Magdalena Neuner, whose biography, sports career and personal life is presented in our article, is the legendary German biathlete, two-time Olympic champion and 12-time winner in various disciplines of the world championships.
Biography
Magdalena Neuner (photo in the article) was born in February 1987 in the small village of Walgau near Garmisch-Partenkirchen - a town in Bavaria (Germany). Lena was the second child of four children in the family. Magdalena's younger sister, Anna, is also involved in biathlon.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a world-famous ski resort, so it is not surprising that the girl already started four years old in the ski section. Five years later, while still a child, Magdalena Neuner first picked up a biathlon rifle, and since then this sport has become the only one for her.
The beginning of a professional career
Despite the fact that Lena's talent began to appear already in the first training, study was in the first place for her. Only after graduation, Neuner was able to fully concentrate on training and performances.
The results were not long in coming: Magdalena rose seven times to the highest step of the podium at the youth world championships. At the age of 18, she was recognized as the best young athlete of the year in Germany. These indicators attracted attention from the head coach of the German national team Uwe Mussigant, who began to attract her to performances in the main team.
World Cup debut season
In January 2006, largely due to the injury of the legendary Ears Diesel, Magdalena Neuner first took part in the most prestigious biathlon tournament. The debut was unsuccessful - in the sprint on the Ruhpolding track, she took 41st place and did not gain the first credits for herself.
Lena corrected her mistake already at the next pursuit, where she was able to play 20 positions. At the next stage in the Italian Antholz, she became 19 in the sprint and 11 in Persuit. But Neuner did not go to the Turin Olympics - so far she could not fight with much eminent athletes for a place in the German national team.
At the stage of the World Cup in Finnish Kontiolahti, the biathlete first came to the flower ceremony - she stopped a step away from the prizes in the sprint race. In total, in the 2005/06 season, Magdalena Neuner participated in 10 races, scored 164 credits and took 34th place in the overall ranking.
The new "Queen of Biathlon"
After the not very successful starting stage in Ostersund, the biathlete Magdalena Neuner began to ascend to world fame. First, as part of the relay team, she became the second in Hochfilzen, and on January 5, 2007 her finest hour came. On the track of Oberhof, she became the winner in the sprint and the bronze medalist in the pursuit.
Thanks to her first individual victories, Neuner was able to secure a place in the relay team. That season, she became the second in Ruhpolding and the winner at the World Championships in Antholz. But this could not be compared with her individual indicators: Lena became a two-time world champion (in sprint and persuit), and also won two victories at the World Cup in Holmenkollen and Khanty-Mansiysk.
According to the results of the season, Magdalena Neuner scored 720 credits and became the fourth, losing only to compatriots Andrei Henkel and Katie Wilhelm, as well as Swedish Anne Karin Olofsson.
The invincible "Golden Girl" of the German biathlon
Magdalena Neuner began the 2007/08 season as one of the main contenders for victory in the World Cup. But in the first two stages, Lena did not please her fans at all. This was due to a catastrophic situation with firing accuracy, especially when standing. Even the "reactive" speed of the athlete on the track could not correct the situation.
Starting from the stage in Pokljuka, where Neuner was the best in the relay, Magdalena gradually gained momentum. She won the mass start in Oberhof, then became the three-time world champion in Ostersund (in the women's and mixed relay, as well as in the mass start), she was the best in the sprint in Pyeongchang and Khanty-Mansiysk. Gaining a total of 818 points, she became the owner of a large "Crystal Globe" as the best biathlete of the season.
In the next World Cup draw, Lena did not slow down. She climbed 10 times on a pedestal, and 6 times - on the highest step. However, this time the competition both within the national team and from other biathletes did not allow her to become the best again. According to the results of the season, Magdalena Neuner took 4th place in the overall ranking.
Olympic triumph
Lena began preparations for the Olympics in Vancouver from the third stage of the World Cup in Pokljuka, where she became third in the sprint and the second in the pursuit. Having missed the stage in his native Oberhof due to injury, Neuner again twice entered the podium in Ruhpolding, and then left no chance for anyone in the individual and sprint races in Antholz.
At her first and, as it turned out, last in her career Olympics, Magdalena was supposed to win the sprint, but because of one miss she lost to the Slovak Kuzmina. In the pursuit, Neuner did not leave any of her rivals a chance and became an Olympic champion, and a few days later she added another gold medal to her collection for winning the mass start.
In addition to victories at the Olympics, the biathlete pretty even finished the season and won the Crystal Globe for the second time.
Sudden departure of a star
The following season, Magdalena Neuner showed fantastic results - she only once did not enter the top ten by the final protocols. However, due to missed due to illness racing, she became only fifth in the World Cup.
Season 2011/12 Lena started just gorgeous. At the first stage in Ostersund, she became the best in the sprint and twice the third - in the individual race and pertsyut. Magdalena Neuner for the whole season missed only three races, went up to the podium 20 times, won 11 times. At the end of the year, she scored 1216 credits and again won first place. In this regard, the statement of the German biathlete about the end of her sports career was even more sensational.
Failed career model
In 2007, a beautiful and very popular athlete was noticed in the Playboy magazine, but an eighteen-year-old biathlete refused to hold an open photo shoot. Magdalena Neuner later nevertheless starred in an advertisement for underwear from the famous brand Mey.
Personal life
Magdalena Neuner is famous not only for her victories and titles, but also for her natural beauty. Like many other professional athletes, Lena’s personal life depended on the training and competition schedule, so it was difficult with her personal life. It is not surprising that the first serious relationship for her was an affair with a biathlete from Austria, Franz Pervayn, whom the girl met at junior tournaments. The couple seemed happy and strong, but two years later they parted.
After the break, Magdalena Neuner got a German national team serviceman Bjorn Weisheit, who was almost 15 years older than her. After a year and a half, they parted culturally and even continued to work on the same team.
At the end of 2009, the biathlete said she fell in love again. As it turned out, her childhood friend was a simple carpenter from the village of Magdalena named Joseph Holzer. Until now, most Neuner fans believe that it is because of this relationship that the “Biathlon Queen” decided to end her professional career at the peak of form and worldwide fame.
In March 2014, Magdalena, already in a position, married Joseph, and two months later she gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Verena-Anna.
Faithful German fans expected that after the appearance of the child, Lena, like many athletes, would return to biathlon. But they were disappointed - in November 2016, the Golden Girl gave birth to a son, who was named Joseph.
Now Magdalena Neuner devotes most of her time to her family, with whom she lives in her native Garmisch-Partenkirchen. They still meet with their fans, are engaged in the popularization of skiing, and the German and world biathlon legend loves to knit.