The 34-year-old won the 50 kilometres gold medal at his home Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics where he also added silver in the 4x10km relay.

He became one of the most prominent athletes connected with the country's doping scandal, however, with Russia accused of the systematic manipulation of the drug-testing scheme in Sochi.

In November 2017, Legkov was disqualified for doping offences by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and his Sochi 2014 results were annulled. 

However, he was then among 28 athletes to be cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on the eve of the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics in February.

CAS ruled that there was insufficient evidence that Legkov had broken anti-doping rules and the decision against him was overturned.

As a result, his Sochi 2014 medals were restored.

He was barred from competing at the Pyeongchang Games in South Korea, however, as CAS dismissed appeals by 45 Russians who had been banned from the Olympics for life by the IOC.

Legkov also won World Championship silver and bronze in relay events during his career.

He won nine International Ski Federation World Cup events and finished on the podium 35 times.

"You have all been with me in the course of many years of my professional career and I truly love you all," Legkov said during a sports tournament in Khanty-Mansiisk, according to Russia's state news agency TASS.

"Khanty-Mansiisk is my home city and will always be. 

"I say stop here to my professional career on international tournaments.

"I will see all of you later, not at international tournaments, but perhaps at domestic tournaments or marathons.

"I am announcing the end of my international sports career."