Britta Oppelt –
In years past, Germany recorded long winning streaks in the women’s quad. Since 1990,
Germany won four Olympic gold medals and nine World Championship titles in this event. More
recently, however, gold medals had become scarcer. And yet, despite not having won an Olympic
gold medal since 2004 or World Championship gold since 2002, still Germany led all-time World
Rowing statistics as the most successful country in the women’s quad, ahead of Great Britain
and Ukraine. Unsurprisingly, some asked whether Germany would be able to revive the golden
age of the women’s quad. At the 2011 World Rowing Championships that question got answered.
Britta Oppelt did not hide her emotions during
the World Championship medal ceremony of the
women’s quad in Bled, Slovenia. After 10 years
of competing internationally, the German
national anthem played for her at the senior
championships for the first time. Tears streamed
down her face as she listened with crewmates
Julia Richter, Tina Manker and Stephanie Schilller.
She had finally made it to the top.
“After such a good season we definitely wanted to
get gold,” a glowing Oppelt said after the medal
ceremony. “This is fantastic. I can’t really believe
it yet.”
bronze and silver, as well as four world silvers
and one bronze, the wait had finally come to an
end in Bled.
Using an aggressive race plan, stroke Oppelt
and her crew led from start to finish. The quad
had dominated the 2011 World Rowing season,
winning two stages of the Samsung World Rowing
Cup series. But even then, Britta remained very
cautious regarding any prognosis about the World
Championship final, and for good reason. Since
2003, she had always gone back home from a
World Championship with a medal around her
neck, only never gold. After winning Olympic
But, according to Oppelt, reviving the past
success of the women’s quad has not been a
topic. “I haven’t noticed any pressure from the
federation so far. But we put enough pressure on
ourselves, because we want to be successful on
our own,” says Oppelt. “Of course it is nice when
you can tie in with old successes and it is a lot
of fun to be rowing in a boat which is successful.
But past success is not what pushes me to give
my all and make it to the top of the field again
next year.”
Oppelt, who grew up in West Berlin and comes from
an extensive rowing family, made her international
debut in 1999 when she won the under- 23 quad.
With her long experience at international level,
which included racing in the same boat as the
world’s most successful female sculler Kathrin
Boron at two World Rowing Championships
and one Olympic Games, Oppelt is the link to
Germany’s past sculling success. When Boron
retired from rowing after the 2008 Olympic Games,
Oppelt became the most experienced female
sculler on the German team.
Julia Richter, Tina Manker,
Stephanie Schiller and
Britta Oppelt from Germany
celebrate their gold medal
in the women’s quadruple
sculls at the 2011 World
Rowing Championships in
Bled, Slovenia.
Reflecting on the quads from the past and drawing
a comparison with today’s, Oppelt says: “The
quads ‘in the past’ were full of experience. >
Issue 18 – October 2011
