Retired stars. Bosom friends. Not Olympic, but the best

Let's start the second part of the material with a small football drama in which the famous Russian player was involved. Who are we talking about? The highlight of the program will be Yegor Titov, for whom Spartak and Football in general have long been the meaning of life. This is one of the most titled Russian football players, certainly among the attacking midfielders, whose career was full of both outstanding victories and unpleasant incidents.

Biography of Yegor Titov and doping scandal

Now about all of the above, but in as much detail and detail as possible. So, Yegor Ilyich Titov is a Russian football player who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his professional career in Moscow, playing for Spartak, where he won many awards, including gold at the Russian Championship and the Russian Cup. He was also a player of the national team, and even served as its captain for some time. As part of the Russian national team, Egor Titov played 41 matches and scored 7 goals, the statistics are impressive - 21 wins, 10 draws and the same number of defeats (he played for the national team from 1998 to 2007).

Was born Egor Titov in a sports family, and we can say that his biography, career and fate in general were predetermined (he was obliged to become an outstanding athlete, which ultimately happened). By the way, the boy’s father (a master of sports in skating) dreamed that his son would follow in his footsteps and become a speed skater, but Yegor was much more attracted to football with its passion and team play. Therefore, from the age of eight, the future champion began training at the Spartak football school, under the auspices of the best specialists.

Starting in 1992, Yegor Titov played for Spartak (on the team from the age of 16), and since 1995 - in the main team. He joined the national team a few years later, in 1998. He made his debut in the qualifying match for the European Championship against France, which ended in a disappointing defeat for the Russians with a score of 2-3. By the way, a year later, Russian football players again clashed with the French as part of the qualifying round and managed to take revenge on the opponent’s field. The final result, 3-2 in favor of Russia, was sensational in many ways.

Biography of Yegor Titov in 2008 was marked by one extremely unpleasant incident. The footballer, having quarreled with the head coach of Spartak, was forced to leave the team (at that time, as part of the club, he had already repeatedly won the Russian Championship, the Russian Cup and other prestigious competitions). As a result, by agreement with former teammate Sergei Yuran, Egor moved to Khimki, without any compensation.

In the new club football player Egor Titov, whose goal statistics were outstanding, did not play long: on February 12, 2009, he left Khimki, and on the fifteenth he entered into a new agreement, this time his team was Lokomotiv Astana. But here, too, Yegor did not stay long, because in March 2010 (19th) he announced his retirement from big-time sports and his retirement. However, we note that the official end to the football player’s career was set only in 2012. On September 9, Yegor Titov’s farewell match took place against Dynamo Kyiv, which ended with a score of 5-3 in favor of Spartak. The game took place at the Lokomotiv stadium with full stands and was covered by many television channels.

Where is doping in this whole story and did Yegor Titov take it at all? There was doping, namely prohibited drugs, and a serious scandal unfolded against its background, with disqualification as a punishment. An incident occurred in 2004 on the eve of the European Championship. As it turned out, Yegor Titov used Bromantan (a nootropic drug) illegal in sports, so he was given a one-year disqualification.

Everything would have been fine, and the disqualification would not have been so terrible, because football player Yegor Titov at that time was already a famous athlete and his career, in fact, was not in jeopardy. However, due to his suspension from official competitions for a year, Yegor was forced to miss the 2004 European Championship, one of the largest tournaments for national teams, each victory in which is worth a lot of money, prestige and points in the UEFA rankings.

By the way, many fans, and even experts, believe that it was precisely because Yegor Titov did not go to the tournament that the Russian national team performed so poorly, losing 2 out of 3 of their matches in the group stage. This statement is, to put it mildly, strained, but perhaps there is some truth in it. Who knows, maybe Yegor Titov, for whom football was more than a job, as a captain and player of the main team could really bring meaning to the game of the national team and influence his comrades. For reference: “Russia” won its only victory in the match against “Greece”, the future sensational winner of the entire tournament.

Doping of cyclist Denis Galimzyanov

Now let's talk a little about cycling and consider, perhaps, one of the most famous scandals that occurred in this discipline. We deliberately do not touch Lance Armstrong, because, firstly, not everything is so obvious and clear, and secondly, everyone has known his story for a long time. It has been discussed so many times on television and in the press that there is hardly a person who has not heard about Lance and the drugs he allegedly consumed.

