Frank-Peter Roetsch

Frank -Peter Roetsch ( born April 19, 1964 in Güstrow ) is a former German biathlete. He is one of the most successful athletes in the history of this sport.

Sports career

Frank -Peter Roetsch is the son of a miner. He attended Polytechnic High School and later, the Children's and Youth Sports School, from which he graduated with the Abitur 1970-1982. At first he was a Nordic Combined, this he followed his older brother Thomas, who brought it to the sport to the East German youth champion. Both ran for steel Altenberg. However, since he initially was not very strong and was not included in the KJS, he moved in 1978 to biathlon and SG Dynamo Cínovec, where his father worked at the time as head of the training center. Here, quickly established a success. 1979 and 1981 was Roetsch Spartakiadesieger, 1981 and 1982 World Junior Champion in the relay. Since 1982 he was employed by the People's Police and gained there until the turn of the rank of captain. He also joined the SED.

Roetschs debut in the senior men caused a stir. He made his first race in the Biathlon World Championships in 1983 and won behind Frank Ullrich the silver medal in singles. In the sprint, he missed a second medal in fourth place by just five seconds. The second medal he won with Ullrich, Mathias Jung and Matthias Jacob as the final runner in the relay behind the team from the Soviet Union. In the GDR championships Roetsch won the title in the sprint. This was the prelude for an outstanding career. In the 1983/84 season he not only won the overall World Cup, but also the silver medal in singles at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo. Another medal in the relay race missed Roetsch in fourth place in the sprint he came to seventh place. In 1985, he repeated the win the overall World Cup and has been in Individual, Sprint and with the relay GDR Champion. The Biathlon World Championships 1985 in Ruhpolding introduced with the victory in the sprint the first international title. In individual he won behind Yuri Kasch Karow well as silver with Jacob, Ralf Göthel and André Sehmisch in the relay competition. Frank -Peter Roetsch was the first biathlete who renounced at his skis to grip wax and the skating technique, apply an end. This enabled him to occupy the 4th place at the 1985 World Cup in Oberhof, at the sprint distance despite seven shooting errors.

Roetsch continued his career at the highest level, although the 1985/86 season not quite brought the successes of previous years. André won the overall World Cup Sehmisch, Roetsch was not among the top three places. The Biathlon World Championships 1986 in Oslo brought 23 medals in the sprint with neither rank nor in eight individual with space. This he won with Jürgen Wirth, Sehmisch and Jacob in the relay competition with a silver medal behind the team of the USSR. Back to winning ways came Roetsch 1987. He won for the third and last time the overall World Cup standings. At the World Championships in Lake Placid, he won all three possible titles. At the national level, he won the title in singles and Sprint. In 1987 he started a sports studies at the German College for Physical Culture Branch Office Dresden. The following season brought the greatest success Roetschs. In Calgary, where he standard bearer of the East German delegation was at the opening of the Winter Olympics, he won both the singles title as well in the sprint. He became the first biathlete who managed to win two individual titles. The season, however, he reached a disappointing result as a Fifth -placed.

In 1989, Roetsch part for the fifth time in a World Cup. With places in the sprint five and eight in the individual he reached again very good results. In the season he won with Frank Luck, Sehmisch and Birk Unlike his last international title. The turnaround time brought some changes for Roetsch with it. He finished his university studies in sport without qualifications and began at the beginning of 1991 to work as a sales representative of an office supply company in Ansbach. In Lahti, he ran his last World Cup in 1991 and reached the finishing seventh in singles and four with the team again very good results. His third and final 1992 Winter Olympics were also Roetschs last major event. In single it reached only a disappointing 53rd rank in the sprint he was ninth in his class again. After the season, he ended his international career.

Roetsch is married and has two sons. He currently resides in Dresden and worked as a freelance sales representatives in the field of sports marketing. At times he worked as a co-commentator for Euro Sport.

Awards

Biathlon World Cup rankings

The table shows all placements (depending on the year, including hosting the Olympic Games and World Championships ).