Michael Greis

Michael Greis was a German biathlete who participated in three consecutive Winter Olympics from 2002 at Salt Lake City to 2010 at Vancouver. At the 2006 Torino Olympics he won three gold medals in the 15 km mass start and 20 km individual, as well as with the German relay team. He did not medal, however, in 2002 and 2010. Greis also won three gold medals at World Championships and added three silvers and six bronze medals between 2004-12.

In the World Cup, Greis won 21 races, among them ten with the German relay squad. He won the overall and sprint titles in 2007 and was the individual winner three times in 2005-06, 2009. He also enjoyed 20 second and 23 third places.

Greis was awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award. He was also elected Sportsman of the Year in Germany in 2006 and was awarded the respected Holmenkollmedaljen in 2011. In 2006, he finished third in the European Sportsman of the Year Award. Greis later turned to coaching and worked with the Swiss youth national team from 2016-18, with the US men’s national team as chief coach in 2018, and then with the Polish women’s national team since 2019. He also occasionally commented biathlon events for TV channel Eurosport.