To the point: born on March 7, 1987 in the city of Sverdlovsk, he is a famous Russian road cyclist who has competed for “Team Katusha” for a long time. He is a representative of a small group of sprinters for Russian sports, who has achieved a huge number of victories at world stages (from 2006 to 2011 he won more than fifteen different races, showing excellent results).

A little about the biography and career that cyclist Denis Galimzyanov can rightfully be proud of. He began his performances in the amateur team “Premier”, as part of which he won several different stages of multi-day races, as well as, no less important, the “Five Rings of Moscow” tournament and the Mayor’s Cup. In 2008, after several outstanding performances, Denis moved to the professional club “Tinkoff Credit Systems”, which soon changed its name and general concept and became “Team Katusha”.

Denis Galimzyanov took part in his first Vuelta (one of the most prestigious cycling races, along with the Tour de France) in September 2010 and showed good results. He finished in the top ten five times, but eventually retired. The following year, the cyclist was already more confident and purposeful - he won two stages of stage races, but at the main start of the season (we are talking about the Tour de France), unfortunately, he retired at the equator. Denis Galimzyanov earned the most important achievement in his career in September 2011 - he won one of the oldest cycling races in the world, Paris-Brussels, after which he was awarded the honor of becoming captain of the team and taking part in the group race at the World Championships.

Unfortunately at the World Cup cyclist Denis Galimzyanov faced another setback. More specifically, in the last kilometers of the race he lost the wheel of his partner who was taking him to the head of the peloton and eventually finished only 11th. This incident did not bother the Russian athlete and a week and a half later he started at the first Tour of Beijing in China, where in the second stage he lost only to Heinrich Haussler, losing a few centimeters. There was also a victory in Beijing - athlete Denis Galimzyanov, as Wikipedia suggests, left all his rivals in the dust, finishing first at the final stage of the race (as a result he was also recognized as the best sprinter).

And now to the most interesting thing: in March of the year before last, 2012, during a test analysis, it turned out that Denis Galimzyanov used doping, prohibited drugs (the sample was taken as part of an out-of-competition doping control). More specifically, it was found that the cyclist used erythropoietin drugs, which help increase endurance and a number of other indicators. In an open letter, Denis fully admitted his guilt and confessed to doping, refusing the now unnecessary opening of the sample.

At the same time, Denis Galimzyanov clarified that he made the decision to use erythropoietin himself, and the team members were not aware of his action. He soon also added that he used doping for the first time shortly before the sample was taken, and purchased the drug itself on the Internet from one of the anonymous distributors. The management of the Katyusha team took this event very seriously and decided to suspend the athlete from all competitions until the end of the investigation and a statement from the Russian Cycling Federation. In December 2012, Denis Ramilievich Galimzyanov learned the price of his action; it was a two-year disqualification for using the above-mentioned erythropoietin.

Frank Luke's Illicit Drugs

Once again biathlon and again a major scandal, however, this time the athlete himself, without pressure from the press or public, admitted that he used doping drugs (Turinabol) to improve his physical fitness. But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, but rather tell you who we are talking about and why we turned our attention to this particular case.

Frank Luke is the most famous and, perhaps, the most titled German biathlete, born on December 5, 1967 in the city of Schmalkalden, Germany, then the GDR, who has already officially ended his career. The athlete has many awards of the highest standard, won at the most prestigious world tournaments: 2 gold and 3 silver at the Olympic Games, 11 gold medals, 5 silver and 4 bronze at the World Championships (all this not counting victories and achievements of a smaller/local scale).

Frank Luke began competing and conquering biathlon for the GDR national team, and later for the German team, back in the late eighties/early nineties. Since childhood, the guy was fond of cross-country skiing, but fate decreed that in the 80s he had to switch to biathlon. Already in 1988, at the Olympic Games held in Calgary, Frank received the right to start with the national team. His debut cannot be called the most successful in history, but it was not a failure either - he took a fairly high sixth place in the sprint race.

The following year, Frank Luke, as Wikipedia writes, makes an incredible breakthrough and becomes a two-time world champion. Medals were won in the sprint race and relay race at the World Championships in Feistritz (Austria). Then Luke’s career developed offensively - his results grew, his achievements increased, but, unfortunately, in 1992, on the eve of the Olympics, he fell ill and, as a result, was unable to defend the colors of the national team.

