Magdalena Neuner. “The princess who did not become a queen. Biathlon. The best races, achievements and loud statements of Magdalena Neuner Magdalena Neuner is the only twelve-time world champion in the history of biathlon, two-time Olympic champion, three-time o

The main star of the world women's biathlon, Magdalena Neuner, is retiring. She wrote about this in a special message posted on the athlete’s official website.

“I decided: after this season I will end my biathlon career!”, the “golden girl” of German biathlon immediately stunned her fans.

Magdalena wrote that she was going to announce her resignation two weeks ago, but “for organizational reasons” this was not possible. “I should have chosen a later date. It was unpleasant because from the very beginning I wanted to tell everything honestly and openly,” admitted the “golden girl” of German biathlon. According to her, the decision was not easy for her, but “the time has come for a change and after sports I want to try something new for myself. And it will be great!”

Magdalena spoke about the reasons that prompted her to make such a decision. "I yearn for a normal life. In sports, only once in a lifetime can you do what I have already done. And I am very motivated to try something new, to gain skills in other areas," she writes. And she invites her fans to send ideas about where Magdalena could realize herself after sports. “I will be very grateful to you and I am open to suggestions,” says the athlete.

In addition, Neuner admits that the topic of family planning plays a big role in decision-making. “Women will understand me,” she says. But she notes that she first intends to obtain a coaching license.

“In any case, I will stay - I’ll just be in a different place. And I would be glad if you will be with me in my new life,” Magdalena noted, addressing her fans.

Needless to say, Magdalena Neuner made a shocking decision. The athlete, despite all her achievements, is only 24 years old. And most of my career is ahead of me. Usually, at this age, biathlon is given up by either completely unpromising athletes (you can’t say the same about Magdalena for sure) or due to serious injuries. Judging by Magdalena’s performances at the first stage of this season, she is doing well with this.

So what happened? Many do not believe the official version set out by the athlete. Well, a champion can’t leave at the height of her career! Yes, she has many victories. But there is only one Olympics behind us. In most cases, great champions hold on until the last minute - just look at Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. But, on the other hand, Magdalena can be understood. Despite all her success in sports, she is drawn to a different life. On the biathlon circuit, she has already won everything she could and can only increase the number of awards. All heights have been conquered - why not try to conquer new ones - while you still have the strength and desire?

In addition to the official version, there are also unofficial ones. The very first thing that is born when a young, full of strength athlete leaves sports is pregnancy. However, there have been no hints that Neuner is expecting a child. But you shouldn’t discard this option.

There is also an opinion that Magdalena will not go anywhere. However, so far she has given no reason to doubt her words. However, it is possible that some time after leaving she may return to the track. Triumphantly.

But this is all speculation. In the meantime, we have a whole season ahead of us to enjoy Magdalena’s performances. We don’t want many victories - we have Dasha Domracheva. But, without a doubt, biathlon fans will see the inimitable Neuner on the podium more than once in the coming months. Or maybe he'll change his mind?

Sergey Kienya

Photo – from the official website of Magdalena Neuner

Today, February 9, the next biathlon world championship starts in Hochfilzen. And on the same day, one of the greatest biathletes in German history Magdalena Neuner turns 30 years old. She won her first victories at the World Cup and World Championships in 2007, and five years later she completed a brilliant career. Now she lives in her native Wallgau, raises two children with her husband and from time to time calls for cleansing world biathlon of doping.

How to break into the world of biathlon

She made her World Cup debut a month before her 19th birthday, and it took her just a year to go from rookie to the very top. On January 5, 2007, she won the sprint race in Oberhof, and only a month later she became a three-time world champion in Antholz, taking gold in the sprint, pursuit and relay.

On February 4, 2007, it became clear that Neuner had come seriously and for a long time. In the sprint she was only a little short of reaching the top, but in the pursuit race all the then world biathlon stars tried to catch up with young Magdalena, but no one succeeded.

How to save the team and become a champion

On March 13, 2011, at the World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, she held one of the most outstanding races in her career. In the relay, she ran the final leg and left with a gap of more than one minute behind the leaders. But on this day Neuner was simply unstoppable. She left the last part of the distance with a lag of 25 seconds from the Ukrainian Oksana Khvostenko, but in the end she brought her about the same amount, rushing along the distance like a rocket.

A year later, at the last World Championships in Neuner’s career in Ruhpolding, the team repaid her in kind - after Magdalena’s extremely unsuccessful stage, other biathletes pulled the team to first place.

How the idols left. The most unexpected departures of sports stars

Politics, church, the role of a functionary, a house in the village and a change in playing role and other reasons that forced legendary athletes to leave sports.

