famous German biathlete Andrea Henkel was born on December 10, 1977 in Ilmenau. Most likely, several factors had a huge impact on her future career in sports. Firstly, there was a ski and biathlon center not far from Andrea's place of residence. And secondly, it was the elder sister Manuela - the famous German skier and owner Olympic gold at the Salt Lake City games - led her to skiing. However, women's biathlon was closer in spirit to Andrea, and after the inclusion of this sport in Olympic program in 1988, she decided to switch completely to a combination of cross-country skiing and shooting.

First steps in biathlon

At first, Andrea Henkel did not shine with success in biathlon, and victories were difficult for her. Participating in the sprint race at the German children's championship, the athlete managed to knock out only one target out of 10. However, high training in skiing and excellent speed allowed Andrea to finish in third position and win. At the same time, the young athlete studied at the Oberhof sports gymnasium in 1991-1996.

World Cup debut

Already in 1994, at the age of 16, Andrea Henkel began to participate in junior competitions. According to the results debut season she took an honorable fourth place, having managed to win medals of various samples at the stages. Thanks to this success, the road to the World Cup was opened for the young athlete. Andrea Henkel began to constantly take part in the prestigious competition from the 1998/1999 season. As for a beginner, the biathlete from Germany took a high fourteenth position in the final standings. In parallel, she made her debut in the world championship, where she also showed herself well. In subsequent seasons, Andrea Henkel began to perform even more successfully.

Triumph in Salt Lake City at the Olympics

In anticipation of the winter year, which was to be held in the US, Andrea Henkel showed excellent results in the World Cup. However, due to a cold, the girl had to skip several stages on the eve of an important event in Salt Lake City. But the German athlete showed perseverance on the way to achieving the goal and triumphantly performed at Olympic Games Oh. The speed of Andrea Henkel left no chance for her rivals. She had no equal in the individual race, where only one miss was made, and the gap from her closest rival was about 8 seconds. She also helped the German team take gold in the relay. Thus, Andrea Henkel, whose photo you see in the article, became a two-time Olympic champion.

After the 2002 Olympics, the German athlete had health problems for three seasons, which negatively affected her individual results in competitions. Andrea Henkel began to gain optimal form only by the beginning of the next Olympic Games. However, in Turin, her results, compared with the triumph of 2002, were nowhere near. In the individual race, the German made 2 misses and ended up off the podium, finishing fourth. The bright spot of participation in the Olympics was won in the relay.

World Cup victory

After the Olympic Games, Andrea Henkel had a brilliant season. After the starting stages, she increased a big lead over her pursuers in standings and, despite a break due to illness, managed to win the World Cup for the first time in her career. The culmination of the prestigious tournament took place during the last race, before which the German athlete had 5 points over second place. After five misses, Andrea practically lost all chances for the final victory. But thanks to her notorious tenacity and high speed, she managed to finish two positions above her rival for the right to own the World Cup. Thus, Andrea Henkel for the first time managed to win a large crystal globe.

The last Olympics for the German athlete in Vancouver was not entirely successful. Together with the national team, she won only a bronze medal in the relay. Andrea Henkel completed her biathlon career after the 2013/2014 season. It is worth noting that she became the only woman who managed to win gold medals in biathlon in all four disciplines. After completing her sports career, Andrea plans to become a professional fitness trainer.

Personal life

October 25, 2014 Andrea Henkel married American biathlete Tim Burke. The ceremony took place in the Adirondacks, which are located in the United States, and the couple took place only in April 2015 in connection with Tim's sports activities. Subsequently, the former German biathlon star made the decision to move permanently to her husband in Lake Placid and began to apply for a green card. There were rumors that Andrea Henkel was pregnant. But they have not been confirmed. She still has everything ahead of her. Let's wish good luck to this wonderful woman!

Born December 10 1977 1988

in winter 1994

1998/99

2000 year and Pokljuka in 2001

2003/04 2005 2005/06

Born December 10 1977 year in the town of Ilmenau, which is half an hour from Oberhof. Perhaps the proximity of the ski and biathlon center of Thuringia determined the future of the athlete. Andrea began with skiing, where she was led by her older sister Manuela (Olympic champion in Salt Lake City in cross-country skiing), but in 1988 year, after the women's biathlon was included in the Olympic program, she switched to this sport.

The first successes in biathlon turned out to be very modest - during the sprint race as part of the German children's championship, the young athlete hit one target out of 10, but thanks to her excellent ski training managed to win bronze.

in winter 1994 Andrea Henkel made her debut at the junior level. In the very first season, the 16-year-old biathlete took 4th place in the overall standings, collecting an impressive collection of medals of various denominations, and got a chance to try herself at the World Cup.

On a permanent basis, Andrea began to perform at the World Cup stages in the season - 1998/99 . For the debutante, the German performed more than successfully - 14th place in the overall standings! In the same season, Henkel made her debut at the World Championships, showing decent results in the sprint and pursuit.

The next 2 seasons turned out to be very successful for the young biathlete - silver medals in the relay at the World Championships in Holmenkollen in 2000 year and Pokljuka in 2001 -m (in both cases, gold went to Russian team), numerous prize podiums at the World Cup stages and as a result in both cases - 5th place in the final protocol (the best among German athletes).

