Matthew Pinsent
Ekaterina Karsten
Stat by stat
Bars are scaled to the leader in this list.
The verdict
Ekaterina Karsten leads 3 of 4 categories. Our all-time ranking places Matthew Pinsent at #4 and Ekaterina Karsten at #9.
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The case for Matthew Pinsent
Four Olympic golds, all of them, from the coxless pair with Redgrave in 1992 and 1996 to the coxless fours of 2000 and 2004. He is the other half of the pair that carried British rowing from Barcelona to Atlanta, and then the stroke-side constant of the fours that followed. Four golds in four Games, with no Olympic medal of another colour, is as clean a sweep career as the sport has. Redgrave's fifth gold is the reason Pinsent sits fourth rather than beside him.
The case for Ekaterina Karsten
Two Olympic golds in the women's single, at Atlanta 1996 and Sydney 2000, then silver in 2004 and 2008 and bronze in 2012. Five Olympic medals in the event that offers nowhere to hide. The golds are fewer than Boron's or Lipă's. The years on the podium are the argument: five Games, five medals, in the single. A list that only promotes undefeated crews underrates a sculler who stayed in the medals while the rest of the field changed.