Everything was corrected at the next Olympic Games in Lillehammer, where Frank Luke, as part of the national team, won gold in the 4 x 7.5 km relay race, and also won a silver medal in the most difficult individual race of 20 kilometers, losing only to Sergei Tarasov.

Subsequent Olympic Games in 1998 and 2002, in which biathlete Frank Luke He already performed as a multiple world champion and an Olympic champion, which were also quite successful for the athlete. At the tournament in Nagano he won gold - again in the 4 x 7.5 team relay race, and in Salt Lake City - two silvers (20 km individual race and 4 x 7.5 relay).

In the meantime, competing at the World Championships from 1998 to 2004, Frank Luke, whose biography is full of ups and downs, continued to prove his superiority again and again. During this period, he won the following awards at world championships: 4 gold, 2 silver and 2 bronze medals. In general, at the time of the official retirement in the 2003-2004 season, Frank became one of the most titled German biathletes, demonstrating excellent results in both running and shooting (accuracy indicators in the 2003/2004 season: lying - 93% of hits, standing - 90% hits, overall accuracy 91%).

You ask where is the doping, and when did Frank Luke take it? And here it is: in 2004, after finishing his sports career, the athlete made a statement in which he confirmed the use of prohibited drugs (presumably repeated use). According to the biathlete, he resorted to doping, namely the drug Oral Turinabol, while competing for the national team of the GDR, i.e. up until 1990.

For reference: Oral Turinabol or simply Turinabol, which was used by biathlete Frank Luke for a long time, is a steroid that helps increase strength, gives an increase in endurance and allows for an increase in lean and hard muscle mass. It was developed in the GDR in the middle of the 20th century (in 1961). By the way, you can buy Turinabol and order many other relevant and effective drugs in sports (fat burners, peptides, antiestrogens, etc.) easily and reliably in our store.

Tragedy and doping Antonio Pettigrew

Let's return to athletics and consider another, quite famous scandal that occurred in this area. The culprit this time was Antonio Pettigrew, who at the time of the incident was already both a renowned world champion and an Olympic champion as part of the national team (he won the relay race).

First, let’s tell you what the athlete’s biography is and what he is famous for Antonio Pettigrew, what awards he had (he was and still is), where and how he performed, and so on. So, the future champion was born on November 3, 1968 in the small town of Macon, in the central part of Georgia in the USA. He became interested in sports at a young age and this interest was so strong that by the age of 23 Antonio was able to reach heights unattainable not only for most of his peers, but also for many veterans of athletics.

If we look at everything from a sporting point of view, then Antonio Pettigrew is, first of all, a famous American athlete who won the 400-meter race at the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991, and also won Olympic gold in the 4x400-meter relay in 2000 year in Sydney. Subsequently, he was stripped of his medal, as were his compatriots who fled with him, but more on that later. He also had other prestigious achievements, in particular, in the same year 1991 (World Championships in Tokyo), as part of the national team he managed to finish second in the 4x400 relay race, bringing a silver medal to the USA. Then Antonio Pettigrew, as a runner, won the relay races at the 1997 World Championships in Athens, 1999 in Seville and 2001 in Edmonton. In general, he had many titles in his career.

However, as with most of the stories told above, Antonio's career had not only major ups, but also major downs. What is it about? About a case that occurred in 2008: during the trial of former coach Antonio Pettigrew, he admitted that he had repeatedly used growth hormone and erythropoietin as doping since 1996. The consequences were not long in coming - the athlete and his teammates were deprived of Olympic medals for winning the relay in 2000, and the World Championships gold medals and titles that he had won since 1997 were also taken away from him.

After what happened runner Antonio Pettigrew, almost all of whose career achievements had been crossed out, took up coaching, fortunately he had enough experience and skills. In particular, he led the University of North Carolina team for some time until tragedy occurred: on August 10, 2010, Pettigrew was found dead in the back seat of his personal car. Suspicious white powder (presumably drugs) was also found inside the car. The police in their statements expressed a theory about a possible suicide (there is no information about the results of the investigation).

Biography of track and field athlete Tim Montgomery

Again, athletics (one gets the impression that it is in this discipline that doping is most often used, but this is not so, it’s just that athletics accounts for most of the famous scandals regarding the use of prohibited drugs), and again a scandalous story involving a titled athlete who has won more than one gold medal.

