Birgit Fischer
Kayaker
German kayaker who became an eight-time gold medalist spanning six different Olympic Games.
She spent time working as a sports instructor for the National People's Army.
She became the oldest-ever Olympic canoeing champion at the age of 42.
She married World Champion and Olympian Jorg Schmidt, with whom she had two children.
She was the youngest-ever Olympic canoeing champion at age 18, while Dominique Moceanu was the youngest U.S. gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal at age 14.