Andreas Birnbacher

Last updated
Andreas Birnbacher
Andreas Birnbacher - 21-01-2010.jpg
Birnbacher in Antholz-Anterselva in 2010.
Personal information
Full nameAndreas Birnbacher
Nickname(s)Andi
Birnei
Born (1981-09-11) 11 September 1981 (age 42)
Prien am Chiemsee, West Germany
Height1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Website andibirnbacher.de
Professional information
Sport Biathlon
ClubSC Schleching
World Cup debut18 January 2001
Retired10 March 2016
Olympic Games
Teams2 (2010, 2014)
Medals0
World Championships
Teams9 (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016)
Medals6 (1 gold)
World Cup
Seasons16 (2000/01–2015/16)
Individual victories6
All victories7
Individual podiums16
All podiums36
Discipline titles1:
1 Mass start (2011–12)
Medal record
Men's biathlon
Representing Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2008 Östersund Mixed relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 15 km mass start
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2008 Östersund 4 × 7.5 km relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2012 Ruhpolding 4 × 7.5 km relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2012 Ruhpolding Mixed relay
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2013 Nové Město 4 × 7.5 km relay
Junior World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2000 Hochfilzen 4 × 7.5 km relay
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2001 Khanty-Mansiysk 10 km sprint
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2001 Khanty-Mansiysk 12.5 km pursuit
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2001 Khanty-Mansiysk 4 × 7.5 km relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2000 Hochfilzen15 km individual
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg2000 Hochfilzen10 km sprint
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg2000 Hochfilzen12.5 km pursuit

Andreas Birnbacher (born 11 September 1981) is a former German biathlete. His biggest successes were the silver medal in the mass start event at the 2007 World Championships and the gold medal in the mixed relay at the 2008 World Championships. He also won the bronze medal at the 2012 world championships in Ruhpolding when he was part of the German teams that finished third in the mixed relay and the men's relay.

Contents

Life and career

2011–2012 world cup season

Birnbacher's most successful biathlon world cup season was the 2011–2012 season. He had just come off the back of a strong end to the 2010/2011 season after taking his maiden win in the Oslo sprint. In the opening world cup race at Östersund, he finished 28th in the individual competition but placed 6th in the sprint and pursuit. Birnbacher's first win of the year came in the Hochfilzen (2) pursuit when he came through from 26th to win, hitting the perfect 20/20 score and denying Ole Einar Bjørndalen in a sprint finish. For Birnbacher, this win was the last race before the Christmas break.

Returning from the break, Birnbacher looked extremely strong in Oberhof.[ citation needed ] After a poor 24th in the sprint, he ran away with the mass start, hitting all 20 targets and finishing 24.3 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger. This victory completed a rout of the top step of the podium for Germany after Magdalena Neuner won both women's races and Arnd Peiffer won the men's sprint.

Birnbacher's strongest weekend of the season was Antholz-Anterselva. After finishing 4th in the sprint, he took win number 3 in the mass start with a penalty lap on shoot 3 proving to be a mere bump on the road to victory as he beat Anton Shipulin and Martin Fourcade by 0.1 and 0.3 seconds respectively. At that point in the season, Birnbacher sat 52 points off Fourcade and 27 pts behind Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway.

World cup 7 took Birnbacher back to the site of his maiden win at the end of last year: Oslo Hollmenkollen. After reasonable[ clarification needed ] sprint and pursuit performances Birnbacher, finished second in the mass start cleaning all 20 targets but not having the skiing speed of race winner Svendsen. Then any hopes of Birnbacher taking the overall crystal globe ended when the German coaches decided to rest him for Kontiolathi Finland so he could be prepared for the upcoming world championships.

