Kati Wilhelm (; born 2 August 1976 in

Schmalkalden Schmalkalden () is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in the southwest of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is on the southern slope of the Thuringian Forest at the Schmalkalde river, a tributary to the Werra. , the town had a popul ...

) is a German former professional

biathlete The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...

. Like most German biathletes she is also a member of the German Armed Forces (''

Bundeswehr The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

'') with the rank of master sergeant (''

Hauptfeldwebel In the German Wehrmacht, Hauptfeldwebel (short: HptFw; address: ''Herr Hauptfeldwebel'') was not a rank but a position title, assignment or appointment, equivalent to the Commonwealth company sergeant major or U.S. company-level first serge ...

''). Wilhelm resides in

Steinbach-Hallenberg Steinbach-Hallenberg is a town in the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated in the Thuringian Forest, 8 km east of Schmalkalden, and 13 km northwest of Suhl. The former municipalities Altersbach, Bermba ...

, in the Federal State of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

Career

Wilhelm was born in

, then

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

(now in the Federal State of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

). She started training cross-country skiing as a child in 1983 and was a member of the German cross-country ski team at the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games. In 1999, while attending the Military World Games, she came into contact with

biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not time ...

and was hooked on the sport. Her decision to switch to biathlon proved to be a good one. The next year she experienced her first successes including a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

victory. During the Salt Lake City Olympic Games in, she was the most decorated female biathlete, winning gold medals in the 7.5 km sprint and the 4 × 6 km relay. She also won a silver medal in the 10 km pursuit. After two years of struggling, she finally moved to

Ruhpolding Ruhpolding is the municipality with the biggest area of the Traunstein district in southeastern Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the south of the Chiemgau region in the Alps and next to the Austrian border. Ruhpolding has a biathlon track. ...

, Bavaria in 2004. She regained her strength and placed second in the 2004–05 World Cup season, defeated only by Frenchwoman

Sandrine Bailly Sandrine Bailly (born 25 November 1979 in Belley, Ain) is a former French biathlete. She was most successful in the 2004–05 season, when she won the overall World Cup, and in the 2007–08 season, when she finished second. In 2003, s ...

. At the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

, she carried the German flag at the opening ceremony. After winning her third Olympic gold medal in the 10 km pursuit as well as silver in the mass start and with the German relay, she became the best female biathlete at the Olympics ever. Moreover, she dominated the 2005–06 World Cup season, winning six races and the overall World Cup trophy. She was elected "biathlete of the year 2006" as well as "German sportswoman of the year 2006". In total she has 21 IBU

Biathlon World Cup The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until 1986–87 season were called the European Cup, alt ...

wins. In the 2006–07 World Cup season, she finished second for the overall World Cup title behind teammate Andrea Henkel. In the 2008–09 World Cup season, she finished second for the overall World Cup title behind Helena Jonsson, with both biathletes scoring 952 points. Jonsson was awarded the overall title by virtue of her four World Cup victories against Wilhelm's three. The German media gave her the nickname ''"Rotkäppchen"'' (

Little Red Riding Hood "Little Red Riding Hood" is a European fairy tale about a young girl and a sly wolf. Its origins can be traced back to several pre-17th century European folk tales. The two best known versions were written by Charles Perrault and the Brot ...

) because of her characteristic red hair and the red cap she uses in competition. She was able to translate her Olympic victories into multiple endorsement deals, including print and television advertising. Wilhelm announced her retirement from biathlon on 9 March 2010 so that she could focus on her studies. She took part in the International biathlon competition on the "Prize in memory of Vitaly Fatyanov", Kamchatka 2010. The event was held in

Kamchatka The Kamchatka Peninsula (russian: полуостров Камчатка, Poluostrov Kamchatka, ) is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of about . The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk make up the peninsula's eastern and west ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

on 15–17 April, where Kati came 3rd in Sprint and won a Pursuit race. In 2004, Wilhelm was a delegate to the Federal Convention for the

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

. Wilhelm retired as an athlete after the 2009–10 season.

Biathlon achievements

** 1 × overall winner (2005–06) ** 3 × overall runner-up (2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09) ** 21 individual victories

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

World Championships

World Cup

Season standings

References

External links

* * *
Women's 4 x 5 km cross-country relay Olympic results: 1976–2002
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilhelm, Kati 1976 births Living people People from Schmalkalden German female biathletes German female cross-country skiers Olympic biathletes of Germany Olympic cross-country skiers of Germany Biathletes at the 2002 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2006 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2010 Winter Olympics Cross-country skiers at the 1998 Winter Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in biathlon Biathlon World Championships medalists Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Sportspeople from Thuringia