- Miriam Gössner
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Miriam Gössner 
Disciplines Biathlon, Cross-country skiing Club Ski Club Garmisch[1] Born 21 June 1990 [1]
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, GermanyWorld Cup debut 2 December 2009[1] Olympics Teams 1 (Cross-country, 2010)[2] Medals 1 (0 gold) World Championships Teams 2 (2009 Cross-country;
2011 Biathlon)[1][2]Medals 2 (1 gold) World Cup Seasons 2[1] Wins 0 Podiums 3 Overall titles 0 Discipline titles 0 Medal recordCompetitor for 
GermanyWomen's cross-country skiing Olympic Games Silver 2010 Vancouver 4 × 5 km relay FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Silver 2009 Liberec 4 × 5 km relay Women's biathlon Biathlon World Championships Gold 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 4 × 6 km relay Infobox last updated on: 20 March 2011 Miriam Gössner (born 21 June 1990) is a German-Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier. 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.
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Gössner won a silver medal in cross-country skiing in the 4 × 5 kilometre relay. She returned to biathlon for the 2010–11 season, achieving three podium finishes in her first complete winter on the Biathlon World Cup tour. At the Biathlon World Championships 2011, Gössner won the gold medal in the women's relay.
Contents
Early life
Miriam Gössner was born in the German alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria. Her father is German and her mother Norwegian, born in Molde, Norway. Gössner grew up bilingually and is fluent in Norwegian.[3] She originally hoped for a career in alpine skiing, but following an accident during slalom training, in which she lost several teeth and suffered a broken cheekbone, she instead started biathlon at the age of 14.[4] Since 2008, Gössner has been living in a relationship with German biathlete Simon Schempp.[5]
Career
Early career
After deciding to pursue a career in biathlon, Gössner joined the German Customs Administration in August 2006 to become a member in the government-supported Customs-Ski-Team (Zoll-Ski-Team). She officially holds the rank of Zolloberwachtmeisterin (head customs officer),[6] although she is a full time professional athlete with no customs obligations. One of her team mates is Olympic champion Magdalena Neuner, with whom she trains in Mittenwald, one of Germany's biathlon bases.[7]
Gössner qualified for the 2008 Biathlon Junior/Youth World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany, where she won gold as part of the German relay team. One year later at the 2009 Biathlon Junior/Youth World Championships in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, Gössner won the pursuit title. She also won silver in the sprint, bronze in the relay, and came in fourth place in the individual. Early on, Gössner was noted for her fast skiing performances. She won the junior pursuit gold in spite of eight shooting errors and came in fourth in the individual with a total time penalty of six minutes.[1]
Because of her fast skiing times, Germany's cross-country coach, Jochen Behle, called her up as a late replacement for the freestyle sprint at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, Czech Republic. She came in 17th place during qualification, but did not advance beyond the quarter-final in the main competition, eventually finishing in 19th position. After Stefanie Böhler had to withdraw, Gössner was picked for the 4 × 5 kilometre relay. She set the fastest time of all racers on her lap and reduced Germany's gap to the lead by 55.1 seconds, playing an important part in Germany's silver medal win. Gössner could not compete in biathlon for the remainder of the season due to a thumb injury, therefore she debuted in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Lahti, Finland in March 2009, winning her first World Cup points with two top-30 finishes.[2]
Olympic cross-country silver (2009–10 season)
Gössner made her debut in the Biathlon World Cup in Östersund, Sweden, in December 2009, the first event of the 2009–10 season. She finished in 73rd place in the individual and 58th in the sprint race, with seven and five shooting errors respectively. She saw no chance to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics in biathlon and concentrated on cross-country skiing for the remaining season. Gössner competed at the 2009–10 Tour de Ski, finishing in 5th place in the prologue, which secured her the Olympic qualification in cross-country skiing. She continued with good results in the cross-country World Cup, coming in 5th in the sprint and 4th in the team sprint in Rybinsk, Russia.
