Tarjei Boe to follow in brother Johannes Thingnes Boe's footsteps by retiring ahead of Winter Olympics in Italy
By Jonny Bray
Updated 24/01/2025 at 22:21 GMT
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Tarjei Boe has announced that he will call time on his illustrious biathlon career at the end of the season less than a week after his brother Johannes Thingnes Boe revealed that he will retire when the current campaign concludes. Tarjei is the older of the pair of brothers and admitted that he realised it was time to call it a day earlier in the biathlon season.
Tarjei Boe of Norway celebrates during the medal ceremony after he announces his retirement from active sport after the end of the current season in the mixed zone with tears in his eyes after the Men 10 km Sprint at the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon Antholz on January 24, 2025 in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy. (Photo by Kevin Voigt/Getty Images)
Image credit: Getty Images
Six-time Winter Olympic medallist Tarjei Boe has announced that he will retire at the end of the season.
The news comes less than a week after his brother Johannes Thingnes Boe revealed that he will call time on his illustrious career at the end of the current campaign.
Johannes, 31, told Max in November that he hopes to beat his brother to the 2024/25 Biathlon World Cup crown, in order to keep the pair competing beyond the current season. But they have now both called time on their silverware-laden careers.
Tarjei is the older of the two brothers and made the announcement following victory in the men's 10km sprint at the Biathlon World Cup stage in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy.
Boe admitted that he had known that it was time to call it a day since the start of the season, but that he wanted to save the announcement for a special occasion.
"Actually it is my first win here in my career, that is a little special, but that is not why I was crying so much," he told Eurosport.
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Highlights: Jeanmonnot claims sprint victory in Antholz-Anterselva
Video credit: TNT Sports
"It is because this will be my last season, so then it was difficult to stop the tears. I wanted to wait for the right moment to tell it, and when I won here for the first time, with my wife here, she came yesterday, in one of the best places for biathlon, it felt like the right moment to say it.
"I felt it [was the right time], I was in doubt last season, I thought it was my last one but then I felt this feeling that I wanted to do a little more.
"I felt I had some more victories left that I wanted to show. But when the season started, I felt that this was the last training period in my life.
"Now I want to race, and it is really tough to prepare for the Olympics. It takes a lot of energy to do it, and I feel like this is the right time.
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"It is just not so easy to always have the right answers, but you just feel it. I wanted to tell it when I had a special day and this was a special day for me."
Two of Boe's Winter Olympic gold medals came in the 4Ă—7.5km relay at Vancouver 2010 and at Beijing 2022, with the third also coming in the Chinese capital in the mixed relay.
He also picked up silver medals in the 4Ă—7.5km relay at Pyeongchang 2018 and in the 12.5km pursuit in Beijing, with his only bronze coming in the 10km sprint that year.
The 36-year-old enjoyed a successful career alongside his brother, Johannes, with the 2011 Crystal Globe standing as a highlight - alongside the siblings sharing the podium at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games, Johannes taking gold while Tarjei claimed bronze in the men's 10km sprint.
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Highlights: Emotional Tarjei Boe stuns with Antholz-Anterselva victory before retiring
Video credit: TNT Sports
Tarjei said that his younger brother was eager to reveal his retirement plans as soon as possible, while he was happy to take his time with the announcement.
"I knew it was his plan to go to the Olympics for a long time but then suddenly he changed his mind. He wanted to say it as fast as possible, he wanted to say it to relieve some stress, and I was quite calm.
"I just wanted to wait for the right moment. After the race when I won I felt okay, now is the time. It is the perfect day to say."
On his brother's announcement, Johannes told Olympics.com: "I retired last weekend and after his victory today, he is also retiring. So that's the biggest news of the day and he is a legend.
"All champions and everyone in the sport have someone they looked up to when they were young. For me and many others, it's been Tarjei.
"He's been a great role model for all biathletes and sportsmen all over the world, so now that he is retiring, we should all take off our hat and bow for him."
The pair's announcements mean they will not be competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Stream the 2024/25 Alpine skiing season live on Eurosport and discovery+.
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