Biathlon-Five times champion Boe says he will retire before 2026 Winter Olympics

(Reuters) - Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Boe, who dominated the biathlon at the 2022 Winter Olympics, has decided to retire at the end of the season and will not defend his titles at next year's Milan-Cortina Games, he said on Saturday.

The 31-year-old won four of six possible gold medals at the Beijing Games and also took one gold from the 2018 edition in Pyeongchang.

A visibly emotional Boe told reporters that participating in the February 2026 Olympics would demand too much of him.

"The past six seasons, I have combined elite sports with family life. It has been amazing but quite demanding. I still love competing but competition days are unfortunately few compared to all the other days of the year," he said ahead of the weekend's World Cup race in Ruhpolding.

"Now I feel that the time has come to prioritise family."

Boe currently tops the 2024-25 season standings and will conclude his career with a final race on home soil in Holmenkollen, Oslo, in March.

(Reporting by Tommy Lund in Gdansk; editing by Clare Fallon)