But first, a biography: Tim (Timothy) Montgomery is an American track and field athlete, born on January 25, 1975. In 2005, he was accused of taking steroids, as a result, almost all of his achievements were annulled, including the world record at a distance of 100 meters - 9.78 seconds. After the forced end of his career, the athlete was convicted, but not for doping, but for forging checks in New York, as well as heroin trafficking (he was caught in Virginia). Since 2008, he has been imprisoned in a US prison.

But I think you are not interested in this (at least not only this), but in what kind of athlete Timothy Montgomery was, what medals he won and what he achieved. Let's start from afar: before taking up athletics, Timothy played American football and basketball at a professional level for a long time. He studied first at Brenham College, and later, starting in 1994, at Norfolk State University, located in Hampton Roads and famous for its track and field team. He competed in athletics for the first time during his studies - he took part in several junior athletics competitions and showed good results in the sprint race and relay race.

In 1996, as a runner, he took part in the qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games (in the 100-meter race), but, unfortunately, did not qualify, so in Atlanta he was involved only in the 4 x 100 relay race, in which, By the way, the Americans won the silver medal (they lost to the Canadian team). In 1997, Montgomery competed at his first World Championship. The result is a bronze medal in the 100-meter sprint. At the 1999 World Championships, he was unable to show the same high result in the individual sprint race, but he won a gold medal in the relay.

History partly repeated itself at the Olympic Games in Sydney (2000), where Timothy Montgomery again won the relay (he did not participate in the individual races). Let us separately note the year 2002, which for Montgomery became one of the most successful in his career. The fact is that this season he managed to set a world record. With a tailwind of 2.0 m/s, Tim Montgomery ran the 100-meter dash in 9.78 seconds, breaking the previous world record set by Maurice Green (a difference of 0.01 seconds).

By the way, this is where Timothy Montgomery’s sports biography ended, since a long disqualification awaited him in the future. In more detail, shortly before the qualifying competitions for the 2004 Olympics, which Tim failed miserably (qualified seventh), the US Anti-Doping Agency convicted him of using prohibited substances. The athlete told the press that the steroids were given to him and several other athletes from the United States by specialists from the BALCO laboratory from San Francisco. The result of this incident was a severe disqualification of 4 years (a long period for a single offense).

However Timothy Montgomery, who was planning to attend both the World Championships and the Olympic Games, did not agree with this decision of the judges and filed an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, based in Lausanne. Here another failure awaited him - on December 12, 2005, the final verdict was adopted, according to which the disqualification was only slightly reduced - to two years. All the athlete’s results and awards won since March 31, 2001, including the world record, were also annulled.

After the verdict was announced, track and field athlete Tim Montgomery decided to end his career, leaving doping and the scandals associated with it in the past. It turned out poorly for him, to put it mildly, because in 2008 he was again caught using prohibited substances - this time before the 2000 Sydney Olympics (it is assumed that he used testosterone and growth hormone). But that’s not all: in 2006, the athlete was arrested in a money laundering case, and in 2008 he was accused of selling heroin (found guilty in both cases).

From: AthleticPharma.com

For almost two decades, the German trio - Sven Fischer, Rico Gross and Frank Luke - shone on the biathlon arenas of the world. As part of a series of materials about the stars of past years, Sportbox.ru talks about two inseparable champion friends - Luke and Fischer.

Ice and fire

They say that there is no friendship in sports, and that rivals remain competitors in life. Fischer and Luke are a prime example of the fact that there are exceptions to any rule.

In 1980, young Frank Luke, following the example of his father and grandfather, entered ski racing, but soon changed it to biathlon. “It always seemed to me a more spectacular and emotional sport,” explains the athlete. Fischer was more original - first he tried his hand at the queen of sports - athletics, but the tartan track and starting blocks lost the battle to the rifle and the ski track. “I always liked shooting more than running,” Fischer admits. The friendship between the two future biathlon stars began during their school years. They met thanks to the fact that Fischer’s first coach was Luke’s uncle, Stefan.

