Kathrin Wessel (née Ullrich; born 14 August 1967) is a retired German long-distance runner who specialized in the 10,000 metres.

Wessel was born in Annaberg-Buchholz, Saxony, East Germany and competed for the club SV Dynamo.

The 1987 season culminated in her winning a bronze medal at the World Championships in Rome, finishing ahead of Olga Bondarenko and Liz McColgan, who placed fourth and fifth respectively.

In 1992, now competing as Kathrin Wessel, she looked set to be a major medal contender at the 1992 Olympics, when she won the German title in June of that year in 31:20, just ahead of Uta Pippig, but in Barcelona she failed to finish her qualifying heat.

From this point, she would cease to be a major force on the world stage, although she did manage fourth place at the 1994 European Championships and competed in her third and final Olympics in 1996.