Simon Eder: Last Olympic season before the end of the career in view!

Simon Eder: Last Olympic season before the end of the career in view!

Simon Eder, the 42-year-old biathlete from Austria, announced the start of his farewell tour. He prepares for the last season of his career and is planning his fifth Winter Olympics in 2026 in Antholz. In doing so, he reflects the ups and downs of his sporting career and has the goal of showing what he is made of before the end of his career. Eder describes the Olympic Games as its big goal because the proximity to Antholz offers additional motivation for him.

Eder, who is also considered the "Grand Old Man" of the biathlon, celebrated impressive success in the course of his career. With a hit rate of 90 % when shooting and a variety of podium places, including two Olympic silver medals in the season and a total of 41 podium places, he stands out from his competitors. He has participated in 508 World Cup races since 2002, which only positioned him behind the Norwegian Ole of a Bjoerndalen.

reflection on the career

In an interview after a Rollski training in Hochfilzen, Eder spoke about his motivation, which comes from different sources. In particular, he appreciates the support of his family and the joy of training and competition. At the same time, he has had less time for non-productive training since 2014 because he has become a father. Eder has changed his shooting style in the past two years to get faster and believed that he has hardly lost speed in terms of sport.

He also has a clear plan for his remaining time in biathlon: Eder will concentrate intensively on the Olympic Games. After these games, he emphasizes, is definitely the end of his career. The adventure of the Olympic Games is a suitable final grade for him, and the view of a "home game" makes the whole thing even more attractive. Eder lives only 20 km from Hochfilzen, which enables him to work daily while he is with his family at home.

A look at the history of biathlon

The biathlon has a long and fascinating story that goes back to the Neolithic. Originally practiced in Northern Europe, North Asia, North America and China, the sport combined skiing early. The first competitions took place in Norway in 1776, and military shooting on Skiern became more important in the Middle Ages. Olympic recognition for biathlon was introduced in 1949, and in 1960 the first Olympic competition took place in Squaw Valley.

With developments in technology and the changes in competition format, biathlon has gained popularity rapidly in recent decades. Eder is part of this story and has made a significant contribution to the biathlon to address an audience of millions in the past two decades.

Simon Eder now goes into his last season with high goals and a clear perspective. The Olympic Winter Games in a similarity to home motivate him to give everything again before finally ending his career.

Further information can be found here: Laola1 , Biathlon World and biathlon.ch .