Miriam Neureuther
Miriam Neureuther (née Gössner; born 21 June 1990) is a former German biathlete and cross-country skier. She has won an Olympic silver medal in cross-country skiing and two biathlon world championship titles, all in team events. Noted for her fast skiing performances, she won two junior world championship titles in biathlon in 2008 and 2009. Gössner was called up for the Nordic World Ski Championships 2009, where she was part of Germany's cross-country team claiming silver in the 4 × 5 kilometre relay. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Gössner won a silver medal in cross-country skiing in the 4 × 5 kilometre relay. She returned to biathlon for the 2010–11 season, achieving three podium finishes in her first complete winter on the Biathlon World Cup tour. At the Biathlon World Championships 2011, Gössner won the gold medal in the women's relay. The following year she defended the world championship title with the German team in the 2012 women's relay. Gössner claimed her first individual World Cup win in December 2012. Personal life Miriam Gössner was born in the German alpine resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria. Her father is German and her mother Norwegian, born in Molde, Norway. Gössner grew up bilingually and is fluent in Norwegian. She originally hoped for a career in alpine skiing, but following an accident during slalom training, in which she lost several teeth and suffered a broken cheekbone, she instead started biathlon at the age of 14. Until 2011, she had been involved in a four-year relationship with German biathlete Simon Schempp. Since 2013 she has been in a relationship with German alpine skier Felix Neureuther: in October 2017 she gave birth to the couple's first child, a girl named Matilda. She married Felix Neureuther in December 2017. In February 2014 Gössner posed nude for, and appeared on the cover of, the German edition of Playboy. Career Early career After deciding to pursue a career in biathlon, Gössner joined the German Customs Administration in August 2006 to become a member in the government-supported Customs-Ski-Team (Zoll-Ski-Team). She officially holds the rank of Zollhauptwachtmeisterin (head customs officer), although she is a full-time professional athlete with no customs obligations. For several years Gössner trained alongside retired Olympic champion Magdalena Neuner in Mittenwald, one of Germany's biathlon bases. Her local coach is Bernhard Kröll. Gössner qualified for the 2008 Biathlon Junior/Youth World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany, where she won gold as part of the German relay team. One year later at the 2009 Biathlon Junior/Youth World Championships in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, Gössner won the pursuit title. She also won silver in the sprint, bronze in the relay, and came in fourth place in the individual. Early on, Gössner was noted for her fast skiing performances. She won the junior pursuit gold in spite of eight shooting errors and came in fourth in the individual with a total time penalty of six minutes. Because of her fast skiing times, Germany's cross-country coach, Jochen Behle, called her up as