The Winter Olympics in Vancouver started with a setback for Gössner. She was looking for a potential top ten finish in the 10 kilometre freestyle race, before crashing on the second loop. She injured her shoulder and lost time, eventually finishing in 21st place.[8] On 25 February 2010, running the third leg alongside Katrin Zeller, Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle and Claudia Nystad for Germany, Gössner claimed the silver medal in the 4 × 5 kilometre relay. After the Olympics, she remained with the cross-country team through the end of the season. Her best World Cup result was a second place in Lahti, again coming in a women's relay event.[2] Along with all Olympic medal winners, she received the Silberne Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest state decoration for athletes in Germany.[9]
First biathlon success (2010–11 season)
2010–11 World Cup season results No. World Cup location Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass Start Relay Mixed relay 1 Östersund, Sweden 39 2 2 – – – 2 Hochfilzen, Austria – 18 25 – DNS – 3 Pokljuka, Slovenia 53 12 – – – 8 4 Oberhof, Germany – 43 – 19 DNS – 5 Ruhpolding, Germany 39 17 22 – – 6 Antholz, Italy – 17 – 28 3 – 7 Presque Isle, United States – 21 29 – – DNS 8 Fort Kent, United States – 2 10 14 – – WCH Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia DNS 9 7 14 1 DNS 9 Oslo, Norway – 35 6 13 – – Key:"—" denotes discipline not held; DNS—Did not start; WCH—World Championships[1] Despite repeated attempts by head coach Jochen Behle to convince her to stay with the cross-country team, Gössner decided to return to biathlon for the 2010–11 season, even if she had to compete in second tier IBU Cup races initially.[10] However, she was picked for the German team at the World Cup opening in Östersund. In the first race of the season, she finished in 39th place in the individual race, winning her first Biathlon World Cup points. Two days later, Gössner shot clean and came in second place in the sprint race. In the subsequent pursuit, she defended her second place. She set the fastest course time in both races and was beaten only by Finland's Kaisa Mäkäräinen.[1]
Following her surprising podiums, Gössner continued the season with average results, earning World Cup points in 11 of her next 13 individual races. However, she failed to reach any more top ten positions because of poor shooting performances. In Pokljuka, Slovenia, Gössner competed in her first biathlon team event, a mixed relay race. She incurred four penalty loops in the standing shoot, with Germany finishing eighth eventually. One month later in Antholz, Italy, she reached third place in the women's relay with Germany, again skiing two penalty loops. At the World Cup stop in Fort Kent in the United States, Gössner claimed her third career podium, coming in second behind team mate Andrea Henkel in the sprint race.
In March 2011, Gössner made her first appearance at the Biathlon World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. She achieved good results, finishing in 9th place in the sprint, 7th in the pursuit and 14th in the mass start, and was consequently selected for the women's relay. Alongside Andrea Henkel, Tina Bachmann and Magdalena Neuner, Gössner ran the second leg for Germany, but again struggled with the standing shoot and had to ski two penalty loops. A strong finish by team mate Magdalena Neuner on the last leg, however, gave Gössner her first world championship gold medal and first World Cup win. Gössner ended her first complete biathlon season with three individual podiums and seven top ten finishes, ranked 14th in the overall World Cup standings.[1]
Biathlon statistics
Skiing
Gössner is one of the fastest female cross-country skiers in biathlon. During 8 of her 27 World Cup races (30%), she has set the fastest course time (race time without time spent at the shooting range or in the penalty loop). In addition, she has been among the top three fastest skiers in 70% of her career races. At junior level, Gössner was noted for her fast skiing performances and she often had been able to make up for multiple shooting errors on the cross-country course. In her first two World Cup races in the 2009–10 season, she achieved the 9th and 15th fastest course time respectively. One year later during the 2010–11 season, Gössner set the fastest skiing time in 8 of her 25 races, out-skiing most of the field's top contenders on a regular basis.[1]
Course times 2009–10 season 2010–11 season Career Fastest 0 / 2 0% 8 / 25 32% 8 / 27 30% 2nd fastest 0 / 2 0% 6 / 25 24% 6 / 27 22% 3rd fastest 0 / 2 0% 5 / 25 20% 5 / 27 19% Other 2 / 2 100% 6 / 25 24% 8 / 27 30% - *Key:Number of respective times achieved / number of all races entered, percentage. Results in IBU World Cup races, no relay events.[1][11]
- **Statistics as of 20 March 2011.
Shooting
As of the end of the 2010–11 season, Gössner has a career shooting accuracy of 67%. Her career average in the prone position is 80%, while her career average in the standing position is 54%. Her shooting results in the prone position are slightly below average, while her standing position percentage is among the worst of the entire World Cup field. In her first complete season on the World Cup tour, Gössner produced highly inconsistent shooting results. She shot clean once, during her first podium finish in the Östersund sprint race in December 2010, but also had two races with a total of nine shooting errors (Antholz mass start, Presque Isle pursuit). She has competed in two women's relays and one mixed relay, incurring at least two penalty loops in each of those races.[1]
Shooting 2009–10 season 2010–11 season Career Prone position 11 / 15 73% 177 / 220 80% 188 / 235 80% Standing position 7 / 15 47% 123 / 224 55% 130 / 239 54% Total 18 / 30 60% 300 / 444 68% 318 / 474 67% - *Key:Hits / shots, percentage. Results in all IBU World Cup races including relay events.[1][11]
- **Statistics as of 20 March 2011.
