David Zobel Explained

David Zobel
Nationality:German
Birth Date:11 June 1996
Birth Place:Starnberg, Germany
Height:1.78 m
Weight:71 kg
Disciplines:Biathlon
Club:SC Partenkirchen
Wcdebut:2021
Wcseasons:4 (2020/21–)
Wcpodiums:1
Updated:3 February 2024

David Zobel (born 11 June 1996) is a German biathlete.[1] He made his Biathlon World Cup debut in 2021 in Östersund.[2]

Career

For most of the seasons from 2017 to 2021, Zobel ran in the IBU Cup, the 2nd highest competition series in international biathlon. He celebrated his first individual victory in March 2019 in Otepää in a sprint race, after previously failing to achieve a result among the top 60 at the European Championships in Minsk-Raubichi.[3] In February 2021, he was on the podium again in a German double victory behind Philipp Nawrath as 2nd in the sprint in Brezno-Orsblie. A month later he was nominated for the World Cup for the first time at the season finale in Östersund and won his first World Cup points in the pursuit by finishing 32nd.[4]

In 2021 Zobel was involved in the World Cup races in Ruhpolding and Antholz. The German national coach Mark Kirchner nominated him as a substitute for the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where he was not used. The German Ski Association assigned him back to the perspective squad in the eight-person course group 1a.[5]

In the winter of 2022–23, Zobel started consistently in the World Cup for the first time. At the season opener in Kontiolahti he remained clean in the 20-kilometer individual race and came 3rd behind Martin Ponsiluoma and Niklas Hartweg.[6] As the season progressed, Zobel reached the podium twice with the German relay team and ended the winter in 24th place in the overall World Cup rankings.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

World Cup

 Season [7] OverallIndividualSprintPursuitMass start
RacesPointsPositionPointsPositionPointsPositionPointsPositionPointsPosition
2020–212/23 9 87th 9 68th
2021–229/22 171 33rd 10 49th 56 43th 71 32nd 34 29th
2022–2320/21 336 24th 78 11th 77 29th 95 25th 86 17th
2023–248/21 126 33rd 28 40th 62 26th 36 19th

Relay podiums

No.[8] SeasonDateLocationRaceLevelPlacementTeammate
12021–2223 January 2022 AntholzRelayBiathlon World Cupalign=center bgcolor=#c96;3rdKühn / Doll / Rees
22022–2313 January 2023 Ruhpoldingalign=center bgcolor=silver2ndKühn / Doll / Rees
322 January 2023 Antholzalign=center bgcolor=#c96;3rd Kühn / Doll / Rees
42023–2430 November 2023 Östersundalign=center bgcolor=#c96;3rdNawrath / Doll / Kühn
510 December 2023 Hochfilzenalign=center bgcolor=#c96;3rdKühn / Nawrath / Doll

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Zobel David - Biathlon. www.biathlonworld.com.
  2. Web site: David Zobel – real biathlon. www.realbiathlon.com.
  3. Web site: David Zobel im Interview. www.youtube.com.
  4. Web site: Deutschlands neue Biathlon-Hoffnung Zobel vom SC Garmisch: "Hilft auch mal, auf die Schnauze zu fallen". www.merkur.de.
  5. Web site: Porträt von David Zobel. www.dsv-jahrbuch.de.
  6. Web site: BIATHLET ZOBEL WIRD DRITTER:"Es fühlt sich richtig, richtig gut an". www.faz.net.
  7. Web site: David Zobel – Cups. realbiathlon.com.
  8. Web site: David Zobel – Relay. realbiathlon.com.