Austrian snowboard legend Benjamin Karl has announced that the 2025/26 Olympic season will be his last. The Olympic champion and multiple World Championship and World Cup title-winner revealed his decision in a social media post.
“This will definitely be my last season,” –said the Austrian rider, who recently turned 40.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Olympic Team Austria (@olympic_team_austria)
Karl, one of the most accomplished parallel snowboarders in history, aims to close his remarkable career at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, marking the perfect conclusion to more than two decades at the top of the sport.
In an interview with an Austrian media, Karl reflected on the physical and mental challenges that have shaped his career, as well as his motivation to finish on a high note. After completing a grueling 1,581-kilometre ultra-cycling race this summer, he said his focus now shifts fully to his final Olympic season — one last opportunity to crown an extraordinary journey with another highlight performance.
Over the course of his career, Karl has made 215 World Cup starts, collecting 58 podium finishes, including 27 victories. On the World Championship stage, he earned eight medals — five of them gold — and is the reigning Olympic gold medallist in Parallel Giant Slalom, having won the title at the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. Impressively, he has stood on the World Cup podium at least once every season for the past ten years, a testament to his remarkable consistency and longevity.
Karl now enters his final winter with one goal in mind — to end his remarkable journey on the Olympic stage at Milano Cortina 2026.