Norwegian Therese Johaug, a four-time Olympic champion in cross-country skiing, announced on Wednesday that she will return to competitive skiing.

The 36-year-old retired from the sport shortly after winning three gold medals at the Beijing Winter Olympics in early 2022, bringing her total to four after securing her first at the 2010 Games in Vancouver.

Since her retirement, she has established a family and given birth to a daughter.

"I didn't retire because I was tired of competing or tired of training. I loved what I was doing, but the desire and dream of becoming a mother was so strong that it was worth retiring," she told at a press conference.

Johaug aims to participate in next year's Nordic World Ski Championships in the Norwegian city of Trondheim. She has 14 world championship titles. REUTERS