Biathlon: Markus Winidsch quits

"Goodbye biathlon!

I decided to put my skis and rifle away and end my biathlon career. This decision has matured over the last few months and I have now finally made it.

After so many Years in which training, competitions and living out of a suitcase have dominated everyday life, everyday life is now being rearranged. The priorities have shifted and I am very happy to now have time for things that have often fallen by the wayside in favor of my sport in recent years.

In the last few weeks I have also been able to determine my career path. After very good discussions with my employer, the military sports group Esercito, we decided together that this year I will accompany both the Esercito juniors and the national junior team as an assistant coach.

First and foremost, however, I will now devote myself to completing my bachelor's degree in sports science at the Technical University of Munich. I will complete my bachelor's degree in the coming winter semester and then immediately follow up with my master's degree.

I am happy and full of motivation for a new chapter in my life. After many years as a biathlete, the book of sport has not closed, but I will now open a new page and look at the whole thing from a different perspective (sports scientist, trainer).

At this point it is now time to say THANK YOU, first and foremost to my friend Steffi and my family, who have supported me so much over the years, shared my joy and often suffered with me. I would also like to say thank you to the trainers and supervisors who have accompanied me on my long journey in top sport since I was a child. Willy Messner as my first trainer and later Andi Kuppelwieser and Armin Auchentaller have had a great influence on my career and I would like to thank you very much for this collaboration, which has brought me far.

The long-term support of my Antholzertal sports club, the Mals sports high school and later my employer Esercito made this path possible. I would also like to thank all of my sponsors and supporters. I would like to say thank you to the Südtiroler Sporthilfe for their years of support and to the Hotel San Salvardor in Rimini. I would especially like to thank the KIKU team, who have always supported me with a lot of heart and enthusiasm. What would a biathlete be without his equipment...thanks to my past and current outfitters for the good material. Thank you Rudl Bachmann (Bachmann Biathlon Stock) for your commitment and the many nerve-racking hours tinkering with my rifle stock.

Many thanks to my manager Roberto Giovannini, who took a lot of things off my plate and often had my back. A thank you also goes to the Technical University of Munich, who, in addition to my active biathlon career, made this very complex course of study possible for me and who have often accommodated me. I would also like to thank my fans for their support, for sharing the joy of success and for some encouraging words when things didn't go well.

Finally, I would like to say a special thank you to my fan club, who have supported me so well over the last few years, who have taken many long journeys to be able to experience the excitement live on site and who gave me such a warm farewell yesterday at our fan club meeting in Val Martello (see Photos).

The long list shows how many people make their contributions to such a sports career and accompany an athlete on this path. Thank you all!!!"

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Biathlon: Markus Winidsch quits

Markus Windisch has had enough. In a moving letter that he published on his Facebook profile, the 29-year-old Rasner explains the reasons that led to his resignation as an active member and explains what his future will hold. SportNews publishes Windisch's letter in its original form.

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