Ole Einar Bjørndalen (Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen). Born January 27, 1974 in Drammen (Fylke Buskerud, Norway). The legendary Norwegian biathlete, the most titled athlete in the history of the Winter Olympic Games (13 medals, including 8 gold), Biathlon World Championships (19 wins) and Biathlon World Cups (6 overall wins).
Ole Einar won four out of four possible victories in biathlon at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and became the world's only absolute Olympic champion in biathlon.
Bjoerndalen won 96 personal victories at the biathlon and cross-country skiing World Cups (95 and 1, respectively).
Member of the IOC since 2014.
Winner of the most awards (13) in the history of the Winter Olympic Games in all sports. Shares with skier Björn Delhi the record for the number of titles of the champion of the Winter Olympic Games (8 each).
The oldest winner of the World Cup and Olympic Games in biathlon in individual races - at 41 years, 10 months and 5 days, individual race (Östersund), December 2, 2015.
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. King of Biathlon
Ole Einar Björndalen was born in the Norwegian town of Drammen, grew up in the town of Simostranda in the Modum municipality of Buskerud county in a family of farmers.
He was little interested in studies, he spent quite a lot of time in sports sections. He played football, went to handball training, threw a spear, participated in cycling and athletics competitions in the 3000 meters.
Ole Einar's father was also involved in athletics, but had to give up sports in order to earn a living.
He has two brothers and two sisters. The elder brother - Doug - was the very first in the family to start biathlon. Ole Einar followed in his footsteps. The younger brother is Hans Anton.
Ole Einar has been fond of various sports since childhood. Following the example of his older brother Doug, he began to engage in biathlon.
Distinguished by good skiing, Ole Einar was noticed by coaches, and from the end of the 1992/1993 season he began to compete at the World Cup. In the same season, he made a splash at the Junior World Championships in Ruhpolding (1993), becoming a 3-time champion.
In 1994, he joined the Olympic team and took part in the home winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. But the lack of experience did not allow the young biathlete to show good results.
At his first Olympiad, he did not win a single medal. He finished thirty-sixth in the individual race, twenty-eighth in the sprint, and seventh in the relay.
In the 1993-1994 season, Ole Einar, as well as at the home Olympics, did not show high results in personal disciplines, taking places only behind the top ten, and even further. In the only race that was included in the World Championship in Canmore, Canada, he remained in a disappointing fourth place in the team race. And it was the only race of the season where the medal was not enough just a little bit.
The first significant success came in the 1994/1995 season. Bjoerndalen won the first personal podium in his career, in the sprint, already at the first stage of the World Cup in Austrian Bad Gastein - 2nd place. In the course of the season, he climbed the podium twice more in the same race (Oberhof, sprint - 3; Lillehamer, sprint - 3.). He performed at the World Championships in Antholz: individual race - 12th place, sprint - a step away from the podium - 4th place, relay race - 5th. Very stable results in the sprint allowed Ole Einar to take the first small sprint world cup in his career and take fourth place in the overall World Cup standings. In addition to personal successes, the first podium was taken and the first victory in the relay race was won.
In the 1995/1996 World Cup, Björndalen pleased himself with the first personal victory in his career in the individual race, where before that it didn’t even come close to the top three, unlike sprints. This victory took place at the third stage in Antholz, Italy, where, in addition to victory, there was also silver in the sprint. Like last year, the relay won the very last race of the season. The same team disciplines gave Björndalen three more podiums: 1 bronze and two silvers.
At the World Championships in Ruhpolding, he was closest to the medal in the relay, where the Norwegian team took fourth place, finished 19th in the individual race, and 6th in the sprint. During the season, the Norwegian scored 141 points and took 9th place in the overall standings.
The following season, 1996/1997, Ole Einar's results went uphill. He won three personal victories at once, won prizes ten times, including relay races, and won a bronze medal in the pursuit race and a silver medal in the relay race at the World Championships in Osrblie. Björndalen, gaining 303 points, became the second in the overall standings of the World Cup and the first in the standings of the sprint races.
