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Ricco Groß

Ricco Groß
Ricco Groß in Antholz 2006.jpg
Ricco Groß in Antholz-Anterselva in 2006.
Personal information
Full name Ricco Groß
Born (1970-08-22) 22 August 1970 (age 46)
Bad Schlema, East Germany
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Website ricco-gross.de
Professional information
Sport Biathlon
Club Ski Club Ruhpolding
Retired 18 March 2007
Olympic Games
Teams 5 (1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Medals 8 (4 gold)
World Championships
Teams 15 (1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Medals 20 (9 gold)
World Cup
Seasons 17 (1990/91–2006/07)
Individual victories 9
All victories 33
Individual podiums 52
All podiums 95
Discipline titles 1:
1 Individual (1996–97)

Ricco Groß (born 22 August 1970) is a former German biathlete whose exploits made him one of the most successful biathletes of all time at the Winter Olympics and the World Championships.

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.

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 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.

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. 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. 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.

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.


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