Ricco Groß

Ricco Groß (also spelled 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.

Ricco Groß
Groß in Antholz-Anterselva in 2006.
Personal information
Born (1970-08-22) 22 August 1970
Bad Schlema, East Germany
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
WebsiteRicco-Gross.de
Professional information
SportBiathlon
ClubSki Club Ruhpolding
Retired18 March 2007
Olympic Games
Teams5 (1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006)
Medals8 (4 gold)
World Championships
Teams15 (1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
Medals20 (9 gold)
World Cup
Seasons17 (1990/91–2006/07)
Individual victories9
All victories33
Individual podiums52
All podiums95
Discipline titles1:
1 Individual (1996–97)

Career

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.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3] Groß took a total of 53 individual podium finishes in World Cup competition, including nine race wins.[2]

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.[1] He was subsequently announced as senior trainer for the German IBU Cup team in April 2014.[4] In August 2015 he became a senior coach for the Russian men's biathlon squad, agreeing a contract up to the 2017-18 season.[2] 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.[3]

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[5]

Olympic Games

8 medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Relay
1992 Albertville — Silver N/A N/A Gold
1994 Lillehammer — Silver N/A N/A Gold
1998 Nagano 6th 17th N/A N/A Gold
2002 Salt Lake City 4th 4th Bronze N/A Silver
2006 Turin 11th 6th 12th — Gold
*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)

Event Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass start Team Relay Mixed relay
1991 Lahti — 16th N/A N/A 4th Gold N/A
1993 Borovets 6th 64th N/A N/A — — N/A
1995 Antholz-Anterselva 55th Bronze N/A N/A 14th Gold N/A
1996 Ruhpolding 9th 12th N/A N/A 6th Silver N/A
1997 Brezno-Osrblie Gold 34th 26th N/A — Gold N/A
1998 Pokljuka N/A N/A 7th N/A Silver N/A N/A
1999 Kontiolahti Silver 6th Gold 8th N/A 4th N/A
2000 Oslo Holmenkollen 9th 7th 18th 6th N/A Bronze N/A
2001 Pokljuka 7th 27th 14th 4th N/A 12th N/A
2002 Oslo Holmenkollen N/A N/A N/A 11th N/A N/A N/A
2003 Khanty-Mansiysk Bronze Silver Gold 22nd N/A Gold N/A
2004 Oberhof 4th Silver Gold 29th N/A Gold N/A
2005 Hochfilzen Bronze 7th 6th 7th N/A 6th Bronze
2006 Pokljuka N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 10th
2007 Antholz-Anterselva 9th — — — N/A 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)

Season Date Location Discipline Level
1996–97
2 victories
(2 In)		9 January 1997 Ruhpolding20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
7 February 1997 Brezno-Osrblie20 km individualBiathlon World Championships
1997–98
1 victory
(1 In)		3 March 1998 Pokljuka20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1998–99
1 victory
(1 Pu)		13 February 1999 Kontiolahti12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Championships
1999–2000
2 victories
(1 Sp, 1 MS)		12 January 2000 Ruhpolding15 km mass startBiathlon World Cup
15 January 2000 Ruhpolding10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
2002–03
1 victory
(1 Pu)		16 March 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Championships
2003–04
1 victory
(1 Pu)		8 February 2004 Oberhof12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Championships
2005–06
1 victory
(1 Pu)		20 January 2006 Antholz-Anterselva12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.
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See also

References
  1. "Ricco Gross - Olympic Athlete". olympic.org. Archived from the original on 15 March 2014. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
  2. "Ricco Gross Heads to Russia as Senior Men's Coach". International Biathlon Union. 13 August 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  3. "Coaching Carousel Part 2: Moves in Austria, Switzerland, France and Russia". International Biathlon Union. 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
  4. "Coaching Changes in Germany and Austria". International Biathlon Union. 8 April 2014. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2015.
  5. "Ricco Gross". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
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