Farewell to “trail turbo”: Julian Eberhard, once one of the fastest athletes in the Biathlon World Cup, has ended his career.
This was confirmed by the Austrian Ski Association (ÖSV) in a press release. “After long and careful consideration, I have decided to end my active career. I have been competing in the World Cup since 2006 and have lived for the sport of biathlon every day since then. Now I am looking forward to breaking new ground and developing myself professionally and having more time for my family,” said Eberhard, who has four individual World Cup victories and 13 podium finishes in his biathlon vita.
Eberhard added: “In addition to my first World Cup victory, the home World Championships in Hochfilzen with a dream backdrop and a much-acclaimed relay medal were particularly formative for me. It takes a lot of people to be able to shape a sporting career successfully, which is why I want to I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our companions.”
The 35-year-old also took part in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in 2018, but narrowly missed out on a medal. He finished fourth in both the individual and the relay. Eberhard missed the Winter Games in Beijing due to a serious fall at the start of the season in Östersund.
Several resignations from well-known biathlon stars
“Last season with the serious fall and the missed Olympic dream was disappointing for Julian. Of course we regret his resignation, because he has been one of the top performers of our team in recent years and, above all, because of his extraordinary running ability, has always been in the absolute world class mixed in. We wish Julian all the best for the future,” said Franz Berger, sporting director of biathlon at ÖSV.
Eberhard is not the first prominent protagonist in the biathlon scene not to compete in the World Cup in 2022/2023. Germany’s veteran Erik Lesser and three-time Olympic medalist Dominik Windisch from Italy also recently ended their careers.