Sven Fischer


Sven Fischer is a former German biathlete. He trained with the WSV Oberhof 05 club, and was coached by Frank Ullrich and Fritz Fischer and Klaus Siebert. After the 2006/07 biathlon season, he retired.

Background

Fischer, who stands at and weighs, was born in Schmalkalden, Thuringia. His apparent talents for athletics was discovered early and already in third grade he was training three times a week in the BSG Werkzeugkombinat sports club. In the fifth grade, he became district champion of his age class.
In September 1983, the boarding school Kinder- und Jugendsportschule accepted him on a biathlon youth scholarship. After his exam in 1989, he joined the army studying to become a sports teacher. The German reunification and the fall of the Berlin wall and subsequent unification of the East and West German armies, forced him to leave the military in 1990.
He instead started training for international sport events, but in 1989, when Fischer was eighteen, he had problems with both his kneecaps after a growth spurt as a youth: "I grew too fast and didn't stretch well." As a result he sat out the whole of the 1989 season and thought he might have to retire from the sport at his young age. However, in the 1990 season when he came back he found that he had become more powerful than before his injury, and in December 1990, he celebrated his first European cup victory in sprint in Hochfilzen. One week later he participated in his first world cup relay. He was soon rewarded B–status and because of success in the German Championship in 1992 he qualified for the world cup in Pokljuka in December 1992.
In 1993, he won a World Championship gold medal in the 10 km Team in Borovets, Bulgaria, and a world cup race, in sprint, in Kontiolahti, Finland. In 1994, he won the Olympic bronze medal in the 20 km individual.
Fischer was an integral part of the German biathlon team until his retirement.
Fischer has eight biathlon victories at the Holmenkollen ski festival, three in individual, two in sprint, two in pursuit, and one in mass start.

Career

Fischer won the World Cup overall on two occasions, he's also come second twice, and third three times. In the 2004/05 season Fischer lost the World Cup by only eleven points, which he most probably would have earned had he competed in the final race of the year, but he missed it because of a cold.
In the Olympics, Fischer won four gold medals, one of them in the sprint in 2006 Winter Olympics, and the other three in the relay. He also won two silver, and two bronze.
In the World Championships, Fischer amassed seven gold medals, six silver, and seven bronze. Four of his gold medals were won in relays, one in the team event, one in the individual, and one in the mass start. In the sprint he has one of his silver medals. He has three bronze from the pursuit. In the mass start he has one gold, two silver, and one bronze. His remaining silver and two bronze came in the relay.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games

8 medals
EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay
1994 LillehammerBronze7thGold
1998 Nagano16th29thGold
2002 Salt Lake City29thSilver12thSilver
2006 Turin17thGoldBronze17thGold

World Championships

20 medals
EventIndividualSprintPursuitTeamRelay
1993 BorovetsDNS20thGoldBronze
DNS26th14thGold
1996 Ruhpolding22nd19th6thSilver
1997 Brezno-Osrblie5th24th23rd—Gold
1998 Pokljuka4thSilver
1999 KontiolahtiGold7thBronzeGold4th
2000 Oslo Holmenkollen19th40th13th13thBronze
2001 Pokljuka11th5thBronzeBronze12th
2002 Oslo HolmenkollenSilver
2003 Khanty-Mansiysk22nd12th11thSilverGold
2004 Oberhof16th8th23rd11thGold
2005 Hochfilzen4thSilverBronzeSilver6th—
2006 Pokljuka10th
2007 Antholz-Anterselva20th43rd17th5thBronze—

Individual victories

33 victories
SeasonDateLocationDisciplineLevel
1992–93
1 victory
20 March 1993 Kontiolahti10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1993–94
2 victories
20 January 1994 Antholz-Anterselva20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1993–94
2 victories
12 March 1994 Hinton10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1995–96
2 victories
14 December 1995 Oslo Holmenkollen20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1995–96
2 victories
16 December 1995 Oslo Holmenkollen10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1996–97
3 victories
30 November 1996 Lillehammer10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1996–97
3 victories
1 December 1996 Lillehammer12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
1996–97
3 victories
8 March 1997 Nagano10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1997–98
1 victory
20 December 1997 Kontiolahti12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
1998–99
6 victories
19 December 1998 Brezno-Osrblie10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1998–99
6 victories
20 December 1998 Brezno-Osrblie12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
1998–99
6 victories
26 February 1999 Lake Placid10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1998–99
6 victories
11 March 1999 Oslo Holmenkollen20 km individualBiathlon World Championships
1998–99
6 victories
12 March 1999 Oslo Holmenkollen10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1998–99
6 victories
13 March 1999 Oslo Holmenkollen15 km mass startBiathlon World Championships
1999–2000
2 victories
12 March 2000 Lahti12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
1999–2000
2 victories
18 March 2000 Khanty-Mansiysk12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
2000–01
2 victories
7 January 2001 Oberhof15 km mass startBiathlon World Cup
2000–01
2 victories
18 March 2001 Oslo Holmenkollen15 km mass startBiathlon World Cup
2001–02
3 victories
20 January 2002 Ruhpolding12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
2001–02
3 victories
9 March 2002 Östersund10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
2001–02
3 victories
23 March 2002 Oslo Holmenkollen12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
2002–03
1 victory
20 February 2003 Östersund10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
2003–04
2 victories
22 January 2004 Antholz-Anterselva20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
2003–04
2 victories
6 March 2004 Fort Kent15 km mass startBiathlon World Cup
2004–05
5 victories
4 December 2004 Beitostølen12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
2004–05
5 victories
9 December 2004 Oslo Holmenkollen20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
2004–05
5 victories
12 December 2004 Oslo Holmenkollen12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
2004–05
5 victories
7 January 2005 Oberhof10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
2004–05
5 victories
16 March 2005 Khanty-Mansiysk10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
2005–06
3 victories
15 December 2005 Brezno-Osrblie20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
2005–06
3 victories
18 December 2005 Brezno-Osrblie12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
2005–06
3 victories
14 February 2006 Turin10 km sprintWinter Olympic Games