Star duo hang up the biathlon rifle

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One of the great figures in biathlon says “Ha det”, Norwegian for goodbye. Marte Olsbu Röiseland, who won 13 World Cup gold medals in her career and thus holds the record, gives up her biathlon rifle.

“It’s the right time,” the Norwegian said at a press conference in Oslo on Tuesday morning. The last matches will take place at Holmenkollen this week, but at the same time these are also the last matches for the 32-year-old. «Biathlon will always be in my heart. That’s why it’s something very special and comes with a lot of emotion to stand here today and say that the Kollen will be my last World Cup race.”

“Feels Very Good”

Röiseland, who also won three Olympic gold medals with her world titles, had been thinking about stopping all season and thought carefully about this step. You no longer have the motivation to “do whatever it takes to be the best”.

Last summer she really wanted to add another season. However, she missed the first half, first due to after-effects of her corona infection, then due to shingles. At the beginning of the year, she finally returned to the World Cup. “It was tough, but also valuable. I’m happy with everything I’ve done – and now it’s time.”

On the one hand she is of course sad that her glorious career is coming to an end after eleven years, on the other hand it also feels very good. «Life offers so much more than biathlon. And I’m so excited for the future.”

Biathlon greats tip their hats

Röiseland thanks all her companions on Instagram: “There are ups and downs in biathlon, but if I sum up my career, I have an incredible amount of beautiful memories and friendships for life.”

Numerous biathlon superstars speak out under their posts. “Legend” says about the two-time World Cup winner Dorothea Wierer (32, It), “All the best” wishes her compatriot Lisa Vittozzi (28). Germany’s Denise Herrmann-Wick congratulates Röiseland on an “incredible career” and feels honored to have run against her.

The figurehead of Germany also stops

Speaking of Herrmann-Wick: just a few hours after Röiseland, the 34-year-old also announced her resignation. She also takes the Holmenkollen competitions as an end point: “Oslo. Here I was allowed to experience my first world championship in 2011. Here in the cradle of skiing, the traditional Holmenkollen. Here, in this special place, my long journey as a biathlete and cross-country skier should now come to an end.”

In 2016, Herrmann-Wick switched from cross-country skiing to biathlon and also celebrated numerous successes in this sport. With a rifle on her back, she won Olympic gold in the individual and bronze in the relay in 2022. There are also nine World Cup medals, two of which are gold (pursuit in 2019 and sprint in 2023). In the 2019/20 season she also won the Sprint World Cup. (che)

Source : Blick