8:37. Late on Friday, Maëla Didier from the Vosges, a Nordic combined specialist who has been based in Austria for several months, officially announced that she was retiring from the sport. Aged 21, she had not taken part in any international competitions since a summer Alpine Cup in September 2022.
“My dear little one… I’m sorry we weren’t able to make your dream come true,” she begins in a message posted on Instagram. In life, you have to be brave. And you’ve always been brave, fighting for what you wanted, whatever the circumstances. But sometimes all the courage in the world isn’t enough. It’s hard to admit that the thing you love most is also the thing that has broken you the most. Today, Nordic combined no longer brings you happiness, and it’s time for new adventures.”
“You’ll never get your Olympic medal. Or even a World Cup record, but you’re stronger than you ever imagined. Unbreakable. You never thought you’d leave France, and yet you’ve found your second home in Austria. Along the way, you’ve met some incredible people,” she continues.
At the end of her post, Maëla Didier explains that she is not quitting Nordic skiing just yet, as she is becoming a coach. ” There’s nothing more gratifying than guiding little ones the way I’ve been guided”, concludes the Bressaude, who will be twenty-first in the Youth Olympic Games in January 2020.
- “I really loved it”: at the Ganghoferlauf, Vosges combined Maëla Didier ran her first marathon
- Autrans: the first Summer Tour of the summer for Antoine Gérard and Maëla Didier
