This beautiful blonde biathlete had everything to go down in history - the will to win, physical data, and most importantly - super speed, which compensated for misses at the turn. It seemed to tighten the fire - and she would have no equal.
The audience rubbed their hands in anticipation - they had already seen all this several years earlier: the charming Magdalena Neuner ran fine, but shot terribly. Having improved this skill, she went down in history as one of the most titled athletes, and her beautiful appearance and charming smile guaranteed the love of fans and multi-million dollar contracts.
Biathlon fans were waiting for a repeat of the Cinderella story from Miriam Gessner. There were all the prerequisites - a beauty with a great move and poor shooting. Alas, despite all the predictions, Miriam never became the second Magdalena.
Childhood
The childhood of the future two-time world champion in biathlon passed in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a ski resort in southern Germany. Parents are subjects of two great biathlon powers: mother - Norway, father - Germany. This and the fact that in the Alps where Miri grew up, they start skiing almost before they walk, predetermined the fate of the girl.
The future champion began to study with her younger sister Christina. It was skiing. But here things didn’t work out right away - at age 14, Miri unsuccessfully fell and knocked out two teeth. On this, she tied with skiing. Other interests showed up. She switched to skiing and biathlon.
What next?
But choosing between these two sports turned out to be more difficult. Having twice won the silver medal in cross-country skiing in the relay race (once at the World Championships in 2009 and once at the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010), the girl was still more inclined towards biathlon.
Miriam Gessner was distinguished by high speed and catastrophic (about 68% accuracy) shooting. It was her super-speed that she compensated for 3-4 misses at the borders. Fans who several years earlier observed the same phenomenon at Neuner, rubbed their hands - and the new star of the team is growing.
But victories were in no hurry to come immediately to Miriam Gessner: the biathlon still takes into account not only speed on the track, but also accuracy at the shooting range. Over time, the German woman often fell on the podium - in addition to medals at the world cup stages, she became a two-time world champion in the relay. Fans were sure: now Miriam Gessner will tighten his shooting, and stay in the competition! But fate wished to order otherwise.
Injury
May 2013, as it turned out later, had an impact on the life of a biathlete. During a bike training session, Miri fell out of control:
I almost don’t remember the accident and the fall from the bike. It is terrible that my sister saw everything for which it was a psychological trauma.
A fracture of 4 vertebrae guaranteed all chances to stay in a wheelchair forever. But Miri is a fighter, she did not want to put up with defeat. Recovery went through pain, but the girl stubbornly did not pay attention to it. Ahead was the Olympics in Sochi.
And she was able to re-enter the track. In the fall, biathlon Östersund greeted the girl, expecting victories. But the miracle did not happen - the back pain did not allow either normal training or normal performance. Miri had to come to terms - she did not go to Sochi.
No, she didn’t give up - she went out on the track again and again, overcoming the pain. But the results were getting worse and worse. The highlight of the German woman was speed, but her back could not withstand such a pace. For another three years, until January 2017, Miriam did not give up hope to return to the podium. And only in Ruhpolding on January 15, 2017, taking 47th place in the pursuit, did the tearful athlete understand that a miracle would not happen.
On the cover of Playboy
The fans met the decision to strip for the cover of the men's magazine in different ways. Someone approved, someone believed that this would ruin Miri's career as an athlete, especially since the proposal came right after the injury. Noteworthy was the reaction of Magdalena Neuner. She dissuaded Miriam Gessner from a photo of a frank nature. When it became clear that the girl would not give up her decision, Magdalena commented on the decision rather restrained:
Her choice is neither bad nor good. Everyone must decide for himself. Did you like the photo? A matter of taste, but I find them aesthetic and good.
There is an opinion that it was not without banal female envy - Neuner for a long time held the title of the sexiest biathlete in the world, and Gessner's exposure could shake him. Which, in fact, happened: Miriam Gessner and the photo shoot in Playboy became the most discussed event after the Sochi Olympics in the biathlon world.
Personal life
Miriam maintained a relationship with German biathlete Simon Shemp for quite some time. This is not uncommon in the sports world - constant training, competitions, time for communication with young people not from the sports circle is sorely lacking. The couple parted peacefully and unnoticed by fans.
Alpine skiing nevertheless again entered the life of Miriam Gessner, but this time in the form of a chosen one - the famous skier, world champion Felix Neuroiter. It was he who supported Miri during recovery from an injury and was nearby during the most difficult period of her life, did not let her become discouraged. For an emotional cheerful girl, this meant a lot.
In October 2017, the couple had a daughter, Matilda, and on December 27 of the same year, Miriam Gessner officially became Miriam Neuroiter, taking her husband's surname. The Instagram of the blonde beauty is full of photos with her beloved husband, daughter, mountain landscapes and hiking.
Only one thing remains unchanged in these images - the charming smile of Miriam. Yes, the road to big sports for the German woman ended, she never managed to repeat the path of Magdalena Neuner. But, looking at the cheerful, happy Miriam, you understand - this person knows how to enjoy life in any of its manifestations. And how happy she was to stand on the podium, so with the same feelings she is now next to her beloved husband and daughter.