The world championships were a mixed bag for Birnbacher. He won two bronze medals and finished 4th in the individual and mass start events. In the mixed relay, Birnbacher teamed up with Andrea Henkel, Magdalena Neuner and Arnd Peiffer; at the time the four of them combined had won 14 races. Birnbacher looked to have given Germany the win as he made no mistakes on the shooting range and the net result was a 1-minute advantage for Germany. Then Peiffer had a penalty loop on the standing shoot and Germany finished 3rd. His other medal came in the men's relay once again he teamed up with Peiffer but also with Simon Schempp and the returning Michael Greis. Birnbacher needed 2 spare rounds for the standing shoot but his strong skiing kept Germany in the running for Medals. The two bronze medals meant that for the first time in his career Birnbacher had picked up more than one medal from the world championships.

In the last race of the season, a 4th-place finish in the mass start meant Birnbacher clinched the mass start crystal globe thus picking up the German men's first Crystal globe since Michael Greis won the overall and sprint crystal globes in 2007. Birnbacher finished the year third overall on 837 points.

Retirement

Birnbacher announced his retirement on 8 March 2016 during the World Championships in Oslo. His last race was the 20 km individual on 10 March. [1]

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union. [1]

Olympic Games

EventIndividualSprintPursuitMass startRelayMixed relay
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg 2010 Vancouver 12th23rd13th15th5th
Flag of Russia.svg 2014 Sochi 22nd
*The mixed relay was added as an event in 2014.
Andreas Birnbacher interviewed. Medien bei der Olympia-Einkleidung Erding 2014 (Martin Rulsch) 04.jpg
Andreas Birnbacher interviewed.

World Championships

6 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze)

EventIndividualSprintPursuitMass startRelayMixed relay
Flag of Germany.svg 2004 Oberhof 14th
Flag of Austria.svg 2005 Hochfilzen 56thDNS
Flag of Slovenia.svg 2006 Pokljuka 4th
Flag of Italy.svg 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 19th17th13thSilver
Flag of Sweden.svg 2008 Östersund 8th21st16thBronzeGold
Flag of Russia.svg 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 8th6th5th16th7th
Flag of Germany.svg 2012 Ruhpolding 4th16th12th4thBronzeBronze
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg 2013 Nové Město 8th23rd22nd11thBronze13th
Flag of Norway.svg 2016 Oslo Holmenkollen 9th
*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
**The mixed relay was added as an event in 2005.

World Cup

SeasonOverallIndividualSprintPursuitMass start
PointsPositionPointsPositionPointsPositionPointsPositionPointsPosition
2000–01 00000
2001–02 4254th02446th1851st0
2002–03 7046th946th2747th3437th0
2003–04 17229th4416th3843rd7226th1834th
2004–05 16930th3425th5534th6426th1635th
2005–06 37117th3421st13318th12213th9018th
2006–07 51413th5815th18112th14416th1318th
2007–08 48110th2831st1946th1668th9015th
2008–09 31427th2750th14224th8227th6329th
2009–10 47915th5824th17016th11215th12315th
2010–11 54914th9310th2199th14213th9519th
2011–12 8373rd908th2488th2396th2601st
2012–13 6915th1042nd2436th18110th1634th
2013–14 17141st356th2956th9633rd4326th
2014–15 40624th3628th16123rd13021st7923rd
2015–16 42119th876th8538th16416th8522nd

Individual victories

6 victories (2 Sp, 1 Pu, 3 MS)

SeasonDateLocationDisciplineLevel
2010–11
1 victory
(1 Sp)
17 March 2011 Flag of Norway.svg Oslo Holmenkollen 10 km sprint Biathlon World Cup
2011–12
3 victories
(1 Pu, 2 MS)
17 December 2011 Flag of Austria.svg Hochfilzen 12.5 km pursuit Biathlon World Cup
8 January 2012 Flag of Germany.svg Oberhof 15 km mass start Biathlon World Cup
21 January 2012 Flag of Italy.svg Antholz-Anterselva 15 km mass start Biathlon World Cup
2012–13
2 victories
(1 Sp, 1 MS)
7 December 2012 Flag of Austria.svg Hochfilzen 10 km sprint Biathlon World Cup
16 December 2012 Flag of Slovenia.svg Pokljuka 15 km mass start Biathlon World Cup
*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ole Einar Bjørndalen</span> Norwegian biathlete (born 1974)

