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Benjamin Weger (German: Benjamin Weger; born October 5, 1989 in Geschenen, Valais, Switzerland) is a Swiss biathlete.
General information
Benjamin speaks French, German, English and Italian. Among the non-biathlon hobbies of the Swiss are skiing, rock climbing, hiking, fishing and cycling.
Sports career
Weger started biathlon in 2006. In the same year, he holds his first starts at the international level — in the Junior European Cup.
In 2007, the Swiss will make his debut at the Junior World Championship. Over the next three years, he takes part in ten races at this level (including one relay), finishes several times among the ten strongest biathletes and rises to the podium once: in the sprint at the 2009 World Championships. A little earlier, Benjamin finished on the podium at the Junior European Championships, taking third place in the sprint in Nowe Mesto na Morava in 2008.
Seeing the success of the young biathlete, the coaching staff of the Swiss national team gives him the opportunity to make his debut in the World Cup, putting him up for several races at the German stages of the 2008/09 season (including twice for relay races). The only individual race did not go well and Weger was sent back to less significant competitions. A year later, the Swiss returns to the national team, this time showing more stable results and earning the opportunity to participate in the Olympics in a few starts. During this stretch of the season, Benjamin finishes in the Top20 several times.
In the 2010/11 season, Weger is anchored in the national team, regularly participating in both personal and relay races. At the end of December, Benjamin will finish on the podium for the first time in the World Cup, taking second place in the individual race at the stage in Pokljuka. Regularly finishing in the scoring group, the Swiss finishes the season in the Top40 of the absolute standings and first among the Swiss.
A year later, the results continue to grow qualitatively — finishes in the Top10 are becoming more frequent, Benjamin is increasingly fighting for positions on the podium. At the World Championships, Weger falls unsuccessfully during the mass start, which is why he is forced to end the season ahead of schedule. Even after missing the final stage of the season in Khanty-Mansiysk, he takes 18th place in the overall standings and 7th in the pursuit races.
On January 17, 2021 in the Oberhof stage, Germany took 3rd place in the mass start.
