Ramona Balthasar

Ramona Balthasar-Franz, born on 9 January 1964 in Forst in Bezirk Cottbus, East Germany, is a German rower who won Olympic gold in the women's eight at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. She first competed for SG Dynamo Potsdam and was chosen for the 1984 Summer Olympics but did not compete because of the Eastern Bloc boycott. In 1985 she changed to SC Dynamo Berlin and became world champion in the quad scull at the World Rowing Championships in Hazewinkel. She then changed from sculling to sweep rowing, and after the Olympic gold she won silver in the women's eight at the 1989 championships in Bled. In October 1986 she was awarded a Patriotic Order of Merit in gold, first class, for her sporting success, and she later studied medicine.