article by Nicholas Pucci
When it comes to women’s kayaking, at the Olympic level as well as in the world championship, it is enough to mention the name of the German Birgit Fischer to define the specialty.
In fact, no other canoeist can boast the primacy of to have won six editions (!!!) of the Games, starting from Moscow 1980 and, as you can guess, there would certainly have been seven if the boycott of the countries of the “Soviet bloc” in Los Angeles 1984, since at the time Fischer, born in Brandenburg in February 1962, was competing for the former East Germany.
The palmares of the German is impressive, with something like 28 gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze medals in 18 years of participation in the World Championshipsfrom 1978 to 2005, while the Olympic medal table is smaller, given that at the Games only the K1, K2 and K4 competitions over the distance of 500 meters are foreseen for women and, obviously, they have a four-year cadence compared to the World Championships which take place every year.
Now, defining it reduced may seem like an offense to vice, given that, afterwards the gold in K1, just eighteen in Moscow 1980, already in Seoul 1988 Fischer gets the gold in K2 paired with Anke Von Seck and in K4, metals that add to the silver in the individual competition behind the Bulgarian Vanja Gesheva.
The unification of the two Germanys does not cause any trauma to Birgit, which already in Barcelona in 1992 he returned to gold in K1, which he combined with silver in K4 (not being selected for K2, where in any case the German couple wins the test), while in Atlanta four years later it is K4 that triumphs, with silver in K2this time associated with Ramona Portwich, and a single disappointment at the Olympic level with the fourth place in the individual competition, the bronze being blown away by the blue Josefa Idem, a curious ex-West German.
This leads the German Federation to orient Fischer on team trialsalso given the approaching threshold of 40 years, and so on in Sydney 2000, while the 36-year-old Ditto wins gold in K1 for Italy, the 38-year-old Fischer takes home the precious metal both in K2 paired with Katrin Wagner and in K4in a quartet completed by Manuela Mucke and Anett Schuck.
It could be the best way to end an exciting career, and indeed it seems so, given that Fischer is not selected for subsequent editions of the Mondiali, but by virtue of the fact that comrades Wagner, Mucke and Schuck, Birgit’s orphans, are beaten by the Hungarians both at the World Cup in Poznan 2001 and in Seville 2002, why not try one last time to “play the card” Fischer also in Athens 2004?
And here is the now 42-year-old Birgit is partnered with Caroline Leonhardt (who may be his daughter, being 20 years younger) in the K2 500 meters test, easily qualifying for the final, where the challenge is with the very strong Hungarians Kovacs and Janicwho have taken the place of the Szabo/Bota duo, world champions for three years.
In the final act the superiority of the two Magyars is evident, going on to win in 1’38″01 ahead of the German pair and to the Polish one, but for a fighter like Fischer the appointment is only postponed to the final of the K4 500 meters.
Szabo and Bota are part of the Hungarian crew, K4 world champions for four editions, together with Kovacs and Viski, and the draw puts the two crews against each other in the first of the two semi-finalswho smiles at the Germans for 1’31″606 compared to the Magyars’ 1’32″298.
Con Fischer looking for her third consecutive Olympic gold in the specialtythere is still Wagner to make up the German crew with Carolin Leonhardt and Maike Nollen, and the final, despite being conducted at a slower pace due to the worst conditions of the basin in which the race takes place, i.e. the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre, sees the rig captained by Fischer confirmed for the third time Olympic champion in 1’34″340 ahead of the Hungarians and the Ukrainians.
Thus ends an unprecedented career at the Olympic level for Birgit Fischer, who can add to her account something like 12 overall medals, of which 8 gold and 4 silver. Whoever knows how to do the same, try to come forward…
