Birgit Fischer

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Rankings

Records

Birgit Fischer's record of eight Olympic gold medals across six Games is one of the most remarkable in all of sport. She is the only woman to win gold in kayaking at three different decades, and she holds the dual distinction of being both the youngest and the oldest Olympic canoeing champion. Her 28 World Championship golds place her among the most successful athletes in any discipline. Fischer's ability to retire and then come back to win again, twice, sets her apart as a competitor of extraordinary mental and physical resilience.

AwardsBirgit Fischer's competitive achievements are unmatched in canoeing. She won eight Olympic gold medals and four silvers across six Games, a record shared by only two other Olympians. At the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships she collected 38 medals, 28 of them gold, between 1978 and 2005. In 2004 she was named German Sportswoman of the Year.

Honours & Distinctions

German Sportswoman of the Year

German Sports Press·2004

Awarded for her outstanding achievements at the Athens Olympics.

Pink Ribbon Deutschland Ambassador

Pink Ribbon Deutschland·2021

Appointed as an ambassador for the breast cancer awareness campaign.

Rankings & Lists

#12

50 stunning Olympic moments

The Guardian·2012

Records & Feats

Youngest Olympic canoeing champion

Historic First·1980

Won her first Olympic gold at age 18 in 1980.

Oldest Olympic canoeing champion

Historic First·2004

Won her final Olympic gold at age 42 in 2004.

Most Olympic gold medals in kayaking (female)

Career Milestone·2004

Won eight Olympic gold medals in kayaking, the most by any female kayaker.