WikiMini

Kirsten Bruhn

Kirsten Bruhn
Personal information
Born (1969-11-03) 3 November 1969 (age 55)
Eutin, West Germany
Home townBerlin, Germany
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Weight61 kg (134 lb)
Sport
Country Germany
SportParalympic swimming
DisabilitySpinal cord injury
Disability classS7, SB5, SM6
Coached byManfred Bruhn (father), Ute Schinkitz
Retired2014
Medal record
Paralympic swimming
Representing  Germany
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Women's 100m breaststroke SB5
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Women's 100m breaststroke SB5
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Women's 100m breaststroke SB5
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Women's 50m freestyle S7
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Women's 100m backstroke S7
Silver medal – second place 2008 Beijing Women's 100m backstroke S7
Silver medal – second place 2012 London Women's 100m backstroke S7
Bronze medal – third place 2004 Athens Women's 100m freestyle S7
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Women's 50m freestyle S7
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Women's 100m freestyle S7
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Beijing Women's 400m freestyle S7
World Championships (Long Course)
Gold medal – first place 2006 Durban Women's 100m backstroke S7
Gold medal – first place 2006 Durban Women's 100m breaststroke SB5
Gold medal – first place 2010 Eindhoven Women's 100m breaststroke SB5
Gold medal – first place 2010 Eindhoven Women's 100m backstroke S7
Gold medal – first place 2013 Montreal Women's 100m backstroke S7
Gold medal – first place 2013 Montreal Women's 100m breaststroke SB5
Silver medal – second place 2006 Durban Women's 50m freestyle S7
Silver medal – second place 2006 Durban Women's 100m freestyle S7
Silver medal – second place 2006 Durban Women's 400m freestyle S7
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Durban Women's 4x100m freestyle relay
World Championships (Short Course)
Gold medal – first place 2009 Rio de Janeiro Women's 100m backstroke S7
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Rio de Janeiro Women's 100m breaststroke SB7
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Rio de Janeiro Women's 100m freestyle S7
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Rio de Janeiro Women's 50m freestyle S7
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2014 Eindhoven Women's 100m breaststroke SB5
Gold medal – first place 2014 Eindhoven Women's 100m backstroke S7
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Eindhoven Women's 50m freestyle S7

Kirsten Bruhn (born 3 November 1969 in Eutin) is a former German female Paralympic swimmer. She won several Paralympic medals, including back-to-back gold medals in women's SB5 100m breaststroke at the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Summer Paralympics.

Early life

[edit]

Bruhn was born in 1969 in Eutin and was the youngest of five children. She learnt to swim when she was three and began competing at ten.[1][2] In 1991 when she was 21 years old, Bruhn sustained a spinal cord injury during a motorcycle trip while on holiday on the island of Kos leaving her partially paralysed.[3]

Career

[edit]

Bruhn competed in her first para swimming competition in 2002.[3] She made her Paralympic debut at the 2004 Summer Paralympics and won gold in the women's SB5 100m breaststroke. She also won silver in the 100m backstroke and 50m freestyle, and bronze in the 100m freestyle.[2] In 2005, she was awarded a Sportplakette des Landes Schleswig-Holstein, an award that recognizes the achievements of sportspeople from Schleswig-Holstein.[4]

Bruhn also competed at the 2008 and 2012 Summer Paralympics, winning gold in the women's SB5 100m breaststroke both times in addition to other medals.[3] She was featured in the 2013 film, Gold – You Can Do More Than You Think, alongside para-athletes Henry Wanyoike and Kurt Fearnley.[5] The film portrayed the everyday lives of disabled athletes and showcased Bruhn, Wanyoike, and Fearnley's journeys to winning gold at the 2012 Paralympics. Film crews followed Bruhn for 18 months to make the film.[6]

The 2014 European Championships marked Bruhn's final competition.[7] After retiring from sport, Bruhn worked as an ambassador for rehabilitation, prevention, and sports at Unfallkrankenhauses Berlin (Berlin Accident Hospital).[8] In 2015, she was elected chairperson of the board of trustees of the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS).[9] Her autobiography, Mein Leben und wie ich es zurückgewann (My Life and How I Won It Back), was published in 2016.[10][11] She was appointed to the expert committee of Deutsche Sporthilfe in 2024.[8]

Publications

[edit]
  • Mein Leben und wie ich es zurückgewann, Neues Leben, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-355-01844-9.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "IPC bio". Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Kirsten Bruhn: MyHandicap". myhandicap.com. Archived from the original on 8 October 2017. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Ringleben, Franziska (30 August 2012). "Paralympics 2012 Schwimmerin Kirsten Bruhn". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  4. ^ "Sportplaketten und Sportverdienstnadeln überreicht: Simonis würdigt ehrenamtliches Engagement im Sport". Landesregierung Schleswig-Holstein. 27 January 2005. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014.
  5. ^ "Gold shines on Paralympic trio despite Pistorius affair". Gulf Times. 16 February 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  6. ^ Volkery, Carsten (8 September 2012). "Paralympics: Kirsten Bruhn in Doku-Film "Projekt Gold" zu sehen". Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Im Porträt: Kirsten Bruhn". www.dosb.de (in German). 20 March 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Paralympicssiegerin statt Olympiasieger im Gutachterausschuss der Sporthilfe: Kirsten Bruhn folgt auf Alexander Koch". Stiftung Deutsche Sporthilfe (in German). 25 January 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  9. ^ "German Paralympic champion Bruhn elected to DBS". International Paralympic Committee. 23 June 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  10. ^ "Buch-Premiere: Ein zurück gewonnenes Leben". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  11. ^ Konrad, Tanja (22 February 2016). "Lesenswert: Die Biographie von Kirsten Bruhn". Der-Querschnitt.de (in German). Retrieved 15 July 2025.
[edit]