How to become a two-time winner and not get into the relay

But Neuner did not always have such rosy relationships with her colleagues from the national team. Suffice it to recall the Olympics in Vancouver, when Magdalena was not included in the relay team. There is still no clear explanation for this circumstance, although Neuner won two gold and a silver medal in individual races.

Some argue that the other athletes simply did not want to run with Neuner, fearing that her doping test would give a positive result and the entire team would be deprived of a possible medal. Magdalena allegedly remembered 2008, when journalists from the German channel ARD and the Austrian publication Courier began to promote a blood doping story in which three dozen elite German athletes were involved, among whom she was. But then Hayo Seppelt I was still preparing for future investigations, and the scandal affected only cyclists.

Some say that the coaching staff chose Martina Beck, who is reliable in shooting, over the phenomenally fast athlete, so as not to lose an almost guaranteed reward. The German team eventually won bronze.

How to shock the whole world

In December 2011, she sensationally announced that she would end her sports career at the end of the 2011/12 season. This statement caused the effect of a bomb exploding. Quit the sport at its peak, at 25? Why?

“For me, there have always been other things in life besides sports. I always wanted to have a family. Being a mother and coming home. My sports goals are over. 100 World Cup wins have never been a motivation for me. I wanted to become an Olympic champion, a world champion, and I achieved all this. It’s time to start a different life,” Neuner explained.

Neuner: there is nothing more important in life than family

Magdalena Neuner in an exclusive interview with Championship.com said that she misses the team, and in Sochi she will watch not only biathlon.

But there were other versions of her departure. Surprisingly, this decision of Magdalena coincided with the introduction of the steroid part of the biological passport in biathlon. In some sports this has already been done and worked: the famous speed skater Claudia Pechstein disqualified for two years precisely on the basis of the testimony of the biopassport.

How to suspend entire teams

Just a couple of days ago, Neuner spoke in an interview with Stuttgarter Zeitung on the topic of doping in biathlon.

“Teams whose athletes are systematically caught doping should be completely banned from participating in competitions. This is a tough but correct measure, because otherwise nothing will change, and this will deal a blow to 98% of athletes who compete fairly,” Magdalena said. In the same interview she supported the Frenchman Martin Fourcade in his intention to boycott the competition if the IBU is indecisive in the fight against doping.

This is the loudest statement Neuner has ever made regarding doping. Magdalena never mentioned the Russian national team in this interview, but a month ago she already said that the IBU should pay maximum attention to the data from the report McLaren. And these data were collected only in relation to all Russian sports. In general, Neuner herself was never convicted of anything, but it would be absolutely great if Magdalena ended her call for removal with the words: “You can check any of my samples at any time.” But no one heard this phrase.

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.

Magdalena’s huge number of sports awards is also unique because the biathlete retired at the age of 25. For many great athletes, this age was only the beginning of great victories.

Biography

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

For a long time, sport was not Neuner’s number one activity. The most important thing for the parents of the young athlete was education. Therefore, we started talking about biathlon as a profession a little later. When the girl turned thirteen, she realized that she did not have enough time to study. Therefore, at the family council it was decided to prioritize biathlon. However, this did not prevent Neuner from successfully graduating from school.

The next three seasons only strengthened Magdalena Neuner’s leading position in world biathlon. After Vancouver, the athlete won the World Cup stages 16 more times and 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 will end his sports career. 10 wins per 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.

In six years, the athlete won the World Championship 12 times, won the World Cup 26 times, and was twice recognized as the best athlete in Germany (2007 and 2011).Few experts understand why twenty-five-year-old Neuner left big sport in her prime and at the peak of her sporting glory. 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 didn’t see the point in continuing her career.

Who knows, maybe Magdalena Neuner’s retirement from the sport 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.

Retiring from biathlon!

One of the most popular biathletes on the planet, two-time Olympic champion, ten-time world champion and two-time World Cup winner, 25-time winner of the World Cup stages, winner of 6 small World Cups Magdalena Neuner shocked Today, December 6, their fans with a statement about end of career.

On its official website ( www.magdalena-neuner.de) Neuner addressed her fans and admirers:

"I decided: after this season I I'm finishing my career biathletes. For many of you, this may be unexpected and unpleasant. I thought about this decision for a long time, argued with myself, thought about you... This decision was not easy for me, but I feel that it is time for a change! I think that an interesting life awaits me outside of biathlon.

In the end, family now comes to the fore for me, I am, after all, a woman. I'm currently trying to get a coaching license so I can pass on my experience to young people. I’m looking forward to the next competitions, and especially the World Championships in Ruhpolding, which should appeal to all fans without exception.”

