It’s now official: Therese Johaug has retired. The cross-country star from Norway is done after 15 + 1 years at the top level. Here are ten key Johaug memories.

Therese Johaug retired after the 2022 Olympics, had a child in 2023, and made a comeback in 2024. Her goal was gold in the 50km race at the 2025 World Championships, on home soil in Trondheim.

The plan was to make history as the first female world champion in the 50km. She didn’t succeed. Instead, it was Sweden’s Frida Karlsson who earned that distinction. Johaug took bronze. Two weeks later, in the 50km at the World Cup final in Lahti, she crushed everyone and won by a margin of one minute.

After the World Championships, Johaug opened up to the idea of continuing her career through the 2026 Olympics. She went back and forth. For a long time. But the Norwegian star eventually decided to say no.

Also Read – Johaug confirms: No Olympic comeback for Milano Cortina 2026

The veteran says it was a tough decision.

“I thought about the good days, like the one in Lahti, and was like, ‘No way – I’m going to the Olympics.’ But when things settled down, I knew that the one who has to go out and do the work every single day, twice a day, is me, says Johaug, and continues:

“I really appreciate that so many people want me to go to the Olympics and cheer for me, but there are a lot of days until February 7. It has to give me something and not feel like a chore, because if it feels like a chore and work, you won’t be able to get the results you want since you’ll be lacking that final bit of motivation.”

The story continues below.

TEN KEY JOHAUG MEMORIES

1. Breakthrough in Sapporo (2007)
Just 18 years old, Johaug won her first World Championship medal: bronze in the 30km at the World Championships in Sapporo, Japan. A star is born.

2. First Olympic medal (2010)
Johaug was part of the Norwegian team that won gold in the relay at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. Here, she established herself as one of the world’s best.

3. First individual World Championship gold (2011)
On home ground at Holmenkollen, in front of thousands of spectators, she crushed the competition in the 30km.

4. World Championship hat-trick in Val di Fiemme (2013)
Spectators and experts were stunned when Johaug claimed a hat-trick at the 2013 World Championships in Val di Fiemme: gold in skiathlon, 10km freestyle, and the relay.

5. Olympic gold in the 30km in Sochi (2014)
Johaug skied solo and sailed into her first Olympic gold at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

6. Doping scandal (2016)
Johaug was suspended for 18 months after testing positive for the banned substance clostebol in a lip cream. She was out of competition from 2016 to 2018, missing the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang by a narrow margin.

7. Comeback at the World Championships in Seefeld (2019)
Johaug dominated completely upon her return to the World Cup after her suspension. Once again, she swept the board at the World Championships. In Seefeld, she took gold in skiathlon, 10km classic, and the 30km.

8. Olympic adventure in Beijing (2022)
Johaug took three individual golds: first in the skiathlon, then in the 10km classic, and finally in the 30km at the last event of the championships.

9. A break, a baby, and a comeback (2022–2024)
She retired in 2022, became a mother in 2023, and made a comeback in 2024 with the World Championships in Trondheim as her goal. A brave and groundbreaking decision that inspired and engaged across generations both inside and outside of Norway.

10. No to the Olympics in Milan/Cortina (2025)
Shock and respect: On Monday, May 26, 2025, Therese Johaug announced that she would not compete in the 2026 Olympics in Italy – less than nine months before the Winter Games where she could have become the first female Olympic champion in the 50km.

“It wasn’t a good feeling I had this winter. Being afraid to hug your daughter. That I was at the cabin and they were in Oslo, and we only met on the E6 [highway] to avoid being together. I felt like you have to see reality in time,” says Johaug about the decision.

The cross-country queen from Norway debuted in the World Cup in Otepää on January 27, 2007, and raced her final World Cup event on March 23, 2025. Therese Johaug finishes with 14 World Championship gold medals and 4 Olympic gold medals.

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