Tall and energetic, Frank Luke distinguished himself already at a young age and in 1988, at the age of 21, he qualified to represent the GDR at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, where he achieved sixth place in the sprint race. For Fischer, everything did not go as smoothly as for his friend - he went to titles, as they say, through thorns. When Luke was already shining on the world stage, Fischer could only boast of his achievements at junior competitions in Germany. Fischer was an accelerator, that is, he grew very quickly, but this did not help him, but rather hindered him. The athlete had serious problems with his knees, which led to surgery. His career was at risk. Fortunately, soon after the operation, Fischer began training, but he could not show good results, and this was completely inappropriate. In the 90s, along with the unification of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, the two strongest German biathlon schools merged. Only the best of the best could get into the team. Frank Ullrich, who at that time, as now, led the men's team, believed in Fischer and gave him a chance to prove himself. And Fischer did not disappoint. Already in December 1991, at the European Cup, he won the sprint in Hochfilzen, and following the results of his debut season as part of the first team, he became sixth in the overall World Cup standings.

Dad for two

Three years later, Luke and Fischer went together to the Olympic Games in Lillehammer. There they stood shoulder to shoulder for the first time on the podium after a 20-kilometer race: Luke received silver, Fischer bronze. " The day Sven won his first Olympic medal was the happiest day of my life. After birth, children, of course. I'll never forget him“, - said the father of the biathlete Willy Fischer, who for a long time was the manager of both his own son and his friend Luke.

« How many victories do I have? How many titles? I have not the foggiest idea.- Sven Fischer never tired of repeating. “Only my father knows that.” He keeps a close eye on all my titles, as well as Frank's achievements».

Since then, the friends have tried on medals of various denominations together more than once and become an integral part of the invincible “German machine” - the relay team. The incredibly fast Fischer and the amazingly accurate Luke, like ice and fire, merged into a single whole, leaving their opponents without even the thought of victory. In 2004, Luke decided to end his sports career, while Fischer fought for titles until 2007, and ended his performances for a completely understandable reason. But more on that later.

Failed Kinship

« Over the years of our friendship, Sven and I have experienced everything, both good and bad,- says Luke. — In 1992, we even got into a car accident together. But we have always managed to be rivals at the distance and brothers outside the stadium at the same time.».

Luke and Fischer, by the way, really managed to become related, but this relationship did not last long. Of the millions of beautiful women living on Earth, Luke chose Sven’s sister Andrea, who was two years older than the biathlete, as his wife. It is noteworthy that their wedding took place exactly in the year when the friends first stood on the Olympic podium. True, the story about “they lived happily for a long time and died on the same day” turned out to not be about Frank and Andrea. In 2001, Luke, who by that time had become a father twice, ran away from his wife to the famous German snowboarder Sandra Farmand. Many, by the way, did not believe until recently that such a seemingly happy marriage had broken up. There were rumors that all this was nothing more than a cunning move, and that the lovers were only evading taxes. But all the i’s were dotted in March 2007, the year the Luke-Farmand couple had a daughter. It is not surprising that journalists and fans suspected that the long-standing friendship between Fischer and Luke was over.

As always, dad-manager Willy Fischer brought order. " The black cat did not run between me, my son and Frank,- Fischer Sr. said abruptly. — If people no longer love each other, this is not a reason to spoil business and personal relationships. Sven and Frank are still friends».

And he didn’t lie. Luke, who after finishing his sports career works as a journalist for German television, once personally helped Fischer clean up the mess before interviewing him. This is real male friendship!

Sinner in Love

Fischer with his daughter.

Fischer, unlike Luke, approached family life in more detail. However, for a long time, the biathlete and his chosen one, Doren, lived, as our grandmothers said, “in sin,” that is, in a civil marriage (according to rumors, it was again a matter of tax evasion). Even the birth of their daughter, who was named Emilia Sophie, did not force Sven and Doren to tie the knot. However, this event could not help but touch the soul of the athlete.

« One day, when I returned home from the next stage of the World Cup, my daughter threw herself on my neck with the words: “Dad, dad, I miss you so much, when will you be able to be at home more often?- recalls Fischer. — My heart trembled, and I realized that if I didn’t change something in my life, I would miss my child’s entire childhood».

This is the answer why the great biathlete decided to end his career. In 2007, he was 36 and, according to his father, Fischer could compete at a high level for at least a couple more years.

« Honestly, I regret that my son finished biathlon without fully realizing himself, - says Wily Fischer. “But family is family, and no one has the right to condemn him.” He behaved like a real man.".

After some time, the ex-biathlete finally decided to make drastic changes in his life. Contrary to public opinion that romance fades with age, Fischer came to his Doren, knelt down in front of her and asked for her hand. “He didn’t even fall to his knees at the finish line!” - his father laughs. On May 24, 2008, the long-awaited wedding took place. And soon Fischer had a son, Johan Alfrey.

