Magdalena Neuner(German Magdalena Neuner; born February 9, 1987, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, Germany) is a German biathlete, one of the most titled athletes in the history of this sport. Two-time Olympic champion in 2010, 12-time world champion (record among women), three-time World Cup winner (2007/08, 2009/10, 2011/12), winner of seven small World Cups, three-time world champion in summer biathlon. Best Female Athlete of the Year in Germany 2007, 2011 and 2012.

Sports career

Magdalena's childhood passed in the small Bavarian village of Wallgau, 15 km from Garmisch-Partenkirchen. She started skiing at the age of four. Later, as a member of the SC Wallgau ski club, she tried herself in various winter sports. Magdalena was brought to the biathlon section by her parents at the age of nine, where she immediately liked it very much. Even then, her talent manifested itself, but the decision to play seriously in the sports field was made by Neuner only at the age of sixteen, after graduation. The results at the initial levels of the biathlon competitive hierarchy were not long in coming: in the first four years of performances, Magdalena won seven top awards in the biathlon world championships among youth and became a multiple winner of the national youth biathlon championships in Germany. Lena got her first medals from the Junior World Championship back in 2004, when she won the relay and sprint, and also finished second in the pursuit. A year later, she took three more medals from similar competitions: gold in the sprint and two silvers (in the pursuit and relay). The 2006 Junior World Championship was also marked for Neuner with three awards: two gold (in pursuit and relay) and one silver for sprint performance. At her last junior world championship in 2008, Neuner again won victories in the sprint and pursuit. These successes opened her way to the second most important echelon of world biathlon - the European Biathlon Cup. In the 2005/2006 season, Magdalena won three races and took the final fifth place in the overall standings. Such significant results allowed the head coach of the German national team Uwe Myussigang to include Neuner in the main national team to participate in the World Cup.

The debut of Magdalena Neuner in the World Cup took place on January 13, 2006, where she, acting as a reservist, replaced the temporarily retired Uschi Diesel. The first race, a sprint in Ruhpolding, Germany, turned out to be unsuccessful for her - 41st final place without credits in the overall World Cup standings. But a few weeks later, on March 16, in Finnish Kontiolahti, Magdalena managed to finish fourth.

The first victory in the World Cup was won by Neuner the following year. January 5, 2007 Magdalena was unmatched in the 7.5 km sprint. A little later, the first victories at the World Championships came - in Anterselva, Neuner showed outstanding results, winning individual victories in the sprint and pursuit, and taking the third gold for herself as part of the relay team. Thus, Neuner became the youngest three-time biathlon world champion in history. As a result, at the beginning of 2007 in Germany, Magdalena Neuner was recognized as the best athlete in winter sports at the end of the season and entered the recognized best sports team (German women's biathlon team). At the end of the year, German sports journalists chose her as the best female athlete of the year in Germany.

The following season brought Magdalena three more top World Championship awards (in Östersund she had no equal in the race from the common start, and the German relay teams in the relay and mixed doubles), victory in the overall World Cup standings and two Small Crystal Globes (in sprint races and races from the common start).

The 2008/2009 season was not as successful for Neuner as the previous ones. Despite the fact that at the end of the season she won another Small Crystal Globe for herself (this time in individual races), she failed to win a single personal award at the Pyeongchang World Championship, as well as achieve significant success in the World Cup - at the end of the season, Lena remained below the line of winners of the overall standings.

Although Magladena Neuner considers herself a completely ordinary girl, however, all over the world she is famous for her undeniable popularity. Having achieved incredible success in sports and possessing female attractiveness, she is considered the most beautiful athlete in the history of biathlon.

Magdalena "Lena" Neuner(Magdalena Neuner) was born on February 9, 1987 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Bavaria) - a professional German biathlete who ended her career in March 2012.At the moment, she is the most successful woman in the biathlon world championships - 12 victories and a two-time Olympic champion (she won the pursuit and mass start race in Vancouver in 2010)

At 21 Magdalena won the Biathlon World Cup and became the youngest owner of this trophy.During her career, she won the Biathlon World Cup three times - in 2007-08, in 2009-10 and in 2011-12.

Magdalena spent her childhood in the Bavarian city of Wallgau. At the age of six, Lena's parents brought her to the ski section. Three years later, having come on an excursion to the biathlon center and having shot from a rifle, the girl switched to biathlon. Lena won seven victories at the junior world championships from 2004 to 2008.Along with competitions at the level of youth teams in 2005, Neuner begins to play in the second most important tournament - the European Cup in Biathlon. Having taken 5th place at the end of the season, Lena received an invitation to the main team of the country. At that time, she was not yet 19 years old.