Magdalena Neuner explained reasons for leaving from big sport on its official website:

"This decision to end my career, which will upset many of you, was not easy to accept, I thought about it for a long time, firstly, I am tired of this pace of life, I need to rest a little, I want to have the opportunity to do some other things in life. Secondly, the decision to start a family played a big role."

Apparently, Magdalena will take to the track for the last time at the World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany, which will be held from February 27 to March 11, 2012. Let us recall that this weekend at the first stage of the World Cup in Sweden (Östersund), Neuner won the sprint race!

115

Biathlon won't be the same without Lena. Now she has no equal. It's a pity!

I wonder if M. Neuner doesn’t win a single gold medal at the World Championships in Ruhpolding, will she stay or will she still leave? Maybe this is the 2%?

Wow, Grisha is back, although for some reason under a different name, and even changed his gender))

Not being a fan of Neuner, I pay tribute to her worldly wisdom. Not everyone can leave while you are the first. Wilhelm, Beck, Bailly, Zidek left as downed pilots. And Lena, like Simone in her time, said goodbye to sports beautifully. Arividerchi.

Let's not talk about doping, and even without reason. For any athletes.

And why did the barely crawling Sleptsova rush like crazy in the last pursuit race? That's where you look for doping with vitamins. Pichler Pichler, but no one canceled the “initiative from below”.

Julia.
It is easier to believe not in abilities but in the miracles of medicine. Especially the rivals.
I won’t even argue, because... pointless. To each his own.

Svetlana.
The fact of the matter is that the speed was there from the very beginning and then Lena gained athleticism (it’s our women who started doing pull-ups on the horizontal bar this off-season)
And the characteristics of everyone’s body are different, for example, I know a person who dives 30-40 meters long without straining, but he only has one lung (one was removed) and he does it without medications, thanks to the characteristics of the body and hard training (after the operation he began training breathing hole) but for example, I will never be able to dive like that, although I went diving and ran cross-country for several years, and played football.

For me, her retirement is not such unexpected news. She has been saying for three years now that her career will not last, that there are problems with motivation (after the Olympics). Only I thought that I would still make it to Sochi. And all the reasons you doubt are obvious to me personally.

You don't notice the obvious - doping :))

I don't see any point in explaining anything. There will definitely be conversations about doping. After all, doping is the reason for everything:
performed well - doping;
performed poorly - the doping was taken away;
fell ill - doping;
drooling after a race is doping;
you end your career - doping.

Cost, well, I probably would have ruled out this reason too, rather than putting it in last place. I really can’t believe that pharmacological achievements are helping Magdalena. Although her speed is still good! But I think that this is her personal achievement and the achievement of her coaches.

Svetlana.
I completely rule out this reason. Because There were no jumps observed from the very beginning, and any pharmacology is targeted use and nothing else. Throughout her career, Lena depended on precision rather than speed and endurance. There are no more or less serious arguments for this. Since childhood, she has overtaken older ones; for example, at the age of 17 she brought 20-21 years of kilometers. That she was put on medication since childhood? In 5 seasons out of 116 races, she was first in speed 61 times and another 37 times in the top three, i.e. was slow in just 18 races.

Yulia: “Isn’t there a “pharmacological” background to this situation?”

But for some reason I really doubt this and put this reason in last place.

maybe they made it clear that “the limit has been exhausted”... but there is no desire to “lose face”... the stories about the “coaching license” and “personal life” sound somehow weak. Magdalena still needs to learn and master the acting profession.

Julia, I don’t rule out this possibility. I even put this reason first!

Is there a “pharmacological” reason for this situation?

Marina Sergeevna
The loss of Svendsen will not be so noticeable either for his team or for the entire biathlon.
In the last two tournaments, Neuner won half of all gold medals (4 out of 8, and in 5 years no woman has won more than 2 personal ones) and more than half of all personal victories. Germany in the World Cup is also to her credit (10 out of 18, and considering that the rest are from Henkel and Hauswald (4 each), the team’s prospects are very alarming)
Svendsen has a cover and doesn’t stand out too much on the world stage (two individual gold medals in Vancouver and Khanty - an excellent result but not outstanding; he’s not so Boe at the moment, and he won’t leave for another 5 years, etc. don’t worry)

Dmitry, apparently you are glad that in this situation the decline of the Russian team will not be so noticeable? It will be a joke if some of the strongest from other teams leave, and the Russian team still fails to get on the podium in Sochi. Victory has value in a fair fight and with the participation of the strongest of all teams. And this is all close to Guberniev’s lamentations at one of the races when shooting a rival of the Russian team: “I wish you had missed...” And in relation to this situation: “I wish I had not participated...”

