Numerous prominent names have already left the biathlon stage in recent weeks. The next one could soon follow with Lukas Hofer. The Italian now announced a timely decision – and didn’t sound particularly optimistic.
The 2022/23 season of bankruptcy, bad luck and breakdowns could have been Lukas Hofer’s last on the big biathlon stage. A stubborn tendon injury put the 33-year-old out of action for the entire year. He only started at the World Championships in Oberhof. His best result there: 28th place in the sprint.
In the meantime, the former two-time vice world champion is seriously considering putting his rifle in the corner once and for all, as he revealed in an interview with “Fondo Italia”.
“My passion will never let me down. Anyone who knows me knows I’ll be the last one to give up. But after the last year, I’ve realized that the decision to continue isn’t mine, it’s my hit my body,” said the Italian.
In order to continue his career, he must be “pain-free”, said Hofer, who has not been that once in the past few months. The 33-year-old announced that he would make a final decision about his further path in the biathlon world “in May or June at the latest”.
“If I see that everything is working, I’ll keep going. Otherwise I’ll find the end of my career earlier than I wanted,” explained Hofer that the thought of retiring has long been floating around in his head.
Hofer already expressed the first thoughts of resignation at the beginning of the year. At that time he reported, among other things, about a knee injury that he suffered in the summer. The tendon inflammation in the tibia then came on top of that. What exactly caused this is not known to this day. All attempts to intensify training during the season failed.
