympic canoeing champion . In 2004 she was voted German sportswoman of the year.

Fischer was born in Brandenburg an der Havel, then in East Germany. She attended an ASK boarding school in Potsdam, and worked as a sports instructor in the National Peoples Army, attaining a rank of major by the time of German reunification in 1990. She was married from 1984 to 1993 to canoeist Jrg Schmidt, silver medalist in the C1 1000 m event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. She lives with their two children in Brandenburg. In 1999 she stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the FDP in the European Parliament election. Fischers niece, Fanny, competed for Germany at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, winning a gold in the K4 500 m event. Fischers brother Frank won nine world championship medals between 1981 and 1986.

Source: Wikipedia