The next - the Olympic - season turned out to be difficult for Henkel: having started powerfully at the World Cup stages, Andrea unexpectedly came down with a cold and missed several stages before the Olympics itself. There were serious concerns - whether the leader of the German team will be able to take part in the main starts of the season. However, the perseverance and determination of the Bundeswehr soldier played a role - Andrea performed well in Salt Lake City: in the individual race, the German woman made only one miss and was almost 8 seconds ahead of the famous Liv-Gret Poiret, and a little later the German team had no equal in the relay .

Andrea hardly remembers the next 3 seasons with pleasure: health problems did not leave her, which did not take long to affect the results: 17th place in the season - 2003/04 , 29th and 14th in the two subsequent campaigns (the bright spot for this period can only be considered brilliant victory in the individual race at the World Championships 2005 years in Hochfilzen). Henkel began to gain form only in the season - 2005/06 and at the Turin Olympics she helped the German team win silver in the relay. In the individual race (her crown discipline), Andrea took only 4th place, having made 2 unfortunate misses at the last firing line.

Season- 2006/07 Henkel started with a string of impressive victories and confidently took the lead in the overall standings. After the 4th stage of the World Cup, her advantage over her closest pursuers was 76 points, but in January the biathlete was again caught by illness, she missed several stages and was able to return to action only for the World Championships, where she won 2 gold medals - in the mass start and relay race. More than 100 points behind Anna Karin Olofsson and Kati Wilhelm had to be closed. Before the last stage in Khanty-Mansiysk, Andrea reduced the gap from the Swede to a minimum, but she was quite far from her compatriot. Despite this, a silver in the sprint and a bronze in the pursuit put Henkel in first place and she was 5 points ahead of Wilhelm before the final race of the season. The race from the mass start was very dramatic for the rivals - Henkel made 5 misses at the first shooting range and seemed to say goodbye to the hope of winning a big crystal globe, but her famous perseverance did not allow her to give up, and, having perfectly passed the rest of the distance, Andrea was ahead of her compatriot for 2 places (15th and 17th, respectively) and became the first at the end of the season. In addition to the large crystal globe, Henkel also received a small one - in the standings of individual races.

Season- 2007/08 also developed for Henkel extremely well. Despite the fact that she failed to defend the title of the best biathlete in the world, she won 8 victories at the World Cup stages (4 of which were in relay races). 3 of these eight gold medals came at the main starts of the season - the World Championships in Östersund: Andrea won victories in the sprint and pursuit, as well as in the relay race, and for some time led the overall standings.

Season 2008 -2009 turned out worse for Andrea than the previous one. The start of the season was not very successful, but it brightened up the bronze, which Andrea won in Hochfilzen. The beginning of the January stages was more than optimistic. In the first sprint race at Oberhof, Andrea immediately rose to 1st place, but then in four races in a row, Andrea was not even in the top ten.

The World Championship has started for the double Olympic champion not bad. She placed 6th in the sprint, which opened up good opportunities to attack in the pursuit to get a medal at the championship. But during training before the pursuit, Andrea had an accident: Andrea mistakenly left a cartridge in her rifle in the weapons room, where the biathletes are engaged in a single exercise, and accidentally fired. The shot hit the wall and hit no one. After such a gross violation of safety regulations, the judges decided to punish the German biathlete and removed her from the pursuit. In the remaining races, Andrea did not take a personal medal and after the championship was content with only silver in the relay and bronze in the mixed relay.

The end of the season was good. Andrea rarely fell out of the top ten, in addition, she managed to take gold in the pursuit race, held in Trondheim and bronze in the mass start in Khanty-Mansiysk, losing to compatriot Simone Hauswald and Swede Helena Jonsson.

Season 2009 -2010 began for the German athlete is not very successful. She did not achieve personal podiums in the first three stages, but in January, after an unsuccessful sprint in Oberhof, where Andrea took a modest 38th position, she won the mass start, winning 23 seconds from Sweden's Jonsson. In Ruhpolding, Andrea hit the flowers, and in Antholz, the German woman is on the podium 3 times in a row: in the individual race, Andrea took 3rd place, in the sprint - 2, and in the pursuit race she was completely ahead of the rest.

The Olympics were unsuccessful for the two-time Olympic champion of Salt Lake. She failed to keep the form in which she was in Italy. She took only the bronze medal in the relay race with her.

The end of the season was successful, but she was not on the podium, but she often got into the top ten and eventually took 4th place in the overall standings.

Post-Olympic season 2010 -2011 was successful. At the beginning of the season, Andrea, as always, did not indulge in podiums, but starting with a mass start in Oberhof, the German took silver four times in a row. It only happened more successfully in the USA, in the town of Fort Kent. There, the titled German won the sprint pursuit, was second in the mass start and put on the yellow leader jersey, becoming the leader in the overall standings. But the leader was not for long. At the World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Andrea again missed the podium in individual races. Only once was fourth in the pursuit, starting from 20th position. After an unsuccessful championship, Andrea returned the yellow leader's jersey to the Finn.

