Henkel Andrea: biography, career, photo

The famous German biathlete Henkel Andrea was born on December 10, 1977 in the city of Ilmenau. Most likely, a huge impact on her future career in sports had several factors. Firstly, near the residence of Andrea was a ski and biathlon center. And secondly, it was the elder sister of Manuela - a famous German skier and Olympic gold medalist in the games in Salt Lake City - that led her to skiing. However, the women's biathlon was closer in spirit to Andrea and after including this sport in the Olympic program in 1988 she decided to switch completely to a combination of ski races and shooting.

The first steps in biathlon

At first, Andrea Henkel did not shine with success in biathlon, and victories were given to her hard. Participating in the sprint race at the children's championship of Germany, the athlete managed to knock out just one target out of 10. However, the high training in skiing and excellent speed allowed Andrea to finish in third position and win a bronze medal. In parallel, the young athlete was trained in the sports school of Oberhof in 1991-1996.

Debut in the World Cup

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

Triumph in Salt Lake City at the Olympics

On the eve of the 2002 Winter Olympics , which was to be held in the US, Andrea Henkel showed excellent results at the World Cup. However, because of the common cold, the girl had to miss several stages before the important event in Salt Lake City. But the German athlete showed perseverance on the way to achieving the goal and triumphantly performed at the Olympics. Speed Andrea Henkel did not leave a chance to her rivals. She was not equal in the individual race, where only one miss was allowed, and the gap from the nearest rival was about 8 seconds. She also helped the German national team to take the gold in the relay race. Thus, Andrea Henkel, whose photo you see in the article, has become a two-time Olympic champion.

After the Olympics-2002, the German athlete for three seasons had health problems, which adversely affected her individual results in competitions. The best form Andrea Henkel began to recruit only to the beginning of the next Olympic Games. However, in Turin, its results compared with the triumph of 2002 and a number did not stand. In the individual race, the German made 2 misses and was out of the podium, taking fourth position. A bright spot of participation in the Olympics was a silver medal won in the relay race.

Victory at the World Cup

After the Olympic Games, Andrea Henkel held a brilliant season. After the starting stages, she increased a big gap from the pursuers in the standings and, despite the break, connected with the disease, 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, in front of which the German athlete had 5 points of advantage over the second place. After five missed misses, Andrea almost lost all chances of a final victory. But thanks to her notorious perseverance and high speed, she managed to finish two points higher than her competitor for the right to own the World Cup. Thus, Andrea Henkel for the first time managed to conquer a large crystal globe.

The last Olympics for the German athlete in Vancouver was not entirely successful. Together with the team, she won only a bronze medal in the relay race. Career in biathlon as an athlete Andrea Henkel completed after the season 2013/2014. 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

On October 25, 2014, Andrea Henkel married the American biathlete Tim Burke. The ceremony took place in the Adirondack Mountains, which are located in the United States, and the honeymoon for the couple was held only in April 2015 in connection with Tim's sporting activities. Subsequently, the former German star in biathlon decided to move to her permanent residence with her husband in Lake Placid and began to draw up a green card. There were rumors that Andrea Henkel was pregnant. But they were not confirmed. She still has everything ahead of her. Let's wish good luck to this wonderful woman!