Liv-Grete Goodbye
/dnl.eurosport.com/sd/img/placeholder/eurosport_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
ByEurosport
Published 23/03/2006 at 09:43 GMT
Liv-Grete Poiree bids adieu to a brilliant World Cup career on home-snow this weekend, starting with Thursday's women's sprint at Oslo. The seven-time world champion is retiring from international competition to take care of her family, but not before a g
BIATHLON 2006 Liv Gret Poirée
Image credit: Imago
"I'm doing this out of consideration for Emma and the rest of the family," Poiree told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) about her decision to spend more time with her young daughter.
"In addition, I don't have the same motivation that's demanded in a sport like this," she admitted.
Holmekollen hosts the final World Cup meet of the 2005-2006 season, and the last competition of Poiree's illustrious career.
She won her first two World titles at the same Norwegian resort in 2000 only months before marrying fellow World Cup star Raphael Poiree.
Liv-Grete and her husband-to-be became World champions within a few hours of each other in 2000, and over the next five years Mrs. Poiree would go onto win six individual world championships (one more than her husband).
She also took the relay gold with team-Norway in 2004 at Oberhof, Germany, in a year when she almost swept Worlds by also claiming victories in the sprint, the pursuit, and the mass-start.
The 31-year-old Poiree had a disappointing Winter Olympics this year at Turin, with a sixth place finish in the 10km pursuit as her best personal result.
She won Olympic silver in the relay and the 15km individual contest at Salt Lake City in 2002, and also took bronze in 1998 as part of the Norwegian relay team.
But at Turin she could not perform at the same level, saying at the time that she was "tired, very tired."
Poiree, the 2004 World Cup champion, has won 22 career World Cup races, the last of which came at Ruhpolding's pursuit back in January.
With the women's World Cup title already wrapped up by Germany's Kati Wilhelm, the weekend's events will more be a tribute to Liv-Grete Poiree and a focus on the men's contest between Raphael Poiree and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen for the overall title.
Follow the World Cup finale at Oslo, Holmenkollen all weekend LIVE on www.eurosport.com as Liv-Grete's husband Raphael Poiree tries to fend off defending champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen for the World Cup crown.
Scan me
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement