She burst onto the World Cup scene two years ago, poised to become Norway’s next biathlon star. On Friday, she withdrew from the Norwegian Championships sprint and announced her retirement at the age of 27.

Two years ago, she was the big breakout star, one of the young athletes expected to carry on the legacy of Marte Olsbu Røiseland and Tiril Eckhoff. That did not happen. Now, she is ending her career. Marit Ishol Skogan is retiring at just 27 years old.

Sunday’s NM relay in Os will be her last competition as a dedicated biathlete. She was also supposed to compete in the sprint on Friday, but when she arrived at the stadium, something felt off.

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Norwegian Championships were her last chance

The biathlon profile from Steinkjer, who has neither shot nor raced since January, entered this weekend’s NM to give her career one last shot. The hope was that it would feel right, that joy and motivation would return. But that was not the case.

“I signed up for the sprint (on Friday), hoping it would give me a feeling of “Yes, I’m ready to compete again.” But I didn’t get that feeling. I regretted it. It felt wrong to start. I’m done,” Skogan told Trønder-Avisa during NM in Os.

She informed her mother, who was there to cheer her on, that she was finished. Afterward, Skogan felt relieved. For her, biathlon had become a burden, a source of guilt.

Impressive achievements

After a sensational breakthrough season where she secured several podium finishes in the World Cup and participated in the 2024 World Championships, she faced two challenging seasons. Health issues forced Skogan to pause her career, and she had contemplated retirement multiple times.

This season started well, and Skogan received new opportunities in the IBU Cup in December. But then it stalled again. After finishing 13th and 24th in Lenzerheide before Christmas, she left the round in Arber in January with placements of 31st, 39th, and 50th. Since then, she has not competed in any races.

The highlight of her career was a third-place finish in the pursuit race at the test World Championships in Lenzerheide in December 2023. She competed in a total of 19 World Cup races for Norway, achieving podium finishes in three of them.

In addition to her third-place finish, she has one victory and one second-place finish in relays, as well as relay silver from the Junior World Championships in 2017.

Wants to help others

Now, Skogan looks forward to resuming her studies and hopes to combine that with her job as a personal assistant in Lillehammer.

“I am very happy with my job as a personal assistant and have a lot to look forward to. Now I can finally help others. You become a bit selfish when you are involved in elite sports. I want to do things for others, not just for myself,” says Skogan.

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