Biathlon: Record world champion Bö ends his career after this winter

Biathlon superstar Johannes Thingnes Bö surprisingly ends his career after this winter. The 31-year-old record world champion, who actually only wanted to retire after the 2026 Winter Olympics, announced the imminent end of his career at the World Cup in Ruhpolding.

Bö read his resignation text from his cell phone and barely managed to get one sentence out before he burst into tears on the podium and was unable to continue for a moment. “That’s really hard,” said Bö and wiped his wet eyes dry again. He was repeatedly overwhelmed by his tears.

The press conference was invited less than two hours before the appointment at 12 p.m. Hardly anyone had expected this decision by the best ski hunter in the world. A day earlier he had finished fourth in the Norwegian relay team at the World Cup in Chiemgau.

The five-time overall World Cup winner will complete his last races in March at his home race at Holmenkollen in Oslo. He “feels like the time has come to prioritize family,” the father of two wrote on Instagram.

Olympic preparation demands even more

“In the last six seasons I have juggled top-class sport and family life. It was fantastic, but also very challenging,” explained Bö. “I had originally planned to continue for another year, but preparing for the Olympics demands even more from me and those around me.”

Bö made his World Cup debut in 2013. During his career he won five Olympic victories and 20 World Championship gold medals. Only compatriot Ole Einar Björndalen can keep up with the exceptional talent from Stryn for the World Cup titles. He has also achieved 79 World Cup victories and a total of 88 career victories. Only Björndalen is ahead of him in this statistic with a total of 95 successes. In 2023, Bö became the first male biathlete to win seven medals at a world championship in Oberhof, five of which were gold.