Successes in the main Bundesmanschaft came after a year of performances - in January 2007, the first gold at the World Cup.And a month later, Lena the gold medal of the world champion appeared in the piggy bank and not one, but three - thanks to victories in the sprint, pursuit and relay.Over the seven years of her performances at the world cups, Lena has 34 wins and 64 podiums. 17 medals have been won at the World Championships, 12 of which are gold.

Photogenic and open Lena immediately led to advertising contracts and photo shoots. She first starred in an underwear commercial.

Then I got an offer to appear in a magazine. Playboy which Lena refused. And after the end of her career, Magdalena is the advertising face of the company Adidas.

Magdalena is fond of not only sports, among her hobbies are knitting and playing the harp.

As for personal life in 2009 Lena announced a relationship with a former school friend Joseph Holzer.

It is expected that in the summer of 2012 Lena will work as a journalist and report on events summer olympic games in London.

Magdalena Neuner is a famous German athlete, a biathlete who reached unprecedented heights at a young age and announced the end of her sports career at the age of 25, in 2011.

Magdalena was born in a village near the Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the village of Wallgau, on February 9, 1987. In addition to Lena, other children were brought up in the family of Paul and Margit Neuner: the elder brother of the athlete Paul, as well as the younger ones - Christoph and sister Anna.

The younger sister followed in the footsteps of her older sister and also took up biathlon as a child, which, however, is not surprising, because Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a famous ski resort, so the locals absorb love for winter sports with their mother's milk. From the age of four, little Magdalena was a member of the SC Wallgau ski club, and at nine, her parents sent the girl to the biathlon section. Magdalena's trainer was Bernhard Krell, an experienced master of his craft.

The future champion began to professionally participate in competitions only after graduating from school, at the age of sixteen.

Sport

From the very beginning, the career of a biathlete was successful. The girl showed excellent results, having won seven medals in the German biathlon championships among juniors. Lena won her first award at the youth championship in 2004; in 2005, at a similar championship, the athlete received a gold medal for winning the sprint and a silver medal for the pursuit and relay.

Magdalena managed to repeat this achievement at the junior championships two more times: in 2006 and 2007. 2006 was a decisive year for the athlete, since in the 2005/2006 season she was entrusted with participating in competitions for the European Cup. The girl took fifth place in the overall ranking, won three races, which became a kind of pass to the world of big sport. By that time, the athlete’s height was already 165 cm, and her weight was 56 kg.

In January 2006, the Bavarian made her debut at the World Cup Championship. As part of the reserve team, she replaced Uschi Disl and finished 41st, but in the next competition, held in Kontiolahti on March 16, she finished fourth. From that moment on, a series of victories began in the brilliant sports biography of the young biathlete, with rare exceptions of misses.

2007 was a stellar year for Neuner in the full sense of the word. In January, the talented athlete won the World Cup sprint and won three gold medals at the World Championships. At the age of 20, Magdalena became the youngest three-time world champion, at the same time in her homeland she was chosen the best athlete of the year for the first time.

Since the end of 2007, Magdalena Neuner has periodically experienced health problems. After the races, the girl began to have a strong cough, which reporters attributed to asthma attacks. But the athlete and her coach did not make statements about a serious illness. Most likely, Magdalena just got sick with a cold every time.

In the same year, three more awards awaited her: a victory in the World Cup in the overall standings and two Small Crystal Globes. The 2008-2009 season was not the most successful for Magdalena. In the overall score, she took fourth place, but in the individual race she won the Small World Cup.

The next championship brought Neuner victory in the overall World Cup and in the mixed relay. In the same 2010, the biathlete won the fourth Small Crystal Globe and another Crystal Globe, confirming her status as the best athlete in the country.

A year later, in 2011, Magdalena won the sprint race and the overall World Cup standings, becoming the owner of three bronze medals at once. In December 2011, the 25-year-old girl announced the end of her career, the brightest and most dizzying in the history of biathlon. Commenting on leaving the sport in an interview, Magdalena noted that she had hopes for a colleague. In a conversation with a reporter, the girl also denied speculation about her future coaching career.

The 2010 Winter Olympics were Magdalena's debut and the only one in her career. In the sprint race, the girl had every chance of success, but an unfortunate mistake prevented her from receiving this award. As a result, an athlete from Slovakia bypassed the German biathlete, and Neuner got a silver medal.

The young champion won two other medals, having won the pursuit race and the race from the general start, showing brilliant results. Gold medals made the girl a two-time Olympic champion in biathlon, for which she was given a special honor: at the closing of the Olympic Games, Magdalena was entrusted to carry the banner of the German national team.