Fischer and family.

Together forever

Now Fischer, like Luke, works as an expert on the German TV channel ZDF. Friends are also used to relaxing together, fortunately they have similar hobbies. In their free time from work, ex-biathletes go hunting - this is their main hobby. Fischer is also a professional photographer, and is used to spending his holidays traveling with his family. I wonder, of course, whether the Fisher family invites the Luke couple along for company? But this, however, is a completely different story.

Tatyana Pomelnikova, Sportbox.ru

Retired stars. German team

In the fourth article from the series, read about the veterans of the Russian men's team!

Klaus Siebert(German) Klaus Siebert; April 29, 1955, Schlettau, Saxony, East Germany) - former GDR biathlete, 1980 Olympic silver medalist in the relay, three-time world champion, multiple world championship medalist, World Cup winner. In 1984 he began coaching the GDR junior team. From 2006 to 2008 he was the head coach of the Chinese biathlon team. Since 2008, Siebert has been working as the coach of the Belarusian national team.

Olympic vice-champion (relay); 3-time world champion (2 relays, 1 IG); World Championship bronze (1 relay, 2 sprints); winner of the BHG season 1978-1979

Here is a video of Zibych talking about Russia:

Friedrich "Fritz" Fischer (German) Friedrich "Fritz" Fischer; September 22, 1956, Kielheim, Bavaria, Germany) - former German biathlete, Olympic champion, two-time world champion, World Cup winner in the 1987-1988 season. He played for the German national team. Until 2007, he was one of the coaches of the German biathlon team.

Sports achievements and medals:

Olympic champion (relay); vice-champion of the Olympic Games (relay); Olympic bronze (relay); 2-time world champion (1 relay, 1 team race); 2-time world vice-champion (1 relay, 1 team race); 3 bronze (2 relay, 1 IG); holder of BHG.

Frank Ulrich(German Frank Ullrich; January 4, 1958, Trusenthal, Thuringia, East Germany) - East German biathlete and coach. Four-time World Cup winner (1978, 1980, 1981, 1982). 1980 Olympic champion in sprint, two-time silver (1980 - in the 20 km individual race and in the relay) and bronze (1976 - in the relay) Olympic medalist, nine-time world champion.

Ulrich's father was a judge at biathlon competitions. Frank Ullrich's first performance took place in 1967 at the national championship of the GDR. In 1972, he took 5th place in the race at the Spartakiad. In 1975, he became the champion of the Youth World Championship in the relay race. Bronze medalist in the relay race at the 1976 Winter Olympics. And at the 1980 Olympics, he won a gold medal in the sprint and a silver medal in the individual race, losing to our biathlete Anatoly Alyabyev. At the same time, at the Olympic Games-80, as part of the GDR team, he became a silver medalist in the 4 x 7.5 km relay.

Frank Ullrich in Ruhpolding in 2005

He became the owner of the BHG four times (1978, 1980, 1981, 1982). Only Ole Einar Bjoerndalen has won the World Cup more often - 6 times.

Since 1988, Frank Ullrich has been the head coach of the German men's biathlon team. In 2010, he is going to leave his post, saying: “Leaving in 2010 does not mean the end of the world for me. It will just end a certain period in my life. A period dedicated to professional sports. First I was an athlete, then just a coach, and then became a mentor to the national German team. Actually, I wanted to leave back in 2006, but our president asked me to stay until the 2014 season. In the end, we discussed everything and agreed that I would leave my post in 2010. After the Olympics, I will look for new guidelines , although there will be nothing truly new in them." (interview for rusbiathlon.ru, December 2008).

After the 2007-2008 season, three athletes from the German national team refused to train under Frank Ullrich - Michael Greis, Andreas Birnbacher and Daniel Graf. At that time, the leader of the German team, Michael Greis, criticizing Frank Ullrich, said that the environment in the team should be freer: “Ullrich has done a lot for biathlon, but times have changed.” After this, the national federation decided that Frank Ullrich would leave his post not in 2014, as previously expected, but in 2010.

Sports achievements and medals:

Olympic champion (1 relay); 2-time Olympic vice-champion (1 IG, relay); bronze (relay); 9-time world champion (4 relays, 2 IG, 3 sprints); World Championship bronze (relay).

