Ricco Groß (also spelled Gross, born 22 August 1970) is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

former

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 ti ...

. He is one of the most successful biathletes of all time at the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

and the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Personal life

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 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 serg ...

( Sergeant First Class) in the German

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

Career

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. His first club was the SG Dynamo Klingenthal until 1991. In the

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 ...

of 1997/1998, he came second in the overall competition. In the biathlon competition at the 1992, 1994, and 1998

, he won gold medals as part of the men's 4 × 7.5 km relay team. At the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 (; Gosiute dialect, Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; ; Shoshoni language, Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), were an international wi ...

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. 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. Groß took a total of 53 individual podium finishes in World Cup competition, including nine race wins. After retiring from competition Groß settled in

Ruhpolding Ruhpolding is the municipality with the biggest area of the Traunstein (district), 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. The economy ...

. 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. He was subsequently announced as senior trainer for the German IBU Cup team in April 2014. In August 2015 he became a senior coach for the Russian men's biathlon squad, agreeing a contract up to the 2017-18 season. 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.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the

International Biathlon Union The International Biathlon Union (IBU; ) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the city. It was rocked by a corruption ...

Olympic Games

''8 medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)'' :''*Pursuit was added as an event in 2002, with mass start being added in 2006.''

World Championships

''20 medals (9 gold, 5 silver, 6 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

''9 victories (3 In, 1 Sp, 4 Pu, 1 MS)'' :''*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the

Biathlon World Championships The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The original team event, Team (time), was held for the last time in 1965, to be replaced in 1966 by the team event, Relay (4 × 7.5 km) ...

and the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held in ...

.''

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gross, Ricco 1970 births Living people German male biathletes Biathletes at the 1992 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 1994 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 1998 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2002 Winter Olympics Biathletes at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic biathletes for Germany Medalists at the 1992 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1994 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics Olympic medalists in biathlon Olympic bronze medalists for Germany Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic gold medalists for Germany Biathlon World Championships medalists German cross-country skiing coaches People from Erzgebirgskreis Biathletes from Saxony 20th-century German sportsmen 21st-century German sportsmen Sportspeople from Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt East German male biathletes