Ex-biathlete Simon Hallenbarter dies at the age of 43

Simon Hallenbarter was a person and an athlete that journalists enjoyed talking to, even without an urgent professional reason. Be it about biathlon, be it about something completely different. He was also relaxed and sociable at the races, you could even arrange to meet him the day before for coffee and a long chat. He always appreciated that people were interested in him and his sport.

First he was a cross-country skier

Simon Hallenbarter was well known in the scene and in Upper Valais, but he never belonged to the Swiss sports celebrities. His results were too unspectacular, and for a long time biathlon received little attention in this country. The fact that the surname was familiar to many people interested in sports was due to Koni Hallenbarter, the uncle and former cross-country skier, who in 1983 was the only Swiss to date to have won the legendary Vasa Run. «It was Koni who brought me to cross-country skiing. Since then he has been providing me with valuable tips,” said Simon Hallenbarter in 2006, at his first Winter Olympics.

As a young cross-country skier, Simon Hallenbarter got stuck at some point. He was often ill, lost his place in the junior national team and later his motivation. In 2002 he switched to biathlon, it was the normal career path for Swiss biathletes at the time. At that time you still had your own association, Biathlon Suisse, but it was broke. The athletes had to pay for training camps themselves. “We really weren’t on a bed of roses, but that strengthened our team spirit,” recalls Matthias Simmen, Simon Hallenbarter’s long-standing team leader and companion. And he also remembers one or two nightly excursions together, which may not have been so good for the body, but all the better for the head.

From the World Cup to the sports shop

Simmen says for a while he shared a room with Hallenbarter more often than he shared a bed with his partner. When Hallenbarter resigned in 2014, the Obergoms ski club organized a farewell party. Simmen appeared as a eulogist and once again mentioned a few key figures: three Olympic appearances, eight participations in the World Championships, ten rankings among the top ten in the World Cup.

After his sports career, the trained plumber joined Koni Hallenbarter’s cross-country skiing and sports shop in Obergesteln, which he soon took over.

Now Simon Hallenbarter is dead. He was on vacation with his partner in Austria when he took his own life. Very few had known that he was no longer mentally healthy. Simon Hallenbarter was only 43 years old.