Ricco Groß (also spelled Gross, born 22 August 1970) is a former German biathlete.[1] He is one of the most successful biathletes of all time at the Winter Olympics and the World Championships.[citation needed]

Ricco Groß
Groß in Antholz-Anterselva in 2006.
Personal information
Born (1970-08-22) 22 August 1970 (age 54)
Bad Schlema, East Germany
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
WebsiteRicco-Gross.de
Professional information
SportBiathlon
ClubSki Club Ruhpolding
Retired18 March 2007
Olympic Games
Teams5 (1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Medals8 (4 gold)
World Championships
Teams15 (1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Medals20 (9 gold)
World Cup
Seasons17 (1990/91–2006/07)
Individual victories9
All victories33
Individual podiums52
All podiums95
Discipline titles1:
1 Individual (1996–97)

Personal life

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He has been married to his wife Kathrin since 1994 and they have three sons: Marco (born 1995), Simon (b. 1998), and Gabriel (b. 2004). He is a Hauptfeldwebel (Sergeant First Class) in the German Bundeswehr..[citation needed]

Career

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Groß started out as a cross-country skier but switched to biathlon at the age of 13. He made his World Cup debut at the age of 20.[2] His first club was the SG Dynamo Klingenthal until 1991. In the Biathlon World Cup of 1997/1998, he came second in the overall competition. In the biathlon competition at the 1992, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics, he won gold medals as part of the men's 4 × 7.5 km relay team. At the 2002 Winter Olympics in the 4 × 7.5 km relay for men the German team won silver and at the 12.5 km pursuit for men, he won bronze for himself. He took a total of eight Olympic medals during his career, including four relay golds.[3]

In the Biathlon World Championships sprint (10 km) he won bronze in 1995, and silver in 2003 and 2004. In 1999, 2003, and 2004, he won gold in the pursuit (12.5 km). In the individual (20 km), he won gold in 1997, silver in 1999, and bronze in 2003 and 2005. He took a total of nine World Championship titles.[4] Groß took a total of 53 individual podium finishes in World Cup competition, including nine race wins.[3]

After retiring from competition Groß settled in Ruhpolding. He has worked as a commentator on biathlon for German television and was appointed as coach of the German women's biathlon team in 2010.[2] He was subsequently announced as senior trainer for the German IBU Cup team in April 2014.[5] In August 2015 he became a senior coach for the Russian men's biathlon squad, agreeing a contract up to the 2017-18 season.[3] In this role he guided the team to the 2016-17 relay World Cup title. In May 2018, Groß was announced as head coach for the Austrian men's biathlon team.[4]

Biathlon results

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All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[6]

Olympic Games

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8 medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Relay
  1992 Albertville Silver Gold
  1994 Lillehammer Silver Gold
  1998 Nagano 6th 17th Gold
  2002 Salt Lake City 4th 4th Bronze Silver
  2006 Turin 11th 6th 12th Gold
*Pursuit was added as an event in 2002, with mass start being added in 2006.

World Championships

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20 medals (9 gold, 5 silver, 6 bronze)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Team Relay Mixed relay
  1991 Lahti 16th 4th Gold
  1993 Borovets 6th 64th
  1995 Antholz-Anterselva 55th Bronze 14th Gold
  1996 Ruhpolding 9th 12th 6th Silver
  1997 Brezno-Osrblie Gold 34th 26th Gold
  1998 Pokljuka 7th Silver
  1999 Kontiolahti Silver 6th Gold 8th 4th
  2000 Oslo Holmenkollen 9th 7th 18th 6th Bronze
  2001 Pokljuka 7th 27th 14th 4th 12th
  2002 Oslo Holmenkollen 11th
  2003 Khanty-Mansiysk Bronze Silver Gold 22nd Gold
  2004 Oberhof 4th Silver Gold 29th Gold
  2005 Hochfilzen Bronze 7th 6th 7th 6th Bronze
  2006 Pokljuka 10th
  2007 Antholz-Anterselva 9th Bronze
*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
**Team was removed as an event in 1998, and pursuit was added in 1997 with mass start being added in 1999 and the mixed relay in 2005.

Individual victories

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9 victories (3 In, 1 Sp, 4 Pu, 1 MS)

Season Date Location Discipline Level
1996–97
2 victories
(2 In)
9 January 1997   Ruhpolding 20 km individual Biathlon World Cup
7 February 1997   Brezno-Osrblie 20 km individual Biathlon World Championships
1997–98
1 victory
(1 In)
3 March 1998   Pokljuka 20 km individual Biathlon World Cup
1998–99
1 victory
(1 Pu)
13 February 1999   Kontiolahti 12.5 km pursuit Biathlon World Championships
1999–2000
2 victories
(1 Sp, 1 MS)
12 January 2000   Ruhpolding 15 km mass start Biathlon World Cup
15 January 2000   Ruhpolding 10 km sprint Biathlon World Cup
2002–03
1 victory
(1 Pu)
16 March 2003   Khanty-Mansiysk 12.5 km pursuit Biathlon World Championships
2003–04
1 victory
(1 Pu)
8 February 2004   Oberhof 12.5 km pursuit Biathlon World Championships
2005–06
1 victory
(1 Pu)
20 January 2006   Antholz-Anterselva 12.5 km pursuit Biathlon World Cup
*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ricco Groß". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b "Ricco Gross - Olympic Athlete". Olympic.org. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Ricco Gross Heads to Russia as Senior Men's Coach". International Biathlon Union. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Coaching Carousel Part 2: Moves in Austria, Switzerland, France and Russia". International Biathlon Union. 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Coaching Changes in Germany and Austria". International Biathlon Union. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  6. ^ "Ricco Gross". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
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