“It doesn’t matter if others laugh at you for it”
German biathlon icon admits dropping out of school
November 25, 2025 – 11:43 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Magdalena Neuner is one of the best German winter sports athletes in history. She took a risky step for her career.
Twelve World Cup gold medals, two Olympic victories, three overall World Cup titles: Magdalena Neuner’s number of successes is impressive. She ended her career at the age of just 25.
In a letter to her younger self for “Deutsche Sporthilfe”, Neuner reminisced. “At 19 you will be a world champion and suddenly everything is moving faster than you can run. Your name will be in the media, people will follow you, interviews, photo shoots, sponsors – all at once. It will be exciting, it will be fun, but it will also exhaust you,” she wrote.
A few sentences later, Neuner made another confession: “At the age of 16, you will decide to drop out of school, not because you are a bad student. Quite the opposite. But you know what you want. You will become a professional athlete. It doesn’t matter if others laugh at you for it. You will have to fight to live your dreams.”
Thanks to the support of the “Deutsche Sporthilfe” the development of her career was possible. “Be prepared to make decisions that others don’t understand. You will be successful at 19, and at 25 you will make another bold decision when you decide to end your career. It will feel right because you are following your heart,” Neuner recalled. She has no regrets: “One day you will look back and understand that all these experiences have made you the person you want to be.”
From 2015 to 2021, Neuner also worked as a TV expert at ARD. She then retired to spend more time with her family.