Berlin, May 17 (AFP) Germany's double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier announced her retirement on Friday at the age of just 25 after struggling with health issues.

"After an unbelievably tough season full of ups and downs, I no longer feel the one hundred percent passion required for professional sport. That's why I have decided to end my active biathlon career," Dahlmeier wrote in an Instagram post on Friday.

She has won seven world championship gold medals, and last year in Pyeongchang she became the first female biathlete to win both the sprint and the pursuit at the same Olympics.

Dahlmeier took a two-month break to recover from illness in October, before returning to win the 12.5km mass start at the World Cup event in Antholz last January.

Fellow German biathlete Magdalena Neuner also retired as a double Olympic champion aged 25 in 2012. (AFP)

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