15 January 2025

By Göran R Buckhorn

The world most successful female rower in the PR1, Birgit Skarstein, of Norway, has retired, she announced on 1 January 2025.

During her triumphant career on the water, Skarstein became Olympic Champion in PR1 at the 2020 Tokyo Games and won a silver medal in Paris last summer. She has won nine gold medals at the World Championships, one silver and one bronze medal. To this heap of medals can be added four European titles.

She has also competed in the World Championships para cross-country skiing, which has resulted in one silver and three bronze.

Skarstein holds a degree in political sciences from the University of Oslo. She has actively been involved within politics and boards throughout her life and athletic career. Among other things, she has served in the City Council of Oslo.

She has been a popular guest on Norwegian TV, and in 2020, she participated in the show Skal vi danse (Norwegian version of Dancing with the Stars), becoming the first wheelchair user to appear on the program.

Editor’s note: Tim Koch has just contacted me noting that he has not been very productive lately. He would like to assure HTBS Types that he has not lost interest in them or in things aquatic, he is simply a bit under the weather. He says that there may be occasional posts from him but that he should resume business as usual in the near future.