The biathlon winter is over, and as every year there are numerous resignations immediately afterwards. On Wednesday the next ski hunter announced the end of her career.
The Slovenian Kaja Maric quit biathlon at just 22 years old. “It’s time to say goodbye,” wrote the ski hunter in a corresponding Instagram post.
She was “infinitely grateful for everything this sport has given me and for everyone who has supported me on my path. Off to new shores,” Maric continued.
Wave of retirements in biathlon continues
In her biathlon career, the Slovenian was mainly used in the Junior Cup and the IBU Cup. The 22-year-old competed in her only World Cup race in Ruhpolding in 2022 when she was part of the relay.
Maric is the next biathlete to announce the end of her career.
The former overall World Cup winners Franziska Preuß and Dorothea Wierer had already retired at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
At the season finale in Oslo, Norway, prominent names such as Lisa Hauser, Simon Eder and Paulina Bátovská Fialková followed.
Biathlon talent ends at 23 years old
Another biathlon talent, Mathieu Garcia, announced his retirement on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Frenchman won gold in the single mixed relay at the 2020 Youth Olympic Games in Lausanne. At that time, Garcia started alongside Jeanne Richard, who then celebrated her breakthrough in the World Cup.
“I’m sure I did everything I could to be successful. It didn’t work, but the kid who came second to last in his first biathlon races would be very proud of the journey that brought me here. That’s enough for me to leave with a light heart,” the Frenchman wrote on Instagram.
