The combined athlete Fabian Rießle ends his career in the middle of the season. He will contest his farewell race this weekend in Schonach, the place where it all began.
Fabian Rießle came full circle at the weekend: the 33-year-old ended his long career at the Nordic Combined World Cup in Schonach. It all started in Schonach in 2009.
“In January 2009 I ran my first World Cup race in Schonach. It is exactly there, at the home World Cup in Schonach, that I will be on the starting line for the last time on Sunday.”Rießle announced on Monday (January 22, 2024) on his Instagram channel.
Celebrated greatest successes with the team
Rießle, who competes for SZ Breitnau, was a guarantee of success in Nordic combined for many years. He celebrated his greatest successes in the team: In 2018, Rießle won gold at the Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, in 2015 and 2017 he became world champion in the team and in the team sprint in 2019. He crossed the finish line first nine times in the World Cup. In the overall World Cup ranking, Rießle made it onto the podium twice: in 2015/16 and 2017/18 he came third in the final standings.
“His career was marked by countless successes, impressive achievements and a tireless commitment to Nordic combined.”the German Ski Association honored its model athlete, who recently had to fight for a place on the World Cup team.
Finally only second choice
He left early last season. His performance on the hill was simply too poor. That’s why he missed the World Cup. Rießle was still motivated and wanted to attack again this season. In Lillehammer he was part of the World Cup team, but did not make it into the top 30 in both competitions and from then on had to compete in the second-class Continental Cup. Things went brilliantly there at the weekend in Klingenthal with two wins and a third place for the strong runner.