Biathlon: Christoph Sumann at the helm of Austrian biathlon
A few days after the announcement of the departure of Franz Berger, Austrian biathlon’s sporting director since 2019, we now know the name of his successor. On Wednesday, theAustrian Ski Association announced that former biathlete Christoph Sumann had been appointed.
He is one of the most successful Austrian biathletes of all time, having won a total of four world championship medals and as many Olympic medals during his career. What’s more, the Styrian placed second in the overall World Cup standings in the 2009/2010 season.
“Christoph Sumann, who retired from active sport at the end of the 2013/2014 winter season, recently worked for ORF as a consultant for a number of years, and in his new role he aims to put local biathlon back on the road to success in the coming years, particularly with a view to the 2028 World Championships in Hochfilzen,” he said.
“With Christoph Sumann, we have been able to take on a former world-class athlete and an absolute biathlon expert as our new sports director, and I am very much looking forward to our joint collaboration. His experience and in-depth knowledge of national and international biathlon are indisputable, and I’m confident that under his leadership our team will once again rank among the top nations in both the men’s and women’s events,” says Mario Stecher, Director of Sport at ÖSV.
Christoph Sumann ‘s first task will be to appoint the men’s head coach following the retirement of Norwegian Vegard Bitnes.
