Simon Schempp: What the ex-biathlete does today

It was close, so damn close. The closest decision so far of these 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, it fell in the men's biathlon mass start. And yes, in fact, one must speak of it falling in the fall. Because in the end, both Simon Schempp and Martin Fourcade tumbled to the ground. It was 14 centimetres that decided gold and silver after 15 kilometres. Or 18 thousandths of a second. The photo finish had to decide: Only one foot tip separated Simon Schempp from the gold medal. Fourcade secured his second gold medal in Pyeongchang (his fourth in total), Schempp with silver his first Olympic medal.

"When I crossed the line I wasn't really sure who was first because I noticed that it was very close. Nevertheless I'm super happy, finally it was enough here", Schempp said and said: "Another five metres I might have caught him."

After the Olympic silver medal in 2018, little went together in the Biathlon World Cup for Simon Schempp: In 2018/19 he was only 44th in the overall standings, in 2019/2020 he ended up in 41st place. In January 2021 he then announced his career end at the age of 32.

Schempp did not want to rule out a coaching job in the biathlon after that. But for the time being, the customs officer switched from the track to the lecture hall: Schempp first wants to study industrial engineering in Rosenheim.

Successes:

At World Championships Schempp has won four titles (three of them in the team), he is also European Champion and German Champion (of course also in 2017).Schempp's track record also includes 18 World Cup victories (12 individual, 6 team).

At the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, he won his first individual silver medal in the mass start. With the relay team he won silver in Sochi in 2014 and bronze in 2018.

Social:

Instagram: over 65,000 subscribers

Facebook: over 89,000 fans

Schempp is also popular in the women's biathlon world. Between 2008 and 2011 he was in a relationship with colleague Miriam Gössner, who is now linked to alpine star Felix Neureuther and has just become a mother. Since the winter of 2015/16, he has been in a relationship with his former biathlon teammate Franziska Preuß.

On Instagram, however, Schempp leaves his private life out for the most part. His posts are almost exclusively about sports, for example with impressions from training sessions, or serve as an advertising platform for Schempp's numerous sponsors.

Former outfitters/sponsors:

Outfitters Rossignol, Adidas, Erdinger Alkoholfrei, Swix and Aktiv 3 are among his partners. Audi provided him with a racy vehicle for the Olympic season.