A holy place is never empty. Others will come, exchanging comfort for this exorbitant work...
I'll be sorry if Svendsen leaves

Yes, Experienced, I agree. The decline in German biathlon, hidden by Neuner's successes, will appear in all its glory.

In general, seriously, she’s great. So, in advance, calmly, with an explanation of the reasons.

Not like ours - Fuck, bang, like a drunk man fell off the stove, for no reason at all - I'm leaving!

PS. The comparison about the drunk man is not mine. Quote. But it fits the definition perfectly.

There is no tragedy in this. In general, German women leave, we don’t understand how. Remember Catherine Apel. She should still run and run. And Denkinger, and Wilhelm. It is very far from “natural care”. After Magdalena leaves, the German women will have NOBODY at the world level.

Oleg Vasilievich
I won't jump from the balcony.
I'll be a spectator after Lena leaves.

My condolences to Lena's fans... in Russia! There are quite a few of them - even in the Republic of Belarus...! Cost - how will you live further?... :-))

Stay strong, enjoy the last days and the race... it's her choice.
He has the right and opportunity(!) to think and do so...

But OUR girls: they act differently... :-))
They get married - run around - give birth during the pauses between Olympic Games - again in the peleton, etc. cyclically... however!
And this is correct: you can’t run from success... then you won’t catch up and back: you won’t get it back...

Well done, in that: I THOUGHT - I suffered - I gained strength and TOLD it in advance...

Here, among the RBU and many other federations... alas, they rarely do this...

Vaughn: Prokherov - scored a “bolt” on this federation and “is free like... in flight”
Kushchenko - he ran from basketball to biathlon and... you can’t drive him out with a broom... and that’s true: well, where should he go... he will burn everything around him - but RULE...

It’s a pity, of course, that Magdalena is leaving... I will remember her smile and Victories!

Yes I know. I answered the question: “When will the samples be opened?” And during these 8 years they may remain untouched if new methods are not invented.

DenScorp,
Yes, I don’t mind: even repeat, even tertiary...
It’s just that what was not known to WADA specialists in 2010 may well be revealed in 2018 (this is not at all relative to Magdalena, but applies to all athletes).

Well, this will be a repeat autopsy.

Half of the biathlon is leaving

Without Magdalena, biathlon will not cease to be my favorite sport. In general, of course, any person has the right to choose their lifestyle and place of work. So good luck to Magdalena in her post-sports life!

DenScorp.
For reference only (without any hints or suspicions):
“During the XXI Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, 2,100 doping samples were taken, which will be stored for 8 years.
Even despite the fact that, as stated by the head of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, it will be possible to say unequivocally about the “purity” of the participants in the Canadian Olympics ONLY AFTER THESE EIGHT years...”

The leader of the world women's biathlon, German Magdalena Neuner, announced the end of her sports career. The two-time Olympic champion sensationally retires from the sport at the age of 25.

ON THIS TOPIC

"I made a decision that I consider correct and thoughtful. In recent interviews I was constantly asked how long I would continue performing. There was a lot of speculation on this topic, and I had to squirm. I said that as soon as I make a decision, I will report it And I made a decision that I consider correct and thoughtful. I'm glad I can finally say what I think. After the winter I will end my biathlon career", Neuner quotes her official website as saying.

“For some of you, this is unexpected and unpleasant. I sympathize and understand you, because everyone has their own opinion on this topic. For a long time I was at enmity with myself, tried to look at the situation from different points of view and, of course, thought about you too Of course, it was not easy, but now I have made a decision. I just feel like it's time for a change. I think something new and good awaits me after sports", Neuner noted.

According to the athlete, she wants to try something new in life and start a family. The German noted, in particular, that she wants to train children and teenagers. "The last few years have been special and exciting for me. And I still continue to enjoy the sport. It's going to be a great season. Let's just enjoy and celebrate together!" – Neuner asked.

Note that the last tournament for Neuner will be the World Championship, which will be held in Ruhpolding, Germany, on March 1–11. During her sports career, Neuner won two gold medals at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver., winning the pursuit race and the general start race. She also came second in the sprint in her only Olympic Games. The German biathlete is also a ten-time world champion and has won the Planet Cup stages 25 times. In 2008 and 2010, she took first place in the overall World Cup standings.

Magdalena Neuner is Germany's most popular athlete and one of the highest paid in the world. Without a doubt, the biathlon genius will not sit idle. Neuner could have become great, but she preferred family. Outside of biathlon, she can earn much more just from advertising contracts alone. We can only hope that after giving birth to a child and earning another few million, Magdelena will want to return to sports.