Last World Cup of the season 2010 -2011 , which took place in the Norwegian Holmenkollen, was very optimistic. There, Andrea did a good job in pursuit, took bronze, losing only to Anastasia from Slovakia and Darya Domracheva from Belarus. In the overall standings, Andrea remained second. Only Kaisa has managed to surpass Andrea this season.

In the world of biathlon, there are rarely examples of such sports longevity as Henkel Andrea. Having made her debut for the German national team for the first time at the age of 17 in 1994, she continued her active sports career up until recently. The athlete has won an incredible number of awards at the world championships, the Olympics. Moreover, Andrea has always been characterized by a real character and the will to win no matter what. Numerous injuries also did not prevent her from reaching her full potential.

Skiing with my sister

Andrea Henkel was born in 1977 in the GDR, in the small town of Ilmenau. Biathlon became a part of her life largely thanks to older sister Manuel. She went in for sports in the ski and biathlon complex of Thuringia and brought her little sister there.

Just like Manuella, she first studied skiing. However, after the inclusion of women's biathlon in the Olympic program in 1988, Andrea Henkel switched to this more dynamic and spectacular view sports.

Not immediately, the girl managed to master a heavy rifle. At the children's championship of the country, Andrea Henkel was able to knock out only one target out of ten, but thanks to her excellent skiing, she was able to take the bronze award.

The rise of a young biathlete

In 1994, the athlete began performing at junior competitions. Andrea Henkel immediately began to shine on the track and in her first season she was able to enter the top five of the best at the end of the season. This made the coaches turn their attention to her, and they began to attract her to participate in the World Cup.

By the 1998-1999 season, Henkel was already firmly in the German national team. The first full season was just great for the young biathlete - a place in the top twenty at the end of the season.

She ran and shot well at her first world championship. In the next two seasons, the German biathlete Andrea Henkel continues to progress. She takes her first medal at the World Championships in 2000, becoming the second in the relay team. A year later in Slovenia, she repeats this achievement.

In the 2001-2002 season, numerous prizes in the World Cup competitions follow, and as a result - the 5th final place. At the same time, Andrea was ahead of all her teammates, becoming the best German athlete.

The first Olympic season was not easy for the girl. At the beginning of the biathlon year, she caught a bad cold and missed several starts. However, her will and perseverance did their job. Henkel managed to recover for the 2002 Olympics and performed well there, winning the individual race as well as the relay.

difficult period

Health problems can undermine the career of the most successful athlete. After the triumphant Olympics, Andrea Henkel has a black streak that lasts for three whole seasons. Her results are not impressive, in the final protocols of the World Cups, Henkel does not even get into the top ten.

The only glimmer of former glory is the World Championships in Hochfilzen, where she brilliantly held an individual race and became the first.

By 2005, the biathlete began to return to the previous level again. The peak of the form fell on the Turin Olympics. She took part in the relay race, taking silver with her teammates. In her signature individual race, Andrea Henkel had every chance to take gold, but she missed the last mark very disappointingly and fell a little short of the podium.

Return to the top

The 2006-2007 season turned out to be the most impressive in the athlete's career. It was then that she won the main award for any biathlete - the Big Crystal Globe for the final victory in the World Cup.

She began the biathlon year with a series of confident victories. Already after the 4th stage, she was ahead of her closest rival by 76 points. However, Andrea Henkel's health failed again. She became seriously ill and missed several starts. It was possible to return to service only for the World Championships, where she immediately took two gold medals.

Anna Olofson and Katya Vilhelm had already won more than 100 points in the overall standings. However, by some miracle, before the last stage, Henkel managed to close the gap from her rivals as much as possible. And successful results in the individual race and in the pursuit generally brought the athlete to the first place. Everything was decided by the last race.

However, the weather conditions in Khanty-Mansiysk are capable of mixing cards for any athlete. Already at the first shooting Andrea Henkel managed to miss five times and seemed to have already lost all chances for the Crystal Globe. However, once again the famous German tenacity played a role, and Andrea was able to close the hopeless gap. In addition to the main prize, she also received the Small Globe for the best results in personal disciplines.

Veteran of the German national team

Henkel Andrea did not slow down and continued to be in the top of the best biathletes for many more seasons. After the departure of Wilhelm at the end of the Vancouver Olympics, she became the most experienced member of the German team. Until the most recent years, she got into the top ten at the end of the World Cup season. For example, in the 2012-2013 season, she managed to become the third. The last full season 2013-2014 Henkel Andrea finished in 10th place.

In addition, she also scored a whole scattering of gold medals at the world championships, becoming an 8-time world champion at the end of her career. Even at the unsuccessful Sochi Olympics for the German team, she was the best among her own and fought with dignity to the last.

Andrea Henkel. Personal life

For several years, the famous athlete met with biathlete Tim Burke. To be closer to her loved one, she even trained in recent years with the American team he represented.

All this ended with a wedding in 2014.

Many biathlon fans have always been interested in what Andrea Henkel is doing now. At the end of her active career, she enrolled to become a personal fitness trainer. coaching activities today is the main goal of the athlete.