Martin Hollstein (born 2 April 1987 in

Neubrandenburg Neubrandenburg (lit. ''New Brandenburg'', ) is a city in the southeast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located on the shore of a lake called Tollensesee and forms the urban centre of the Mecklenburg Lakeland. The city is famous for its ...

) is a German

sprint canoer Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water. Overview Race categories vary by the number of athletes in the boat, the length of the course, and whether the boat is a canoe or kayak. Canoe sprints are som ...

and Olympic champion. He has been competing since the late 2000s, mostly in kayak single, double or four. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

Hollstein won the gold in the K-2 1000 m event with partner

Andreas Ihle Andreas Ihle (born 2 June 1979 in Bad Dürrenberg, Saxony-Anhalt) is a German sprint canoer who has competed since 1997. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he has won three medals with a gold (K-2 1000 m: 2008), a silver (K-4 ...

. At the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, he and

Ihle The Ihle is a river of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. A former tributary of the Elbe, it discharges into the Elbe–Havel Canal (and its predecessor ''Ihlekanal'') since the 1860s. See also *List of rivers of Saxony-Anhalt A list of rivers of Saxon ...

won the Olympic bronze medal. Hollstein also won a gold medal in the K-2 1000 m event at the

2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The 2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships were held 19–22 August 2010 in Poznań, Poland, on Lake Malta. This was the third time that the Polish city hosted the championships, having done so previously in 1990 and 2001. Paracanoe (forme ...

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John ...

and several

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

Early life

Hollstein, short "Holly", grew up in the German State of

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (MV; ; nds, Mäkelborg-Vörpommern), also known by its anglicized name Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, is a state in the north-east of Germany. Of the country's sixteen states, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern ranks 14th in po ...

in the city of

. There he joined the sports club

SC Neubrandenburg 1. FC Neubrandenburg 04 is the German football club based in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, playing in the 2019-20 Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (VI). History The earliest forerunner of 1. FC Neubrandenburg 04 was founded in 19 ...

in which he remains as a member to this day. His original trainer is Jürgen Lickfett. His first medal won Hollstein at the canoe state championships in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

in the year 1998. Hollstein startet in September 2005 an education as a mechanic at the Webasto AG company in his hometown

. There he worked for three years but concentrated mainly on his career as a competitive athlete.

Professional career

2008 Summer Olympics

In the national qualification for Olympic Games in 2008 Hollstein he paddled his way to fifth place and was called up to the national team. At the decisive World Cup in Szeged, he finished fourth in the 500m double with

Rupert Wagner Rupert Wagner is a German sprint canoer who competed in the mid-2000s. He won a silver medal in the K-2 1000 m event at the 2006 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged Szeged ( , ; see also #Etymology, other alternative names) ...

, but that fell short of the norm as Olympic champions Ronald Rauhe and

Tim Wieskötter Tim Wieskötter (born March 12, 1979, in Emsdetten, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German sprint canoer who has competed since the late 1990s. Competing in three Summer Olympics, he won a complete set of medals in the K-2 500 m e ...

won the race. Shortly before the

, he surprisingly moved to the side of

in the kayak double over 1000 meters for the ill Rupert Wagner. In a run-off, they were able to defeat Norman Zahm and

Marcus Groß Marcus Gross (born 28 September 1989) is a German canoeist who has competed since the late 2000s. He won a bronze medal in the K-2 500 m event at the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Dartmouth. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed ...

and thus secure participation in the Olympics. On the Olympic canoe course, the duo won the final and with that the

Olympic gold medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

. For this success, Hollstein received the

Silver Laurel Leaf Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany, was endowed on 23 June 1950 by the German President Theodor Heuss. It is awarded to athletes and teams of exemplary character that have won medals at Olympic and ...

award in November 2008, the highest state award for top performance in German sport, awarded by the then Federal President Horst Köhler.

World and European championships

In 2010, Hollstein competed again with his double partner

and won the gold medal at the 2010 European Canoe Racing Championships in

Trasona Trasona (in Asturian ''Tresona'', and officially Trasona/Tresona is one of seven parishes (administrative divisions) in the Corvera de Asturias municipality, within the province and autonomous community of Asturias, in northern Spain. Its pop ...

. In the same year, the team also won the gold medal at the 2010 World Championships in

. A year later, Hollstein won gold again at the 2011 European Canoe Racing Championships in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

. At the

the following year in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

, the canoeist took 2nd place.

2012 Summer Olympics

At the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, he won the bronze medal in kayak double over 1000 m with

. Hollstein again received the

for this Olympic medal success. It was awarded by the Federal President Joachim Gauck at a ceremony in Bellevue Palace.

Injury

In September 2013, Hollstein had to take an injury-related break due to a broken hand. Despite his lack of training, the canoeist received a promise from the sports association that he would continue to receive maximum support, even if he missed out on the

2014 World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...

team due to injury. After missing the finals at the European Championship 2014 in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

, intense training weeks followed for the four-man team around Hollstein with his partners Marius Radow, Martin Schubert and Kai Spenner. In 2015 Hollstein had to undergo a surgery on his shoulder and had to take an injury-related break again.

End of active career

The last major competition for Hollstein were the 2016

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. There he competed under national coach Reiner Kießler. In the kayak double over 500 meters, the team took 4th place.

Federal Police and personal life

In September 2009 he began training as a

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

at the

German Federal Police The Federal Police (''Bundespolizei'' or BPOL) is the national and principal federal law enforcement agency of the German Federal Government, being subordinate to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, Building and Community (''Bundesministerium ...

. During his active career the police officer trainee was a member of the Kienbaum National Training Centre, the Federal Police's top sports promotion facility for summer and year-round sports. (retrieved 13 January 2014) He is currently working for the Federal Police at

Berlin-Brandenburg Airport Berlin Brandenburg Airport ''Willy Brandt'' (german: Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg "Willy Brandt", , ) is an international airport in Schönefeld, just south of the German capital Berlin in the state of Brandenburg. Named after the former We ...

. Hollstein currently resides in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and continues to compete privately in various competitions throughout Germany and internationally.

Awards

* Awarded the

by Federal President Horst Köhler in 2008 * "Champion of the Year" 2008 Award at the Robinson Club in September 2008 in Agadir,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

* Awarded the

by Federal President Joachim Gauck in November 2012 in Bellevue Palace * Bronze star at the Walk of Sport in January 2022 in

Greatest competitions

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hollstein, Martin 1987 births Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics German male canoeists Living people Olympic canoeists of Germany Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in canoeing Olympic bronze medalists for Germany ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics People from Neubrandenburg Sportspeople from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania