Dorothea Wierer ends her season on Sunday. © Pierre TEYSSOT / Pierre TEYSSOT

Big bang at the World Cup: Wierer declares end of season

Immediately after the women's relay on Saturday, Dorothea Wierer let the cat out of the bag: the Niederrasner woman will soon end her biathlon season early.

17. February 2024

From: dl

After the final World Cup mass start on Sunday, Wierer will not take part in any more competitions this winter. Italy's most successful biathlete of all time announced this via social media and on the FISI channels. “After the World Cup I will end my season early. It was a hard winter. But it’s not farewell,” Wierer wrote about her post.

The 33-year-old made it clear that the end of the season would not mean the end of her career. It is not yet clear whether Wierer will continue until the 2026 Olympic Games, where the biathlon competitions will take place in Antholz. “I will calmly think about what will happen after my break. There are days when I would like to quit and others when I want to get back into it,” explained Wierer.

Doro Wierer will end her season after the mass start on Sunday. Afterwards she wants to calmly think about what happens next. © Pierre TEYSSOT / Pierre TEYSSOT

The fact is: Wierer has had its most difficult winter in several years. She was repeatedly slowed down by health problems. Her best placement in an individual race was 10th place in the World Championship Sprint in Nove Mesto. Wierer only made it onto the podium twice this year in the mixed relays. After the World Cup, the stages in Oslo (Norway), Soldier Hollow (USA) and Canmore (Canada) are still on the program. These will take place without the two-time overall World Cup winner.

New project

Wierer also announced that she will report at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris as a special correspondent for the US media company Warner Bros. Discovery. The future will show exactly what her new task will look like there. “I’m starting a project that excites me because it’s outside of my normal winter context.”