Germany's biathlon team's mainstay Johannes Kühn has decided to retire. The 33-year old achieved a medal at the World Championships in the German relay team in 2025.
German biathlete
Johannes Kühn is retiring. The 33-year old Kühn told that the decision to quit had come over him slowly over recent years.
- I was one of the senior athletes in the team, and I knew that sooner or later it would be time to think how much longer I want to go on for. At some point you've had enough. You just have to accept that, Kühn told the International Biathlon Union in an interview.
Kühn made his debut in the
Biathlon World Cup as early as 2012. His career highlights include winning a World Cup race at Hochfilzen in 2021 along with a World Championship bronze in the relay from 2025.
Kühn admits that his goal was to still make it to the 2026 Olympics, but that dream sadly never came into fruition.
- I was disappointed not to make the Olympic team, but it was already starting to seem likely during the season. I've been doing this for so long, that I didn't really have a huge goal to go for anymore.
When asked about the toughest times in his career, Kühn cites his two serious shoulder injuries and the 2022 Beijing Olympics, where coaching staff decided that he was not worthy of a spot in the German relay team.
- My world broke down completely then. In hindsight I can understand the decision, but at the time it felt soul-crushing.
Source:
IBU
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