“Ciao and bye”: Austrian biathlete Felix Leitner retires at 28

A surprise in Austria’s biathlon team: Felix Leitner has ended his career at just 28 years old.

Long regarded as Austria’s great hope, Leitner was a triple youth and junior world champion and the 2018 European champion, seen as a successor to stars like Dominik Landertinger and Christoph Sumann. But he has now said farewell to the biathlon circuit.

“Didn’t enjoy it anymore”

Leitner underwent a lumbar disc operation at the Innsbruck clinic three weeks ago, after a protrusion had already been diagnosed in June. He said the surgery was only the final trigger for his decision: “It simply wasn’t fun anymore—I’d also lost the joy.” He added that, after being removed from all ÖSV national teams in May, he faced little to almost no support. “After 2020/21 it went downhill.”

Despite that, Leitner, who first tried biathlon at age 11, said the start of his World Cup period was “extremely cool”: “Whether from the coaches or with Julian (Eberhard) or Dominik (Landertinger) — it was great.” But in the last three years, he felt they were no longer taken seriously, including on the much‑debated equipment question, and everything became a constant struggle.

Following the operation, a comeback towards the 2026 Olympic Games in Antholz — a goal he had hoped to chase — felt unrealistic: “It wouldn’t have worked out anymore; I wouldn’t have been fit enough for 100 percent performance. And I have no desire to start only to be gasping at the back.”

“Ciao und Baba”

“Ciao and bye,” Leitner began his Monday evening post on social media. “Many days became the best because I could experience and celebrate moments with my favorite people. Laughing, crying, marveling and enjoying — that’s how I experienced and loved the last 16 years in the wonderful biathlon routine and that’s how I’ll remember them. Thank you to those who supported me.”

What’s next? The Tyrolean says he will take his time to find a new field of work. One thing is certain for now: “It will have absolutely nothing to do with biathlon. Definitely not — at least for the time being.”