Sophia Schneider - Biathlon
- Successes
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Silver and Bronze medal at World Championships
Vice European champion
2-time German champion
- Birthday
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9/12/1997
- Profession
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Customs guard
- Club
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SV Oberteisendorf e.V.
- Hobbies
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Tennis, ski touring
- Role model
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Therese Johaug, Laura Dahlmeier
- What's important to me
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Passing on my sports experience to young athletes.
Loyalty and close cooperation during ups AND downs!
Career
At the age of five, Sophia starts cross-country skiing training at the Vachendorf Ski Club. Seven years later she moves to biathlon. In 2013, she qualifies for the DSV squad for the first time and for participation in the German Cup and the German Youth Cup. The following year, Sophia takes part in an international competition for the first time. After graduating from high school in 2016, she joins Zoll Ski Sport to take additional steps towards professional sports. In the 2020/21 season Sophia will compete in the World Cup for the first time. The highlight of her career to date came in the 2022/23 season: she won the silver medal with the relay team in her World Championship debut. She almost repeated this success the following year: together with her relay teammates, Sophia won bronze at the World Championships in Nove Mesto.
First successes in the IBU Junior Cup
Sophia clinches two podium finishes in the IBU Junior Cup this season.
German junior champion, silver at the Junior World Championships
Sophia wins gold with the German junior women’s relay team at the German Championships in Oberhof. Sophia’s relay team is also successful at the 2017 Junior World Championships in Osrblie, where they secure the silver medal.
Unwavering success
This season, Sophia wins an IBU Junior Cup race for the first time: the sprint at the opening in Obertilliach. She also claims victory in the sprint race in Nové Město during the season.
Final Junior World Championship
Though she is not selected for the IBU Junior Cup this season, Sophia still manages to achieve good results in the German Cup, allowing her to qualify for her final Junior World Championships. However, she does not win any medals. She only just misses a podium finish in the final race of her junior career at the Junior European Championships.
International debut
Sophia makes her international debut at the senior level at the IBU Cup in Osrblie in January 2020, taking 71st place in sprint. One month later, she’s given another chance to compete in the IBU Cup and takes fourth place in sprint in Martell.
First World Cup appearance!
After Sophia secured the silver medal in the sprint at the German Championships in Altenberg in September, she can celebrate her first World Cup appearance at the start of the 2020/21 season in Kontiolahti, Finland. In total, she will compete in three World Cup races this season. In January 2021, an injury unfortunately set her back again and she had to end the season prematurely.
Comeback in the IBU Cup and once again an appearance in the World Cup team
After her injury last year, Sophia makes her comeback in the IBU Cup and shows solid performances there. At the World Cup stop in Antholz, Italy, she is able to compete on the big stage again. At the European Championships on the Arber, Sophia wins the silver medal in the mixed relay and starts the rest of the season again in the IBU Cup.
World Cup debut with silver medal
This season, Sophia is part of the World Cup team right from the start and achieves top placings in individual races. She qualifies for her first World Championships at home in Oberhof. After finishing on the podium with the relay team in the World Cup, Sophia impresses at the World Championships with great performances in the individual races and is crowned with a silver medal in the relay.
“It was a rollercoaster ride, but it was worth it with the World Championship medal.”
Despite mixed results in the World Cup, Sophia qualified for her second World Championships in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic. She falls short of her potential in the sprint and pursuit, has little hope of competing in the relay race and actually wants to leave already. However, her nomination at short notice turned out to be an absolute stroke of luck: She ran an outstanding race as the final skier and sensationally took bronze. With Sophia's second World Championship medal, the 2023/24 season came to a very pleasing end after all.
