Mark Kirchner (born 4 April 1970) is a German former biathlete.
Life and career
Kirchner won gold in the 10 km sprint at the Albertville Olympics in 1992 and followed that up by taking silver in the 20 km individual and gold in the relay. An out-of-the-blue win by Eugeni Redkine of the Unified Team in the 20 km individual prevented him taking honours as the absolute champion of these Games.
In 1994 in Lillehammer, he was his country's flag bearer and was part of the gold-medal winning relay team. He was the youngest ever triple Olympic Champion in biathlon, at the age of just 23 years and 10 month.
Kirchner came second in the overall World Cup standings twice, behind Sergei Tchepikov of the USSR in the 1990–91 season and behind Mikael Löfgren of Sweden in 1992–93.
In addition Kirchner became World Champion multiple times.
He retired relatively early, at the age of 28, in 1998.
Subsequently, Kirchner was employed as an assistant to Frank Ullrich, the German biathlon male team head coach, with responsibilities including youth development. In April 2014, he was appointed as men's coach for the national team.
Biathlon results
All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.
Olympic Games
4 medals (3 gold, 1 silver)
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Relay |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 Albertville | Silver | Gold | Gold |
| 1994 Lillehammer | 7th | 12th | Gold |
World Championships
10 medals (7 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Team | Relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 Minsk | 13th | Gold | —N/a | Gold | Bronze |
| 1991 Lahti | Gold | Gold | —N/a | — | Gold |
| 1993 Borovets | 20th | Gold | —N/a | — | Bronze |
| 1995 Antholz-Anterselva | 15th | 52nd | —N/a | — | Gold |
| 1996 Ruhpolding | — | 36th | —N/a | 6th | — |
| 1997 Brezno-Osrblie | 43rd | 32nd | 14th | Silver | — |
- *During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
- **Pursuit was added as an event in 1997.
Individual victories
11 victories (6 In, 5 Sp)
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989–90 1 victory (1 Sp) |
10 March 1990 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 10 km sprint | Biathlon World Championships |
| 1990–91 4 victories (3 In, 1 Sp) |
31 January 1991 | Oberhof | 20 km individual | Biathlon World Cup |
| 19 February 1991 | Lahti | 10 km sprint | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 24 February 1991 | Lahti | 20 km individual | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 7 March 1991 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 20 km individual | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 1991–92 2 victories (1 In, 1 Sp) |
12 February 1992 | Albertville | 10 km sprint | Winter Olympic Games |
| 10 March 1992 | Skrautvål | 20 km individual | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 1992–93 3 victories (1 In, 2 Sp) |
19 December 1992 | Pokljuka | 10 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 13 February 1993 | Borovets | 10 km sprint | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 11 March 1993 | Östersund | 20 km individual | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 1996–97 1 victory (1 In) |
6 March 1997 | Nagano | 20 km individual | Biathlon World Cup |
- *Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.
