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Christoph Knie is only 25, but he can already look back on an exceptional career. The biathlete has garnered five gold medals at junior world championships and was even chosen junior athlete of the year. He is grown up now. Most recently Knie earned some heavy metal in September with a third place finish at the summer biathlon world championships in Oberhof, once again demonstrating his targeting capabilities.

Christoph Knie was not the only successful one. With 10 medals, Germany led the medal standings. What makes the German national team so unbeatable in this event? Maximum precision. In addition to stamina, cross-country skiing and shooting require maximum precision. This last requirement is where Carl Zeiss comes into the equation. The traditional company supports German biathletes with high-quality optics.

National team coaches Uwe Müssigang and Frank Ullrich use spotting scopes from Carl Zeiss to keep their eyes on their protégés. The powerful, high-resolution instruments enable a perfect view of the biathletes' targets – at 40x magnification. Müssigang and Ullrich can precisely observe how well their team shoots and then adjust the training following an evaluation of accuracy. For a short time now, they have been using the new PhotoScope from Carl Zeiss. It enables them to not only observe their charges with a crystal clear view, but also take pictures and record videos. Carl Zeiss is also a partner to the International Biathlon Union and will be watching when the World Cup moves to Oberhof on January 7, 2010.

December 29, 2009