Kristen Thorsness

Kristen J. Thorsness (born March 10, 1960, in Anchorage, Alaska) is an American former competitive rower and Olympic gold medalist. She was a member of the American women's eights team that won the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California, the first US women's crew to win Olympic gold. She grew up in Alaska, and started rowing at the University of Wisconsin. She was named the Big Ten Conference's rower of the decade and was runner up for Big Ten female athlete of the decade. In addition to the 1984 Olympic team, she was part of three World championship silver medal-winning crews (1982, 1983 and 1987) and was a member of the 1988 Olympic team. She is a member of the US Rowing Hall of Fame, an inaugural inductee into the Alaska Sports Hall of Fame, and is also a member of the University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame. She served on the US Rowing board of directors, currently serves on US Rowing's referee committee, and has been a US Rowing referee since 2003. She has been an attorney since 1989, currently practicing law in Rochester, New York and is an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

Thorsness was the first person (male or female) from Alaska, an Alaskan, to win an Olympic medal.