Magdalena Neuner - in The Media

In The Media

Biathlon is the most popular winter sport in Germany. Each World Cup event is shown live on German television and the January World Cup races in Oberhof, Ruhpolding and Antholz are regularly seen by over five million viewers. Following her three world championship titles in 2007, Neuner quickly became one of Germany's most popular female sport stars, often nicknamed "Gold Lena" in the media. During her first two years in the spotlight she signed several endorsement deals and claimed numerous awards. Neuner's popularity grew further with her success during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Her second gold medal win in the Olympic mass start was seen live by 9.75 million television viewers (a 31.5 per cent market share), the most watched programme of the Games in Germany. Her withdrawal from the Olympic relay was one of the dominating stories of the Winter Olympics in Germany, leading to much media speculation whether pulling out had been entirely her decision. She later received the Fair Play medal of Germany's Olympic Society for setting an example of "team spirit".

Neuner won the Biathlon Award, chosen by the national coaches of the World Cup teams, for Female Athlete of the Year in both 2007 and 2008, and she was awarded the Goldener Ski (Golden Ski), the highest award of the German Ski Association in 2007, 2008 and 2010. The Forum Nordicum, a consortium of journalists form twelve countries, named her Biathlete of the Year in the 2007–08 and 2009–10 seasons, beating out her male counterparts Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Emil Hegle Svendsen respectively. Neuner was chosen as Germany's 2007 Sportswoman of the Year by the country's sports journalists. The following years, she came in third for the 2008 award and was voted in second place in 2010. Along with all Olympic medal winners, she received the Silberne Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf) in 2010, the highest state decoration for athletes in Germany. In 2011, readers of Germany's top selling newspaper Bild voted Neuner the seventh greatest German sportsperson of all time, and she was again named German Sportswoman of the Year. Nine months after her retirement, Neuner received Germany's Sportswoman of the Year award for a third time.

Neuner's interest in knitting has often been addressed by the German media and she maintains a knitting website, which includes detailed knitting instructions and a "knitting blog". She has stated that she usually takes knitting equipment on her travels during the season and that knitting is a way for her to relax. In 2007, Neuner declined an offer to appear nude in the German edition of Playboy. Outside of Germany, she is particularly popular in Russia, where she has a fan club and from where she has said to receive half of her fan mail. In 2010, Neuner appeared in an advertising campaign for a lingerie line. She explained she tried to use it in a deliberate attempt to correct her media image, after becoming irritated with her public persona of "little sweet Lena". She was an ambassador for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup in Germany. and a member of the board of trustees for Munich's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.