Kris "KT" Thorsness (Class of 1982) was a standout rower at Wisconsin, helping establish the Badgers among the nation’s elite programs. She was a member of Wisconsin’s gold-medal-winning Senior Eight at the 1979 National Championships and rowed on the Badgers’ second-place Varsity Eight crews at the Collegiate National Championships in both 1980 and 1982. She went on to compete on seven U.S. national teams, earn three World Championship silver medals, and win Olympic gold in the women’s eight at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, part of the first U.S. women’s crew ever to win an Olympic gold medal. She was inducted into the University of Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018 and has remained deeply involved in the sport through leadership, officiating, and service with USRowing. KT is also a respected attorney whose work focuses on Title IX and athletics, and she serves as an arbitrator for the Court of Arbitration for Sport and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee.