2008 Summer Olympics
In the national qualification for Olympic Games in 2008 Hollstein he paddled his way to fifth place and was called up to the national team.
At the decisive World Cup in Szeged, he finished fourth in the 500m double with Rupert Wagner, but that fell short of the norm as Olympic champions Ronald Rauhe and Tim Wieskötter won the race.[3]
Shortly before the 2008 Summer Olympics, he surprisingly moved to the side of Andreas Ihle in the kayak double over 1000 meters for the ill Rupert Wagner. In a run-off, they were able to defeat Norman Zahm and Marcus Groß and thus secure participation in the Olympics. On the Olympic canoe course, the duo won the final and with that the Olympic gold medal.[3]
For this success, Hollstein received the Silver Laurel Leaf award in November 2008, the highest state award for top performance in German sport, awarded by the then Federal President Horst Köhler.[4]
Injury
In September 2013, Hollstein had to take an injury-related break due to a broken hand. Despite his lack of training, the canoeist received a promise from the sports association that he would continue to receive maximum support, even if he missed out on the 2014 World Cup team due to injury.[7]
After missing the finals at the European Championship 2014 in Brandenburg, intense training weeks followed for the four-man team around Hollstein with his partners Marius Radow, Martin Schubert and Kai Spenner.[8]
In 2015 Hollstein had to undergo a surgery on his shoulder and had to take an injury-related break again.[9]
End of active career
The last major competition for Hollstein were the 2016 European Championships in Moscow. There he competed under national coach Reiner Kießler. In the kayak double over 500 meters, the team took 4th place.[10]
