Denise Herrmann-Wick, just like Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, has announced her retirement after the end of the season and will participate in her final World Cup stage this weekend in Oslo-Holmenkollen.

Herrmann-Wick’s successful six-year career in the Cross-country World Cup circuit included six individual podiums and an Olympic Bronze medal in the 2014 Women’s 4 X 5 km relay before announcing her move to biathlon in 2016. Despite her inexperience and limited shooting skills, Herrmann kicked off her biathlon career winning the 2016 Beitostølen IBU Cup sprint, then added a third place in her second competition, and immediately was promoted to the BMW IBU World Cup circuit for much of her first season.

Steady improvement was a hallmark of Herrmann’s biathlon career. The rising German star gained her first two World Cup victories with a sprint/pursuit double in the 2017/18 season-opening Oestersund World Cup.

Those two wins started her rise from novice to a force in biathlon; deadly ski speed and improved shooting keyed her success. After the World Cup wins and more podiums, Herrmann-Wick won her first IBU World Championship title, once again, in Oestersund taking the 2019 IBU WCH Pursuit Gold medal as well as Bronze in the mass start.

More individual victories and fifteen relay and mixed relay podiums followed the next two seasons before the 2021/22 Olympic year. Herrmann-Wick struggled early in the Olympic season with just a single podium, again at one of her favourite venues, Oestersund. Yet her season and biathlon career reversed with the Beijing Women’s 15 km Individual where the German surprised almost everyone with a single penalty that brought her the Gold medal. That day she said, “It was a dream but I never thought it would be enough for Gold in the individual. It is a special race, the traditional biathlon race. I focused on myself all the time during the race… I held a bit of energy… Gold at the end is super amazing!”

Herrmann-Wick stayed on the World Cup tour for another season in 2022/2023, focusing on her home World Championships in Oberhof where she rose to the challenge once again. The German added Sprint Gold, Pursuit Silver and Women Relay Silver to her hugely successful resume and celebrated a further two individual victories in the Hochfilzen Sprint and Antholz Pursuit - the last chapter of Herrmann-Wick's stunning career will be written this weekend in Oslo-Holmenkollen where she is currently leading the sprint globe, hoping to go out on yet another high.

Photo: Manzoni/IBU