Katalin Kovács (born 29 February 1976) is a Hungarian

canoe sprint Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

er. She competed in the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympics and won eight medals, with three golds (K-2 500 m:

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, K-4 500 m:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

) and five silvers (K-2 500 m:

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, K-4 500 m: 2000, 2004, 2008). Kovács also won a record 40 medals at the

ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two top-tier Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation (the other being the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships). They ...

including 30 golds (K-1 500 m:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

; K-1 1000 m: 2002, 2003, 2007, 2009; K-2 200 m:

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

, 2009,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

; K-2 500 m: 2005, 2006; K-2 1000 m: 2005, 2006; K-4 200 m:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, 2006; K-4 500 m: 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011; K-4 1000 m: 2006), seven silvers (K-1 1000 m: 2010, K-2 500 m: 2013, K-4 200 m: 2007, 2009, K-4 500 m:

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

, 1998, 2007), and three bronzes (K-1 500 m: 2001, K-1 1000 m: 1999, K-2 500 m: 1999). She was elected Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year in 2002 and 2003. Together with Natasa Dusev-Janics, she earned the title Hungarian Sportsteam of the Year in 2005, 2006, and 2010.

Awards

* Hungarian kayaker of the Year (10): 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 * Hungarian Sportswoman of the Year (2) – votes of sports journalists: 2002, 2003 * Hungarian Athlete of the Year (2) – the National Sports Association (NSSZ) awards: 2003, 2009 * For

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

award (2004) * Perpetual champion of Hungarian Kayak-Canoe (2005) * Member of the Hungarian team of year (with Natasa Janics): 2005, 2006, 2010 * Príma Primissima award (2006) * Papp László Budapest Sport awards (2012) ;Orders and special awards *

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit () is the fourth highest Order (honour), State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Order of ...

– Knight's Cross (2000) * Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary – Officer's Cross (2004) * Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary – Commander's Cross (2008) * Order of Merit of Hungary – Commander's Cross with Star (2012)

References

Canoe09.ca profile
* * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacs, Katalin 1976 births Canoeists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Hungarian female canoeists Living people Olympic canoeists for Hungary Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Olympic silver medalists for Hungary Olympic medalists in canoeing ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Canoeists from Budapest

Awards

See also

References

External links