Ole Einar Bjørndalen is a retired Norwegian professional biathlete and coach, often referred to by the nickname, the "King of Biathlon". With 13 Winter Olympic Games medals, he is second on the list of multiple medalists behind Marit Bjørgen who has won 15 medals. He is also the most successful biathlete of all time at the Biathlon World Championships, having won 45 medals. With 95 World Cup wins, Bjørndalen is ranked first all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour. He has won the Overall World Cup title six times, in 1997–98, in 2002–03, in 2004–05, in 2005–06, in 2007–08 and in 2008–09.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Greis</span> German biathlete

Michael Greis is a former German biathlete.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emil Hegle Svendsen</span> Norwegian biathlete

Emil Hegle Svendsen is a retired Norwegian biathlete. He has won eight medals at Winter Olympics and five individual gold medals and seven relay gold medals at World Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Johan Bergman</span> Swedish biathlete

Carl Johan Bergman is a former Swedish biathlete. He lives in Lillehammer, Norway with his Norwegian wife, Liv Kjersti Eikeland. He is 5 ft 8½ in (174 cm), and weighs 152 lb (69 kg; 10 st 12 lb).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magdalena Neuner</span> German biathlete

Magdalena "Lena" Holzer is a retired German professional biathlete. She is the most successful woman of all time at Biathlon World Championships and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. At the age of 21, she became the youngest Overall World Cup winner in the history of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). With 34 World Cup wins, Holzer is ranked second all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour. She has won the Overall World Cup title three times, in 2007–08, in 2009–10 and her final season in 2011–12. At only 25 years old, Holzer retired from the sport in March 2012, citing a lack of motivation and her desire for a normal life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Burke (biathlete)</span> American biathlete

Timothy John Burke is a retired U.S. biathlete and coach. On December 20, 2009, he became the first ever US biathlete to lead the overall Biathlon World Cup. During his career he competed in 11 Biathlon World Championships and four Winter Olympic Games, won a World Championship silver and took six podiums in World Cup races.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabrina Buchholz</span> German biathlete

Sabrina Buchholz is a German biathlete. She is the 2008 world champion in the mixed relay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnd Peiffer</span> German biathlete

Arnd Peiffer is a German former biathlete. His greatest achievements were sprint victories in the 2018 Winter Olympics and the Biathlon World Championships 2011. During his career, he also won three World Championship relay golds as well as several other Olympic and World Championship medals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miriam Neureuther</span> German biathlete and cross-country skier

Miriam Neureuther is a former German biathlete and cross-country skier. She has won an Olympic silver medal in cross-country skiing and two biathlon world championship titles, all in team events. Noted for her fast skiing performances, she won two junior world championship titles in biathlon in 2008 and 2009. Gössner was called up for the Nordic World Ski Championships 2009, where she was part of Germany's cross-country team claiming silver in the 4 × 5 kilometre relay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evgeny Ustyugov</span> Russian biathlete

Evgeny Romanovich Ustyugov is a Russian former biathlete. Born to cross-country skiers, Ustyugov was introduced to biathlon at the age of three. He started his career in junior tournaments in 2005, before going professional three years later in the European Championships. He is an Olympic champion in the men's 15 km mass start event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Prior to the 2010 Olympic Games, his best World Championship finish in an individual event was 20th place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tarjei Bø</span> Norwegian biathlete

