German biathlon star Denise Herrmann-Wick will retire after this weekend’s finals in Oslo. The 34-year-old Denise Herrmann-Wick is a world and Olympic champion in biathlon and cross-country skiing.
“After 16 years in Nordic skiing and 7 years in biathlon, the time has come when I will open a new chapter in my life. I am looking forward to new adventures that life can offer me”, said the German biathlete.
Denise Herrmann-Wick won the Sochi 2014 Olympics gold medal in the cross-country skiing relay before moving on to a much more successful biathlon career. There, she has a gold in the 15km and a bronze in the relay at the Beijing 2022 Olympics, plus nine World Championships medals, including a sprint gold in 2019 and another gold from last month, again in the sprint. Her departure means that the German women’s team loses a player who can always be used for competitions.
The 34-year-old German biathlon star said the iconic Holmenkollen track, where she will compete in the sprint, pursuit and mass start from Friday to Sunday, was the perfect place for her last race. But also because this place is special for her, since it is where she entered her first world championship in 2011 as a competitor in cross-country skiing.
“It is here, in this special place, that my journey as a cross-country skier and biathlete must end. I go there with a little melancholy in my heart, of course. But above all, with full gratitude for the many beautiful and emotional moments that I was able to experience in both sports”, says the German biathlete.
Denise Herrmann-Wick is a German biathlete and former cross-country skier. She won gold at Beijing 2022 Olympics – Women’s individual, won gold at Biathlon World Championships 2019 – Women’s pursuit and won gold at Biathlon World Championships 2023 – Women’s sprint. Previously, she has competed in FIS Cross-Country World Cup since 2009. Denise Herrmann-Wick has won several medals at the World Cup events. In April 2016, she announced that she would switch to competing in biathlon for the following season, although in an interview in November of that year, she did not rule out competing in cross-country skiing in the future.
