Ricco Groß

Ricco Groß (also spelled Gross, born 22 August 1970) is a German former biathlete. He is one of the most successful biathletes of all time at the Winter Olympics and the World Championships.

Personal life He has been married to his wife Kathrin since 1994 and they have three sons: Marco (born 1995), Simon (b. 1998), and Gabriel (b. 2004). He is a Hauptfeldwebel (Sergeant First Class) in the German Bundeswehr.

Career 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 (10 km) he won bronze in 1995, and silver in 2003 and 2004. In 1999, 2003, and 2004, he won gold in the pursuit (12.5 km). In the individual (20 km), 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. In August 2015 he became a senior coach for the Russian men's biathlon squad, agreeing a contract up to the 2017-18 season.

Olympic Games 8 medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze) EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay 1992 Albertville — Silver Gold 1994 Lillehammer — Silver Gold 1998 Nagano 6th 17th Gold 2002 Salt Lake City 4th 4th Bronze Silver 2006 Turin 11th 6th 12th — Gold Pursuit was added as an event in 2002, with mass start being added in 2006.

World Championships 20 medals (9 gold, 5 silver, 6 bronze) EventIndividualSprintPursuitTeamRelay 1991 Lahti — 16th 4th Gold 1993 Borovets 6th 64th — — 55th Bronze 14th Gold 1996 Ruhpolding 9th 12th 6th Silver 1997 Brezno-Osrblie Gold 34th 26th — Gold 1998 Pokljuka 7th Silver 1999 Kontiolahti Silver 6th Gold 8th 4th 2000 Oslo Holmenkollen 9th 7th 18th 6th Bronze 2001 Pokljuka 7th 27th 14th 4th 12th 2002 Oslo Holmenkollen 11th 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk Bronze Silver Gold 22nd Gold 2004 Oberhof 4th Silver Gold 29th Gold 2005 Hochfilzen Bronze 7th 6th 7th 6th Bronze 2006 Pokljuka 10th 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 9th — — — Bronze — During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program. Team was removed as an event in 1998, and pursuit was added in 1997 with mass start being added in 1999 and the mixed relay in 2005.

Individual victories 9 victories (3 In, 1 Sp, 4 Pu, 1 MS) Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.