Inductee - Katrin Borchert

Katrin Borchert

Katrin Borchert

Canoeing

Katrin Borchert exploded onto the world canoeing scene as part of the powerful East German women's contingent of the late 1980's.

An instant superstar of the sport, she won numerous World Championship medals for East and West Germany before representing the newly-unified Germany at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. She was in the K-4 crew, along with the great Birgit Fischer, that finished second to Hungary over 500 metres. In that event the Australian team, including Gold Coaster and future canoe-kayak partner Anna Wood, finished eighth.

Katrin arrived in Australia in 1994 and was in the national team in time for the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games. She finished seventh in the K-1 500 metres and with Anna Wood garnered the bronze medal in the K-2 500 metres, behind Sweden and Germany.

Wood, as Annemarie Cox, had won a bronze medal in the K-2 500 metres at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games for her native Holland. Thus, Katrin and Anna's bronze medal was unique because both had previously won Olympic medals for other countries.

Katrin, singly and with Anna, had huge further successes at World Championships. At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, Katrin won the bronze medal in the K-1 500 metres behind Italian Josefa Idem-Guerrini and Canada's five-time Olympian Caroline Brunet and, with Anna, finished sixth in the K-2 500 metres.

At the 2001 World Championships, Katrin finished second in the K-1 500 metres, third in the K-1 1000 metres and, with a new partner Katrin Kieseler, second in the K-2 1000 metres.

One of the world's most enduring and successful canoe-kayak athletes, Katrin won of no fewer than 10 World Championships and 34 National Titles with a career record that few will surpass.

She holds a Bachelor of Exercise Science from Griffith University and a Masters of Educational Practice and Graduate Certificate in TESOL from Bond University, where she also teaches. Katrin has also been a coach at the Australian Institute of Sport National Centre of Excellence.

Inductees