“Emotions I will never forget”
Biathlete ends career
01/21/2025 – 1:06 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
The biathletes will next stop in Antholz. However, before the World Cup in Italy, an athlete announced the end of her career.
In Ruhpolding, Elisa Gasparin came fourth with the Swiss relay team. In the individual she finished 13th and only missed once. Before the next stop in Antholz (Italy), the 33-year-old biathlete announced the end of her career on Instagram.
She posted a photo showing her from behind, walking through a snowy winter landscape with her gear on her back. The narrow, partly snow-covered path leads through an idyllic mountain panorama, surrounded by snow-covered trees and a dramatic sky.
Gasparin begins with the words “bye biathlon” and then adds: “I will end my career at the end of the season. When I started, biathlon was still so small in Switzerland that not many people knew that this sport involved cross-country skiing and shooting and not running and cycling. And now we even have a home World Championships in Lenzerheide in February.”
She continued: “I am grateful for the many years I was able to experience in this incredible sport! So many emotions that I will never forget in my life. I am proud to have written a part of Swiss biathlon history. With the Home World Cup brings me full circle to say goodbye to biathlon. I am very excited about what the future holds and will remain a big biathlon fan forever.”
Under the post, triathlete Jan van Berkel wrote: “Our time in sport has shaped you into the person you are today – you can be really proud of what you have achieved! As someone who is in the same boat and the “I know the struggles that lie ahead, I also know the strength we both have to overcome them. I’m always up for a coffee after my career.”
Former German biathlete Franziska Hildebrand also wrote: “Enjoy the last races and the home World Championships. Everything that comes after biathlon is different, but at least as beautiful.”