Banyoles Banyoles Banyoles () is a city of 17,309 inhabitants (2006) located in the province of Girona in northeastern Catalonia, Spain. The town is the capital of the Catalan "comarca" "Pla de l'Estany". Although an established industrial centre many of the inhabitants commute to nearby Girona (12 km to the south). Banyoles is most famous for the Lake of Banyoles, a natural lake located in a tectonic depression. It was the venue for the rowing events in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics as well as the "negro of Banyoles", a controversial piece of taxidermy. With a superb natural environment for the practice
Rowing at the 2000 Summer Olympics by Australia's James Tomkins at the subsequent games. Tomkins, competing in his fourth games, won the bronze medal, and third medal overall for the men's coxless pair with his partner Matthew Long. In the women's rowing events, Romania's Elisabeta Lipă won her third consecutive Olympic gold medal and fourth overall. Lipă, who was part of Romania's women's eight, won her first in Los Angeles in 1984, followed by gold medals in 1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004. It was also her seventh overall, having won a silver and a bronze in 1988 and an additional silver in 1992. Germany's Kathrin Boron