At the beginning of the week, Austrian biathlete Felix Leitner announced the end of his active career. Now the 28-year-old speaks with SPORT1 about the background – and hints at serious problems with his federation.
Felix Leitner starts promisingly. Three gold medals at Junior World Championships, the 2018 European Championship title in the individual event, two top-ten results at the 2020 World Championships after his World Cup debut, and a second place in the mass start in Oberhof in 2021. A great biathlon career seemed pre-programmed.
But that didn’t materialize. Instead, his performance curve continuously pointed downwards in recent years. Physical, mental, and health problems contributed to this. In the overall World Cup, only 42nd and 60th places resulted in the last two winters. For the upcoming Olympic season, Leitner no longer received squad status from the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV).
Initially, it was said that Leitner did not want to give up and would fight for a place in the team on his own. Now he has pulled the ripcord and ended his career at just 28 years of age.
SPORT1: Felix Leitner, you announced your career end on Monday. How do you feel about it?
Felix Leitner: Really good. It wasn’t a short-term decision, I thought about it for a long time. That’s why it feels right now, as it is.
Olympics? “I would probably have stopped anyway after that”
SPORT1: For many other athletes, observers, and fans, this news came as a surprise. When did you decide to take this step?
Leitner: I had back surgery two weeks ago, from that point on it was basically clear. I suffered a herniated disc in July, which I initially had well under control. But at the end of August, after the city event in Dresden, the pain returned and became increasingly extreme. At some point, I could no longer walk or sit, only lie on my stomach. Training was out of the question. A few days earlier, I had still been thinking about how to proceed.
SPORT1: Probably because of the Olympics in February.
Leitner: Exactly. My very big goal was the Olympics. I would probably have stopped anyway after that. But I knew immediately that it would be very tight with the injury. Even if everything had gone optimally, I could have returned to the World Cup at the earliest in January – but without proper preparation. And after the disappointing previous year, I had sworn not to start half-fit under any circumstances. So it quickly became clear: If I have the surgery, I won’t be racing in 2026. And if I’m not racing in 2026, it’s over anyway.
Leitner: “Lost the joy and fire for the sport”
SPORT1: At the beginning of May, the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) announced the squads for the upcoming season – and had a nasty surprise in store for you. You didn’t get a spot in the Olympic team and didn’t even appear in the B or C squad. It was partly speculated that your career end was also related to this.
Leitner: I definitely did not end my career because of the missing squad place. However, the general circumstances did have an influence. Because in Austria, I didn’t have the environment where I am supported, where I feel comfortable and notice that everyone wants the best for me, I gradually lost the joy and fire for the sport during the last tough years. And you need that in competitive sports to be successful.
SPORT1: After the squad announcement, you vented your anger and wrote ironically: “Real experts at work. Great.” Why?
Leitner: I started spending my summers away from the federation two years ago and only rejoined the rest of the team before the winters. Apparently, that wasn’t well received. But Lisa ( Theresa Hauser, editor’s note ) does that too, because obviously it’s not working in the ÖSV right now. That I no longer received a squad place was probably a defiant reaction to show me: It doesn’t work like this. I was disappointed. I got along well with everyone personally, so that hurt me somehow and triggered this reaction. In Austrian biathlon, a lot is simply wrong at the moment.
SPORT1: Can you be more specific?
Leitner: I don’t want to go into that further. I don’t want to single out individuals and it’s not my job to improve things within the ÖSV. I keep my fingers crossed for the athletes that it gets better now. The potential is there on the athletes’ side. But as an athlete alone, you can’t achieve anything. A functioning team in the background is just as important.
“Then the system started to crumble”
SPORT1: For Austrian biathlon, the past World Cup season did not go well. Among the women, only Hauser could keep up with 11th place in the overall standings. The best athlete in the men’s team was the 42-year-old Simon Eder in 36th place.
Leitner: A few years ago, we had a great team together in Austria. But then the system started to crumble. Many good coaches left, few better ones came. We’ve had problems with equipment since the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, the skis are a constant topic. We were never taken seriously, it just got worse from year to year. It felt like the athlete was no longer the focus, but everything else.
SPORT1: You were long considered one of the greatest biathlon talents in your country. Looking back, do you think you got everything out of your career?
Leitner: When I looked at the pictures at the end, it did hurt because I was on a very good path in the meantime. In my younger years, I was very lucky with my environment and had great role models like Dominik Landertinger or Simon Eder. That really pushed me. But I am an athlete who needs that: a good environment. That everyone wants the best for you. That was no longer the case, and the downward spiral began. Health problems were added and it was very difficult mentally. From my youth, I wasn’t used to lagging behind. In the coming years, success in the ÖSV system would no longer have been possible for me. Now I’m glad to have closed that chapter and look forward to what’s coming.
“Need some distance for now”
SPORT1: Which moment of your career has particularly stayed in your memory?
Leitner: There are many. In terms of sports, it was the podium place in 2021 in the mass start in Oberhof. Or the tenth place at the 2022 Olympics in the pursuit, the comeback was great. The 2020 World Championships in Antholz with ninth places in the sprint and pursuit too. I had many cool moments, especially in my younger years. I like to look back on that. And on the people I experienced it with.
SPORT1: At just 28 years old, you are now a “biathlon retiree”. Are there any future plans yet?
Leitner: Not yet. I want to give myself until the end of December or beginning of January to try something new then. Then I want to make a decision and hope to find something that gives me as much joy as sports did.
SPORT1: Can you imagine wanting true to the sport, perhaps as a coach?
Leitner: Maybe someday, but definitely not in the next few years. Even though I find biathlon extremely cool, I need some distance for now. The wounds that the last years have left are still too fresh for anything else.