Despite being constantly busy, exhausting workouts and regular participation in championships and other competitions, Magdalena also finds time for personal hobbies. Lena is a versatile person, she enjoys playing the harp, motorcycles and knitting. These hobbies require time, which is not easy to find in between professional sports. Magdalena did not stay away from the fashion for tattoos - on the right shoulder of the athlete, an image in the form of a Chinese character flaunts.

Neuner's official position is a customs officer. Fans and sports colleagues lovingly call Magdalena Shooting star, which in classical English means "meteor", and literally - "shooting star". A beautiful nickname that accurately reflects the character and professional qualities of a young biathlete.

Friends and relatives know Magdalena as a cheerful person, it is not for nothing that the girl smiles in many photos. Bright appearance and natural charm played a role when Neuner became famous: in February 2007 she was offered to participate in a candid photo shoot for the famous magazine. The girl refused to publish her photos in the Playboy publication, but three years later she gladly starred in an advertisement for Mey lingerie.

Since 2012, Magdalena Neuner has been realizing the talent of a TV presenter. The athlete works as a commentator at biathlon sports events. Neuner started out as a reporter for the London Summer Olympics for Adidas. Two years later, it became known that Neuner would work in Russia at the Sochi Olympics. The biathlete twice - in 2015 and 2017 - appeared as an expert for the German television company ARD. The athlete professionally evaluates the work of colleagues and creates interesting reports.

Personal life

Once the German press told the fans of the famous athlete that she was dating her Austrian colleague Franz Peyrvin. The romance lasted about two years, and in 2008 the couple broke up. A year later, there were changes in the personal life of the biathlete. In 2009, Magdalena announced a relationship with former classmate Josef Holzer, a simple carpenter from her native Wallgau.

The wedding took place on March 29, 2014. The athlete at that time was already pregnant. On May 30, Lena gave birth to a girl, who was named Verena-Anna. After completing her career, the athlete enjoys a quiet life with her husband and daughter.

In May 2016, Magdalena Neuner announced that she was expecting a child again. The couple had a son in November. Happy parents gave the boy the name Josef.

Now Magdalena has a personal profile in " Instagram”, there is a page in “

The princess who didn't become a queen.

Magdalena Neuner is the only twelve-time world champion in the history of biathlon, two-time Olympic champion, three-time World Cup winner, one of the most famous and beloved athletes in Germany.

A huge number of sports awards Magdalena is also unique because the biathlete ended her career at 25 years old. For many great athletes, this age was only the beginning of great victories.

Biography

Magdalena Neuner was born on February 9, 1987 in a town known to lovers of winter tourism - Garmisch-Partenkirchen (Germany). Father Paul is a banker, mother Margit is a housewife. Magdalena has two brothers and a sister who are also involved in sports. Of course, the birthplace of Magdalena largely determined her future sports career. Already at the age of four, a little girl conquered the snow-covered German mountains. Having tried many winter sports, Magdalena started biathlon at the age of nine, under the guidance of the successful coach Bernhard Krehl. An experienced mentor very quickly saw in the girl a huge potential, and more importantly, an incredible hard work.

For a long time sport was not the number one occupation for Neuner. The most important thing for the parents of a young athlete was education. Therefore, biathlon, as a profession, was discussed a little later. When the girl turned thirteen, she realized that there was not enough time to study. Therefore, at the family council, a decision was made to prioritize biathlon. However, this did not stop Neuner from successfully completing school.

The next three seasons only strengthened the leading position of Magdalena Neuner in the world biathlon. After Vancouver, the athlete won the World Cup 16 more times, won the big crystal globe three times.On December 6, 2011, like a bolt from the blue, Magdalena Neuner made an official statement that at the end of the 2011/2012 season she end sports career. 10 victories in a season, and as a result, first place in the overall standings. It was on this note that the very fast and very successful career of the great athlete and biathlete Magadlena Neuner ended.

For six years, the athlete won the World Championship 12 times, won the World Cup 26 times, was twice recognized as the best athlete in Germany (2007 and 2011).Few experts understand why, in the prime of her life and at the peak of sports glory, the twenty-five-year-old Neuner left big-time sports. Maybe because she was tired and decided to devote more time to her hobbies - playing the harp and knitting, or maybe because, having won everything in biathlon, she simply did not see the point in continuing her career.

Who knows, maybe Magdalena Neuner's departure from sports is not final, and biathlon fans will still be able to enjoy her incredible speed and accurate shooting, because the young princess simply did not have time to become the queen of biathlon.