Dorothea Wierer wearing a protective mask at the media round table that was called at short notice. © Pierre Teyssot

End of career? Wierer causes a big stir at the World Cup

Dorothea Wierer unexpectedly called a press conference at the Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide on Wednesday afternoon. Hours of great excitement followed in the otherwise tranquil Swiss World Championship venue.

19. February 2025

From Lenzerheide

"I hadn't expected this media hype myself," marveled the grande dame of biathlon. She had arranged a press conference at short notice through Italy's winter sports association. Media houses around the world ordered their correspondents and TV teams from their hotels to the press center as quickly as possible. But the effort was not worth it for her.

Wierer initially made us wait a good half an hour, then she entered the huge media hall with a startled look on her face. Photographers, TV cameras and reporters were already piling up in front of the advertising screen. The otherwise eloquent Wierer was speechless. Stuttering a little but smiling, she clarified: "Thank you all for coming. But this is not the end of my career. I'm quitting in 2026, I've already said that. Please give me another twelve months." The many media people slowly left again.

"Please give me another twelve months" Dorothea Wierer

The message on this day was to be a completely different one: Dorothea Wierer's World Championships are now beginning! She had completely withdrawn at the end of last week, cancelling races and training. After disappointments in the mixed relay (7th) and the sprint (21st), the first thing to do was to recover from her bad cold. Wierer had repeatedly had breathing problems in the days before in the 1400-metre-high Roland Arena.

Comeback with Giacomel

The symptoms of the illness have now subsided. "Yes, I'm feeling better," said Wierer immediately after returning to training. She will be chasing medals in the single mixed relay on Thursday (16.05:XNUMX p.m.) together with Tommaso Giacomel. "It's a race that will probably be decided at the shooting range, which is to my advantage. You can't expect much from me on the cross-country course," said the four-time world champion.

After the excitement around her had died down, Wierer took a lot of time in the circuit of the World Cup arena to talk to SportNewsShe said, still coughing a little, that her only goal at this World Cup was to get healthy again. In any case, she no longer wanted to watch the races from the sofa and "kill time watching Netflix".

Here in the video you can see the full interview with Dorothea Wierer, in which she also talks about the unexpected media hype:

The rest of the World Cup program:

Wednesday
15.05 p.m.: Men's singles

Thursday
16.05 p.m.: Single mixed relay

Saturday
12.05:XNUMX pm: Women's relay
15.05:XNUMX pm: Men's relay

Sunday
13.45:XNUMX p.m.: Women's mass start
16.05:XNUMX: Men's mass start