Peter Angerer(German) Peter Anger; July 14, 1959, Siegsdorf, Bavaria) - West German biathlete, 1984 Olympic champion in the 20 km individual race, 2-time silver (1984 - in the sprint, 1988 - in the relay) and bronze (1980, 1984 - in the relay) Olympic medalist games. World Cup winner 1982-1983. In the spring of 1984, when Peter Angerer, who had recently brought from Sarajevo the first Olympic gold medal in the history of German biathlon, complained to his friend gunsmith Peter Fortner from Rohrdorf about the Germans' lagging behind in the speed of reloading rifles. The conversation took place in a friendly conversation, and therefore the gunsmith personally did not take this proposal seriously. However, when the DSV (German Ski Federation) allocated him 400,000 marks to create a biathlon rifle with quick reloading and an Anschutz 1427 model rifle for such a conversion, Fortner set to work with full dedication. The German gunsmith, during four weeks of work in a workshop located in the basement of his own house, created a prototype of a new bolt. Already in February 1985, Walter Pichler and Ernst Reiter started at the World Championships in Ruhpolding with a Fortner rifle, giving the new product a positive assessment. And in 1986, Peter Angerer and his long-time team partner, Fritz Fischer, shot from the “Anschutz biathlon rifle model 1827 Fortner system.” Sports achievements and medals:

Olympic champion (IG); 2-time Olympic vice-champion (1 relay, sprint); 2 Olympic bronzes (relay, sprint); 2-time world vice-champion (1 relay, 1 sprint); 4 bronze (3 relay, 1 IG).

Frank-Peter Rech(German) Frank-Peter Roetsch; April 10, 1964, Güstrow, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, East Germany). famous East German biathlete, two-time Olympic champion, five-time world champion.

Sports achievements and medals:

2-time Olympic champion (sprint, IG); vice-champion of the Olympic Games (IG); 5-time world champion (2 relays, 1 IG, 2 sprints); 5-time world vice-champion (3 relays, 2 IG).

At the 1987 World Championships he repeated the achievement of Valery Medvedtsev, becoming the absolute world champion. As of 2011, he is one of two biathletes who are absolute world champions.

Frank Luke(German) Frank Luck; born December 5, 1967, Schmalkalden) is a German biathlete, two-time Olympic champion, eleven-time world champion, multiple medalist of the Olympic Games and World Championships, who has now completed his career.

His compatriots called Luke “a medal-winning machine.” He won Olympic gold as part of the German relay at the 1994 and 1998 Games. And he had one of the longest sports careers in biathlon, since Luke's Olympic debut was back in 1988 in Calgary. Now only the great Ole Einar Bjoerndalen can surpass him. Due to injuries sustained in a car accident, he missed the games in Albertville. But having recovered, he received his first Olympic gold in Lillehammer. His wife, Andrea, is the sister of two-time World Cup winner Sven Fischer.

Gambling hunter. After the end of the 1998 Olympic season, he intended to stop competing, but he still runs and wins. The last medals were two Olympic silvers in Salt Lake City and a victory in the sprint at the 2001-2002 World Cup in Holmenkollen.

Sports achievements and medals:

2-time Olympic champion (relay); 3-time Olympic vice-champion (1 relay, 2 IG); 2 Olympic bronze (relay, sprint); 11-time world champion (5 relay, 2 sprint, 1 pursuit, 2 team racing); 5-time world vice-champion (1 relay, 1 sprint, 2 team races, 1 pursuit); 4 bronzes (3 relay, 1 IG).

Based on materials from online sports publications.

The two-time Olympic champion does not hide the fact that he took doping.

11-time world champion and two-time Olympic champion in biathlon Frank Luke started with cross-country skiing in 1980, following the example of his father and grandfather, but soon went into biathlon. “It always seemed to me a more spectacular and emotional sport,” Frank explained.

Retired stars. Bosom friends. Not Olympic, but the best

Biography of Yegor Titov and doping scandal

Doping of cyclist Denis Galimzyanov

Frank Luke's Illicit Drugs

Tragedy and doping Antonio Pettigrew

Biography of track and field athlete Tim Montgomery

Retired stars. German team

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Biathlon: Ukrainian won the Small Crystal Globe for the first time in history

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The German Foreign Minister promised Ukraine full support

In Konstantinovka, police were allowed to shoot to kill - Gerashchenko

Biathlete Martin Fourcade gave a Russian medal to a fan