Kathrin Boron of Germany, is to be honoured for her outstanding career in rowing with the 2009 Thomas Keller Medal during a ceremony at Lucerne, Switzerland's Lake Rotsee on Sunday, 12 July, during the Finals of the Rowing World Cup regatta.
Boron won the first of her world championship titles aged just 19, in the women's double sculls during the 1989 World Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia. She went on to become one of the most medalled female rowers of all time, winning an incredible 13 world championship medals (8 Gold and 5 Silver) and 5 Olympic medals (4 gold and 1 bronze) throughout her 20-year career.
Her rowing successes were mainly in sculling: A member of the powerful German women's quad which took gold at the Athens Olympics in 2004, she also achieved several podium places in the double and single.
The determined mother of a seven year old daughter, Boron continued to perform consistently while motherhood and a job in Potsdam took up much of her time. She is seen among other rowers as an example and inspiration of what it is possible to achieve.
Britta Oppelt (L), Manuela Lutze, Kathrin Boron and Stephanie Schiller of Germany celebrate their bronze medal in the Women's Quadruple Sculls at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park during Day 9 of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on August 17, 2008 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)Self belief and consideration are just two of the many qualities which always come up when talking about Boron. Her ability to motivate other members of the team was a great part of the German's successes and she has provided inspiration to many young rowers who had the good fortune to train or race with her.
Boron announced her retirement following the Beijing Olympics last year, where her quadruple sculls crew took bronze by six hundredths of a second ahead of Ukraine.
The 18-carat gold Thomas Keller Medal will be presented to Kathrin Boron by Dominik Keller, son of the late Thomas Keller, on Sunday 12 July 2009 at 13:00, just before the start of the afternoon Finals at the Rowing World Cup regatta in Lucerne, Switzerland.
