Stefan Hodde became Junior European Champion in sprint in Ridnaun in 1996 and won the silver medal behind Ronny Möller in the relay and in the individual . In the same year he was also able to become junior world champion in the individual competition in Kontiolahti , with the team he came third. He was then used in the World Cup and made his debut in the individual race in Pokljuka , he was 55. In the following sprint, he finished 38th, which was the best World Cup result of his career. He was used in a total of eight World Cup races, four times each in 1996 and 1998. Due to the strong competition in the German team, he started more often in the European Biathlon Cup . Here he had his strongest season in 1998/1999 , when he won the sprint in Jablonec and the relay race in Friedenweiler with Ulf Karkoschka , Michael Greis and René Gerth . At the European Championships in Izhevsk, Russia, in February 1999, he won again with the relay, this time in the line-up of Karkoschka, Greis, Hodde and Alexander Wolf . He also achieved second place twice in the sprint and in an individual, a pursuit race and a mass start race as well as three third places. Beat by his team-mate Ulf Karkoschka by just two points, he finished second in the overall standings of the European Cup with 351 points and secured victory in the sprint standings. In 1998 he was third in the general standings.
Germany