Tarjei Bø is a Norwegian professional biathlete. Awarded Olympic gold medals, World Championship gold medals and World Cup victories from 2010 to 2022. Bø debuted in the Biathlon World Cup on 26 March 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. In the 2010 Winter Olympics, he earned his first gold medal in the 4 × 7.5 km biathlon relay. On 10 December 2010 he won the World Cup sprint race in Hochfilzen, his first world cup victory. He also won the following pursuit race and anchored the winning relay team. Bø is the older brother of biathlete Johannes Thingnes Bø.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin Fourcade</span> French biathlete and sous-lieutenant

Martin Fourcade is a retired French biathlete and sous-lieutenant. He is a five-time Olympic champion, a thirteen-time World Champion and a seven-time winner of the Overall World Cup. As of February 2018, he is the most successful French Olympian of all time. Fourcade is the all-time biathlon record holder of overall World Cup titles with seven big crystal globes and he's also the all-time record holder of the most consecutive Major Championships titles with at least one non-team gold medal in every major championship from 2011 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erik Lesser</span> German biathlete

Erik Lesser is a German former biathlete. In 2010, he ran his first single World Cup Race. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he won a silver medal at Men's individual. At the Biathlon World Championships 2013 he won a bronze medal with the German team in Men's relay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biathlon World Championships 2011</span> 2011 edition of the Biathlon World Championships

The 44th Biathlon World Championships was held in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia from March 3–13, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evgeniy Garanichev</span> Russian biathlete

Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Garanichev is a Russian biathlete, who has been competing on the World Cup circuit since the 2010–11 season. He has had five Top 10 finishes in World Cup races in individual races. He got his first win in individual races on 3 February 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johannes Thingnes Bø</span> Norwegian biathlete

Johannes Thingnes Bø is a Norwegian biathlete. He is the younger brother of biathlete Tarjei Bø. At the Olympic Games in Beijing 2022, they became the first siblings to have individual medals in the same biathlon event. Thingnes Bø has won the Biathlon World Cup in 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21, and 2022/2023. Thingnes Bø is the third most successful male biathlete of all time in the World Cup with 68 individual World Cup victories, including victories at the Winter Olympic Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gabriela Soukalová</span> Czech biathlete

Gabriela Soukalová, formerly Koukalová is a former Czech biathlete and television presenter for TV Prima. She won three Olympic medals at the 2014 Sochi Games and she is a two-time World Championship winner, gold medalist at the 2015 Kontiolahti in mixed relay and gold medalist at 2017 Hochfilzen in 7.5 km sprint. In the 2015/2016 World Cup season she was overall champion, and she has also taken six discipline Crystal Globes: the 2013/2014 individual title, the 2015/2016 sprint, pursuit and mass-start titles, and the 2016/17 sprint and mass start titles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorothea Wierer</span> Italian biathlete (born 1990)

Dorothea Wierer is an Italian biathlete competing in the Biathlon World Cup. Together with Karin Oberhofer, Dominik Windisch and Lukas Hofer she won a bronze medal in the Mixed relay at the 2014 Winter Olympics, in Sochi, Russia. At the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea she won again the bronze medal in the Mixed relay with Lisa Vittozzi, Lukas Hofer and Dominik Windisch. At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, China, she won her first individual medal in the Sprint. She is the 2019 Mass Start World Champion and the 2020 Pursuit and Individual World Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laura Dahlmeier</span> German biathlete

Laura Dahlmeier is a retired German biathlete. Dahlmeier started in her first world cup races in the 2012/13 season. In 2014, she participated in the Winter Olympics in Sochi. She won a record of five gold medals at the World Championships of 2017. In 2018 she became the first woman to win the biathlon sprint and pursuit in the same Olympics. During her career she has won a total of two golds and one bronze at the Olympics, seven gold medals, three silver medals and five bronze medals at World Championships, one overall World Cup and two discipline World Cup titles. Dahlmeier announced her retirement from competition in May 2019, at the age of 25. In October 2019, she released a children's book.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johanna Puff</span> German baithlete

Johanna Puff is a German biathlete. She won several medals with German relay teams at the Junior World Championships.

References

  1. 1 2 "Andreas Birnbacher". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.