Several cross-country skiers have used the post-season time for beach vacations, mountain tours, or parties. But the German Olympic Champion gathered family and friends at a hunting lodge in her home country and hosted a dream wedding. She will also compete with a new name next season.

You can start learning the name Katharina Hennig-Dotzler. The 28-year-old (formerly just Hennig) won Olympic gold in the team sprint together with Victoria Carl at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where they unexpectedly beat the favored Swedish team.

This past winter, Katharina Hennig was part of the relay team that won bronze at the World Championships in Trondheim. She comes from the former East Germany and competes for the club WSC Erzgebirge Oberwiesenthal.

On April 19, she married her long-time boyfriend Christian Dotzler, who is also a former cross-country skier, though not at the same elite level as his new wife. The couple invited about 75 guests to the Allgäu region in southern Germany, where they chose an old hunting lodge in Hindelang.

“It was very emotional and there were many tears. Luckily, we had great weather and everything turned out just as we had imagined – simply a dream day,” said the Olympic Champion Katharina Hennig-Dotzler in a statement.

These days, however, there’s minimal training going on. The couple almost immediately left for their honeymoon in the Maldives.

Several of the world’s top cross-country skiers sent congratulations on Instagram, including Swedish World Championship athletes Maja Dahlqvist and Ebba Andersson. Among the wedding guests was also German national biathlete Philipp Horn.

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