Johannes Thingnes Bö has announced his retirement. © ANSA / Terje Bendiksby

The biathlon superstar announces his retirement

Five-time Olympic champion Johannes Thingnes Bö has announced his retirement: 2026 is the end of his career

20 November 2024

From: sn

The biathlon dominator of recent years, Johannes Thingnes Bö, has officially announced his retirement. After the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, the 31-year-old Norwegian will end his extraordinary career. In the podcast "Extrarunde" he explained: "I will not continue - whether I win five, six or seven globes or whether it is 85, 90 or 100 victories will not matter. The date is set."

With this clear statement, Bö makes it unmistakably clear that family and private priorities will take the place of competitive sport. "Biathlon takes up so much energy for me, my wife and my son."

Big goals before leaving

However, Bö still has big goals before the end of his career: With another World Championship title, he could call himself the sole record holder and surpass his compatriot Ole Einar Björndalen, with whom he currently shares 20 World Championship gold medals. He also has his sights set on the record for most individual World Cup victories: Björndalen holds this with 95 victories, Bö currently has 85. "That is every athlete's dream," says the Norwegian.

Even though a repeat of his outstanding 2022/23 season - with 19 World Cup victories - is unlikely, Bö is confident of closing the gap in the remaining years. "19 victories ... that was an outstanding year. You need a lot of luck to surpass that," he said self-critically, but not without ambition.