Ricco Groß


Ricco Groß 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.

Career

He has been married to his wife Kathrin since 1994 and they have three sons: Marco, Simon, and Gabriel. He is a Hauptfeldwebel 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 he won bronze in 1995, and silver in 2003 and 2004. In 1999, 2003, and 2004, he won gold in the pursuit. In the individual, he won gold in 1997, silver in 1999, and bronze in 2003 and 2005. He took a total of nine World Championship titles. 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. 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.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games

8 medals
EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay
1992 Albertville—SilverGold
1994 Lillehammer—SilverGold
1998 Nagano6th17thGold
2002 Salt Lake City4th4thBronzeSilver
2006 Turin11th6th12th—Gold

World Championships

20 medals
EventIndividualSprintPursuitTeamRelay
1991 Lahti—16th4thGold
1993 Borovets6th64th——
55thBronze14thGold
1996 Ruhpolding9th12th6thSilver
1997 Brezno-OsrblieGold34th26th—Gold
1998 Pokljuka7thSilver
1999 KontiolahtiSilver6thGold8th4th
2000 Oslo Holmenkollen9th7th18th6thBronze
2001 Pokljuka7th27th14th4th12th
2002 Oslo Holmenkollen11th
2003 Khanty-MansiyskBronzeSilverGold22ndGold
2004 Oberhof4thSilverGold29thGold
2005 HochfilzenBronze7th6th7th6thBronze
2006 Pokljuka10th
2007 Antholz-Anterselva9th———Bronze—

Individual victories

9 victories
SeasonDateLocationDisciplineLevel
1996–97
2 victories
9 January 1997 Ruhpolding20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1996–97
2 victories
7 February 1997 Brezno-Osrblie20 km individualBiathlon World Championships
1997–98
1 victory
3 March 1998 Pokljuka20 km individualBiathlon World Cup
1998–99
1 victory
13 February 1999 Kontiolahti12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Championships
1999–2000
2 victories
12 January 2000 Ruhpolding15 km mass startBiathlon World Cup
1999–2000
2 victories
15 January 2000 Ruhpolding10 km sprintBiathlon World Cup
2002–03
1 victory
16 March 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Championships
2003–04
1 victory
8 February 2004 Oberhof12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Championships
2005–06
1 victory
20 January 2006 Antholz-Anterselva12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup