It’s over at the age of 29: Biathlete Havard Bogetveit has announced his retirement from the competitive circus. The Norwegian chose emotional words to say goodbye.
“It’s time to put skis and weapons on the shelf” – Havard Bogetveit recently surprised his fans on social media with this announcement.
The winter sports enthusiast, who was born in Oslo, never made it into the elite of ski hunters. Above all, his ultimately futile fight for a place in the top-class Norwegian national team took a toll on him mentally. Now he drew a line.
“Even though I had my best season and best performances ever, I decided enough was enough,” the 29-year-old wrote alongside a photo of himself.
According to Bogetveit, he “didn’t become the world’s best biathlete, but I dare say that I was the world’s best external national team.”
Havard Bogetveit “proudly” leaves the biathlon stage
Thanks to private sponsors, the ambitious Scandinavian managed to compete without much support from the association, but mostly in lower-class biathlon competitions.
After all: In the IBU Cup, the most important series behind the World Cup, he came in second in the overall ranking 2021/2022. However, there was still no place for Bogetveit in the national team.
“I’m proud that I made it, after all the challenges that came with it,” summed up the four-time bronze medalist at European Championships.
It is not known whether Bogetveit is aiming for a coaching career in the future or whether he will stay with biathlon in another form.