A few years ago, without the German athlete, Ears Diesel did not pass any world biathlon competitions. For a decade and a half, she was constantly among the leaders in all disciplines in the individual standings and represented the German team in team competitions.
Who is Ears Diesel?
In the history of skiing Ursula (Ursula "Uschi" Disl) has entered with various titles. Her name takes pride of place in the list of the best German biathletes. She is also on the list of the ten most titled athletes in the world women's biathlon. Wushie Diesel made her first official start for the national team at the age of 19. She participated in five Olympics (from 1992 to 2006), and at all she went up to the podium.
Stably played for the national team at the stages of the World Cup from 1991 to 2005. She was a multiple winner, having in the arsenal medals of all virtues. It did not differ in stable shooting, but due to its high speed at a distance, it was constantly among the potential leaders and contenders for awards. She finished performing in the big biathlon in 2006, after winning the bronze medal in the mass start of the Olympic Games in Turin.
Biography Ears Diesel
An outstanding biathlete was born in 1970. It happened on November 15 in Germany, in Bavaria, in the city of Bad Tölz. Sport Ears Diesel engaged in childhood. She started skiing at age 11 under the influence of her father. He strongly supported his daughter. He himself was also a member of the local ski club and, noting the success of Ursula, offered to try his hand at biathlon. The sixteen-year-old girl liked the combination of cross-country skiing with target shooting.
Two years later, she achieved her first victories at the junior level (European Cup (1989), Alps Cup (1990)). Second place in the championship of Germany confirmed its inclusion in the national team. The following season, she already received her first award at the 1991 World Cup as part of a national team. Then there were 15 years of top-level performances.
After graduation, she received qualifications to work as a bank employee. Since 1990, included in the national police. In 1995, she passed the qualification exam and received the officer rank of captain. After finishing her sports career, she devoted herself to family life. Together with Thomas Soderbergh has two children.
Ursula tried herself as a sports expert and commentator on one of the German channels. After the performances, he leads an active lifestyle: riding bicycles, kayaking, playing billiards. Ursula had to face an excessive manifestation of attention to her person from her idols. Because of this, she repeatedly changed her place of residence. Now she has settled in Sweden, where she focused on family life.
Victory and Disappointment
What is the main achievement of Ursula Dizl? Ears is the only athlete who managed to participate in five Olympiads, and on each of them climb the podium (9 medals). During her career in the world biathlon, she received more than 100 awards, more than half of them - gold.
She has won prizes in all world biathlon disciplines (all individual races, team starts, relay races). Only Ole Bjoerndalen from the men's national team can boast of such an achievement. Ursula sought to take first place at least once in the season. She repeatedly led in the overall standings, went to the start in the “yellow” shirt, but unstable shooting became an obstacle in the final standings.
Only once in the 1992/93 season did she not enter the top ten. That year was difficult for her, and Ears even thought about ending her career. The fourth place in the relay for the whole season could be her last achievement. But she got together and excelled in subsequent starts.
Awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit (state award). Together with other great and famous German athletes, she participated on one of the national channels in the television show “The Eternal Hero”.
Nickname "Turbo"
Knowing the tendency of Ursula to lose concentration on the shooting range, Russian fans have repeatedly (jokingly) expressed the opinion that she is the fifth member of their team. For mistakes, Ears often had to “reel” penalty circles, giving hope and a chance to other teams. But she compensated for this with a sprint course over the course. For this, their fans called it Turbo-Disl. Ears Diesel, even having missed shooting, always sought to show maximum results.
However, this was not a blind pursuit of a goal. According to the coaches, she understood that she could jeopardize the overall team result. At the last Olympic Games, she even gave way to the young, refusing to participate in the relay, realizing that she can not guarantee stable shooting.
Leaving the big biathlon
Why did she finish Ursula Dizl’s sports career? Ears has repeatedly stated that she would like to leave with her head held high. Having set a record, taking the prize at the next (fifth in a row) Olympics, she considered that this was enough. Admitting that the reason was not so much age (at that time she was 35 years old), she said that she felt that she had ceased to receive returns from training, lost motivation, felt that she had exhausted herself in big sport.
Realizing that perhaps this was the last successful start, she announced her departure. After completing her career, she remained faithful to biathlon. She tried to follow everything that happened in sports circles, was an expert on the TV channel, commented on the stages of the world championships, but realized that this was not her path. Another reason for leaving sports was the desire to create a full-fledged family. She did not hide that she had long dreamed of a child, and decided not to delay with this.
A family
The year after the completion of the performances, Ears Diesel gave birth to her first child. Diesel and Thomas Soderberg on January 15, 2007, a girl appeared in the family. She was called Hannah. Three years later, her brother Tobias was born on August 12, 2010.
Ursula's lover, Thomas Soderbergh, at the time of his acquaintance, was a service man in the Norwegian national biathlon team. The couple is doing well. Ursula is grateful to Thomas for his patience and universal support at all stages of their relationship. Its most serious competition, Ears, Diesel called the moments of the birth of a daughter and a son. But she managed, the children are healthy, growing up in a caring family - and this is the most important thing.
