Britta Heidemann is a former fencer who made history in 2009 by becoming the first epee fencer to hold the Olympic, world, and European titles at once. She became world champion in 2007, won Olympic gold in 2008, and won the European Championships the following year. In 2016, she became a member of the International Olympic Committee as an athlete representative. She also works as a motivational speaker and moderator in her native Germany. She is also a keen ambassador for German understanding of Chinese culture. To this end, her book about China, Welcome to the Realm of Contrasts: China Close-Up, was published in 2014.

Heidemann was born in Cologne in December 1982. She established her sporting credentials young, winning regional and national school competitions in the jump, running, and swimming. Aged 11, she first tried fencing at a taster event, and she began training as a pentathlete. She switched exclusively to epee fencing at the end of 2000 and joined the women’s national team the following year. Within a year, she had become junior European champion and vice-junior world champion.

After building her senior reputation throughout the mid-2000s, she became world champion in 2007. At the Olympic Games the following year, she won gold. That the Games were held in Beijing that year was fitting given Heidemann’s long love affair with the country. A major part of her post-athletics career has been spent accompanying German delegations from the worlds of sport, business, and politics on trips to China as well as lecturing on the country and the importance of intercultural understanding and exchange.