Vanessa Hinz competed for the last time in her career on the IBU Cup women sprint of Obertilliach. The German came to the decision to put an end to her career following a troubled season, in which she was nonetheless capable of winning a medal at the IBU Open European Championships in Lenzerheide.

“I decided this would be my last season already in Autumn. Last week, I understood this would be the place, because Obertilliach is a very special place for me: I did my first training camp here with my ski club when I was 10, then my first biathlon competition… I am very happy I could end my career here”, she said after the race.

The 30-year-old leaves biathlon strong of numerous successes, including three relay gold medals at the IBU World Championships, a silver medal won in the Women Individual of Antholz 2020 and finally the Olympic medal that was missing in her resumé as she helped the German women relay to a third place in Beijing.

“Biathlon gave me all: all the emotions, all the up and downs… I feel so happy it gave me this life, I would never miss any second of this life and I wish for all the young athletes to experience the same”, she explained with the smile that has always been with her over the years.

We wish Vanessa a bright future wherever her next steps will lead her to, with the hope to see her soon around some biathlon events.

Photo from IBU Archive