Many athletes have the Olympics in Beijing as their primary career goal. Therese Johaug eventually won the Olympic gold she coveted, while Johann André Forfang never made it to the Olympics. Some athletes realized that the Olympic dream was shattered, and stopped mid-season.

biathlon

German Erik Lesser has been a hit both on and off the field. He won the penultimate race of the season, the start of the hunt at Holmenkollen, and has become a clear voice in biathlon. After 11 seasons at the World Cup, it’s over, one year before the World Cup at home to the Oberhof.

The American biathlon team is undergoing a real generational change. This year’s season is the last for Susan Dunklee, Claire Egan and Leif Nordgren. The former is by far the most deserved, with two World Cup silver medals on his CV.

When the next season starts, there are some very experienced athletes who won’t be on the starting line. Benjamin Weger (Switzerland), Selina Gasparin (Switzerland), Clement Bauer (Slovenia), Scott Gow (Canada), Anaïs Becond (France), Simon Desthieux (France) and Dominik Windisch (Italy) everyone has decided that enough is enough. The same has Elisabeth Hogberg (Sweden) and Maren Hammerschmidt (German)

Before the Paralympics in Beijing gave Nils Erik Ulset also informed that this season was his last. Since his debut at the Paralympics in Salt Lake City in 2002, there have been a total of 30 championship medals at the Paralympics and the World Cup at North Møre og Romsdal.

Ice skate

Swede Nils van der Poel took two Olympic gold medals and set a world record of 10,000 meters during the Olympics in Beijing. Then he resigned for the third time in his career. On his way out of the skating rink, he handed out a document he called the “10-kilometer walk”, a kind of recipe for a world record.

Dutch Sven Kramer and Irene Desert ended two remarkable careers with a total of ten gold, seven silver and six bronze medals from the Olympics. In addition, both have won double-digit medals in all-round WC and single-distance WC. Wüst ended Olympic gold in Beijing.

Sindre Henriksen never made it to the Olympics in 2022. He was part of the team that took Olympic gold in 2018, but when he was crushed for the first World Cup weekend in November, he withdrew immediately.

Alps

Kjetil Jansrud this year’s season was wasted with injuries, but in an almost miraculous way he made it to the Olympics in Beijing. There is no improvement in the sport for men with 27 World Cup wins and two Olympic gold medals. At Kvitfjell he has won seven World Cups, and his career ended in a downhill race there on 5 March.

Swiss Veterans Carlo Janka was at his best in 2009 and 2010, when he won the World Cup and Olympic gold in the giant slalom, and won the World Cup overall. In recent years he has struggled with injuries and this season there has only been one race. At his home in Wengen, he said goodbye to the alpine circus.

Manfred Mölgg sprayed with champagne after finishing his career at Flachau. The Italian has left his mark on the World Cup since 2006. He stands with three World Cup wins and three medals in the context of the World Cup and the Olympics. Countrywoman Francesca Marsaglia also put the skis on the shelf.

Cross country skiing

In Sapporo in 2007 tok Therese Johang his first World Cup medal with bronze at three miles. Together with Marit Bjørgen, he has dominated international cross-country skiing, and at the Olympics in Beijing, three individual Olympic gold medals topped his career with a gold touch. After this year’s season, Johaug won 82 World Cup wins.

Charlotte Kalla (34) had become one of Johaug’s biggest rivals. With three golds and six silvers at the Olympics, he is almost a medal guarantor for our neighbor to the east. In the last race he took bronze at three miles.

However, Kalla is not the only one from Sweden’s transnational community to give up. Cross country star Lina Korsgren and Britta Johansson Norgren thanked themselves after the Ylläs-Levi Classic Ski race.

Dario Cogna climbed to a 15-kilometer summit in three consecutive Olympics from 2010 to 2018. The Swiss won the World Cup four times and will be remembered as one of the greatest athletes in modern cross-country skiing.

Switzerland is facing a difficult generational change. veteran Jovian Hediger and silver medalist of the World Cup in team sprints, Laurie van der Graaffalso gave up after this year’s season.

Also some of the best French runners gave up. Among them Baptiste Gros, Adrian Backscheider and super veterans Jean-Marc Gaillard.

It’s been seven years since he last stepped on the podium at the World Cup, however Riitta-Liisa Roponen not officially posted until now. He is 44 years old, and retired after this season.

– I promised my daughter Ida (18) that I would compete in the Finnish championship if she wanted to go with me, the veteran told Yle.

Other

japanese jumper Daiki Ito delivered a brilliant season in 2012 with four World Cup wins. The 36-year-old has one bronze medal at the Olympics and five medals from the World Cup. Everyone in the team jumps.

He was joined by other “team jump specialists”, Richard Freitag. German veterans stand with Olympic silver medals for teams and World Cup gold for mixed teams and teams. He has won the World Cup race eight times between 2011 and 2017.

Country people Severin Freund won the World Cup overall in 2015, but did not recover from a serious ligament injury. He withdrew after the World Cup final in Planica in March and has a tally of 22 World Cup wins and 11 World Cup medals.

I combine not Japanese Hideaki Nagai or Luke Klapfer (Austria) when the next season begins. The former took bronze in team competition at the Olympics, while Klapfer stands with five bronze medals from the championship. Four of them were from the team competition, while the individual bronze was at normal hill in Pyeongchang.

In the United States have White Shaun roughly carrying winter sports on his shoulders. He has become an icon on the board, and in Beijing he was only a few points off a medal at his sixth Olympics.

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