Frank Ullrich


Frank Ullrich is a German former biathlete and current trainer of the German national team.

Career

Biathlon was in Ullrich's family as his father was a biathlon referee. His first appearance was in 1967 at the GDR Children Championships. In 1972, he placed second over 5 km at the Spartakiad, in 1975 he became Youth World Champion in relay. He won a bronze medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics with the 4 × 7.5 km relay team. At the 1980 Winter Olympics he won 3 medals with silvers in the
20 km individual and the 4 × 7.5 km relay and a gold medal in the 10 km sprint, an event he dominated at world level between 1978 and 1981.
In 1982 his wife fell ill and died, soon after which he switched to training. He undertook a period of study at the :de:Deutsche Hochschule für Körperkultur|National Academy for Body Culture and then, in 1987, became the trainer of the East German national team, and, following German reunification, national trainer for the sprint.
Speaking to Ullrich's dominance in the World Cup, even though he retired in the mid-80s, only five male biathletes have surpassed him in terms of World Cup victories. Sven Fischer won his 17th World Cup victory on 18 March 2000, Ole Einar Bjørndalen won his on 12 January 2001, Raphaël Poirée won on 18 January 2002, whilst Emil Hegle Svendsen won on 2 December 2010 and Martin Fourcade won on 12 January 2013.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games

4 medals
EventIndividualSprintRelay
1976 Innsbruck—Bronze
1980 Lake PlacidSilverGoldSilver
1984 Sarajevo5th17th4th

World Championships

14 medals
EventIndividualSprintRelay
1977 Lillehammer——Bronze
SilverGoldGold
1979 Ruhpolding4thGoldGold
1981 LahtiSilverGoldGold
1982 MinskGoldSilverGold
1983 Antholz-AnterselvaGold8thSilver

Individual victories

17 victories
SeasonDateLocationDisciplineLevel
1977–78
3 victories
22 February 1978 Antholz-Anterselva20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1977–78
3 victories
4 March 1978 Hochfilzen10 km sprintBiathlon World Championships
1977–78
3 victories
27 March 1978 Murmansk10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1978–79
1 victory
31 January 1979 Ruhpolding10 km sprintBiathlon World Championships
1979–80
5 victories
19 January 1980 Ruhpolding10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1979–80
5 victories
26 January 1980 Antholz-Anterselva10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1979–80
5 victories
19 February 1980 Lake Placid10 km sprintWinter Olympic Games
1979–80
5 victories
22 March 1980 Hedenäset10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1979–80
5 victories
27 March 1980 Murmansk20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1980–81
2 victories
31 January 1981 Ruhpolding10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1980–81
2 victories
14 February 1981 Lahti10 km sprintBiathlon World Championships
1981–82
4 victories
16 January 1982 Egg am Etzel10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1981–82
4 victories
23 January 1982 Antholz-Anterselva10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
1981–82
4 victories
28 January 1982 Ruhpolding20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1981–82
4 victories
10 February 1982 Minsk20 km individualBiathlon World Championships
1982–83
2 victories
9 February 1983 Antholz-Anterselva20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1982–83
2 victories
24 February 1983 Antholz-Anterselva20 km individualBiathlon World Championships