Record
Olympic Games
At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, Gössner competed in cross-country skiing, after she had failed to qualify for the German biathlon team. She finished in 21st place in the 10 kilometre freestyle race, before winning the silver medal with Katrin Zeller, Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle and Claudia Nystad in the 4 × 5 kilometre relay.[2]
Event 10 km freestyle 15 km pursuit 30 km classical 4 × 5 km relay Sprint classical Team sprint 2010 Winter Olympics, Vancouver 21st — — Silver — — Biathlon World Championships
Gössner made her debut at the Biathlon World Championships at the 2011 competition in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. Following top ten finishes in the sprint and pursuit races, she won her first world title in the women's relay, claiming the gold medal alongside Andrea Henkel, Tina Bachmann and Magdalena Neuner.[1]
Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass Start Relay Mixed Relay 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia — 9th 7th 14th Gold — Nordic World Ski Championships
Courtesy of her fast skiing at junior level in biathlon, Gössner was called-up as a late replacement for the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, Czech Republic. She came in 19th place in the freestyle sprint race and won the silver medal with Katrin Zeller, Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle and Claudia Nystad in the 4 × 5 kilometre relay.[2]
Event 10 km classical 15 km pursuit 30 km freestyle 4 × 5 km relay Sprint freestyle Team sprint 2009 Liberec, Czech Republic — — — Silver 19th — Biathlon World Cup
Gössner made her debut in the Biathlon World Cup in the 2009–10 season. After two disappointing races at the beginning of the winter, she joined the German cross-country team. She had ten appearances on the FIS Cross-Country World Cup tour, including three top ten finishes in non-team races.[2] The following winter, Gössner returned to biathlon for the 2010–11 season. In the overall standings she finished her first complete World Cup season in 14th place.[1]
Season Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass Start Overall Races Points Position Races Points Position Races Points Position Races Points Position Races Points Position 2009–10 1/4 0 – 1/10 0 – 0/6 – – 0/5 – – 2/25 0 – 2010–11 3/4 4 66th 10/10 266 9th 7/7 206 9th 5/5 117 16th 25/26 593 14th - *Key:Races—number of entered races/all races; Points—won World Cup points; Position—World Cup season ranking.[1]
Overall biathlon record
As of the end of the 2010–11 season, Gössner has competed in 30 Biathlon World Cup races. Her career best results were second place finishes in two sprints and one pursuit race respectively. In team events, she claimed her maiden World Cup win in the 2011 World Championships relay with Germany. Gössner has achieved 10 top ten finishes—33.33 per cent of all the races she has entered.[1]
Result Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass Start Relay Mixed Relay Total 1st Place – – – – 1 – 1 2nd Place – 2 1 – – – 3 3rd Place – – – – 1 – 1 Top 10 – 3 4 – 2 1 10 Points 2 9 7 5 2 1 26 Other 2 2 – – – – 4 Starts 4 11 7 5 2 1 30 - *Results in all IBU World Cup races including relay events. Statistics as of 20 March 2011.[1]
Biathlon Junior/Youth World Championships
Gössner has won two gold medals, as well as one silver and one bronze medal at the Biathlon Junior/Youth World Championships. In 2008, she competed at her first junior world championships when they were held in Ruhpolding, Germany, winning gold as part of the German relay team. One year later in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, Gössner won the pursuit title after claiming the silver medal in the sprint, and she also won bronze in the relay.[1]
Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Relay 2008 Ruhpolding, Germany 33rd 15th 13th Gold 2009 Canmore, Canada 4th Silver Gold Bronze References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s International Biathlon Union. Miriam Gössner. IBU Datacenter. Accessed 3 December 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g International Ski Federation. Biography – Miriam Gössner. FIS-Ski.com. Accessed 3 December 2010.
- ^ Haugli, Kurt. «Beste norske» gikk for Tyskland. Aftenposten.no. 3 December 2010. Accessed 4 December 2010. (Norwegian)
- ^ Regelmann, Florian. "Ich habe keine Poster im Zimmer". Spox.com. 10 December 2009. Accessed 4 December 2010. (German)
- ^ Wir zwei sind ja so verschossen.... Bild am Sonntag. 4 December 2010. Accessed 4 December 2010. (German)
- ^ German Federal Ministry of Finance. Miriam Gössner. Zoll.de. Accessed 4 December 2010. (German)
- ^ Biathletin Miriam Gössner: Die Zier der Bescheidenheit. Merkur-online.de. 2 December 2008. Accessed 4 December 2010. (German)
- ^ German Federal Ministry of Finance. Miriam Gössner stürzt bei ihrem Olympiaauftakt. Zoll.de. Accessed 4 December 2010. (German)
- ^ German President. Verleihung des Silbernen Lorbeerblatts im April 2010. Bundespraesident.de. Accessed 4 December 2010. (German)
- ^ Hat diese Frau 'nen Schuss?. Bild.de. 6 November 2010. Accessed 4 December 2010. (German)
- ^ a b Biathlon Federation of Ukraine. Gössner Miriam. Biathlon.com.ua. Accessed 30 July 2011.
External links
Categories:- 1990 births
- Living people
- People from Garmisch-Partenkirchen
- Sportspeople from Bavaria
- Cross-country skiers at the 2010 Winter Olympics
- German biathletes
- German cross-country skiers
- German people of Norwegian descent
- Olympic cross-country skiers of Germany
- Olympic silver medalists for Germany
- Olympic medalists in cross-country skiing
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