In 1998, in Nagano, Björndalen won the sprint and became the Olympic champion., and took a silver medal as part of the relay team. Moreover, he won the sprint only from the second run. On the originally scheduled day, Björndalen showed the best result, but the organizers were forced to cancel the competition due to a sudden snowstorm. “Then I got angry. he said, but after five minutes was ready for a new race ".
And indeed, the next day he became the Olympic champion, and performed much stronger. At the end of the season, Björndalen won two sprints, one of which was an Olympic victory, and also became the world champion in the team race and won his first World Cup for winning the overall standings, gaining 289 points. In addition, he also received a small Cup for winning the sprint standings, and in just a season he won 11 prizes (together with team disciplines).
In the 1998/1999 season, Ole Einar failed to repeat the Olympic success, and he only became a bronze medalist in the mass start and relay. Bjoerndalen again won 11 prizes, three of them were personal victories. Ole scored 397 points, which was not enough for the World Cup. The result in the overall standings was also affected by the omission of one of the stages.
In the 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 seasons, they again failed to win the World Cup. Björndalen won two silver and two bronze medals in the mass start and relay. In general, Ole Einar has so far been in the shadow of his main rival Rafael Poiret, to whom he lost the World Cup, missing one stage in each season.
Nevertheless, Björndalen set records year after year: 15 podiums in the 1999-2000 season, and then 19 in 2000-2001. In just two seasons, he accumulated 17 victories: 13 personal and 4 team successes. The collection included two more small World Cups in sprint disciplines, and one small Cup in the standings of pursuit races. At the fourth stage of the 1999-2000 World Cup, the athlete won all three races. The same thing happened at the Olympic track in Soldier Hollow (a suburb of Salt Lake City) of the 2000-2001 season.
Since the beginning of the 2001/2002 season, Björndalen has been systematically and carefully preparing for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City by developing an effective training plan with the coaches. And this plan worked brilliantly. To everyone's surprise, he won four gold medals and became the only absolute Olympic champion in biathlon, becoming the only five-time Olympic champion in biathlon at that time.
All four Olympic distances existing at that time were submitted to him: individual race, sprint, pursuit and relay race. Moreover, before the biathlon program, Ole Einar managed to participate in the 30 km Olympic ski race, where he took fifth place and was even a contender for participation in the Olympic ski relay. Everywhere he was called the "golden boy" and the "king of biathlon."
After the triumphant Olympiad, a book was published "Ten days - four wins", which tells in detail about the difficult path to the top, about how you can win four victories in 10 days. Such a resounding success still did not allow him to win in the overall standings, since the Norwegian missed two stages of the World Cup at once. Ole finished third with 692 points.
The 2002/2003 season brought the eminent biathlete the second World Cup in his career. At the World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, after a long hunt for a personal gold medal, 29-year-old Björndalen finally won the sprint and won the mass start. In one season, he managed to win 12 victories, of which only one was in the relay. To the main cup of the season, Björndalen managed to add three small ones, for winning the sprint standings, the pursuit standings and the mass start.
However, the 2003/2004 season was not so successful. The whole season, Björndalen was “knocked down” psychologically, largely due to family problems: the biathlete’s mother died. At the World Championships in Oberhof, Ole Einar won four medals: three bronze in individual races, silver in the relay. The victory in the overall standings was again celebrated by Raphael Poiret, for whom the season was triumphant.
In order to return to the top again, you need a strong character, and the five-time Olympic champion had it. The 2004-2005 season was one of the most successful in my career greatest biathlete. Despite missing seven individual races, he triumphantly wins another World Cup with 923 points, and also wins three small cups for winning the individual race, the mass start and the much-loved and successful sprint. In total, a record 15 victories were scored during the season, of which 12 were personal.
Throughout the season, Ole Einar did not fall below sixth place, and was only 6th twice. In addition, he became the “king” of two consecutive stages: in Ruhpolding and in Antholz, in which he won all three scheduled races. Of course, the World Championship in Austrian Hochfilzen was a triumph for the 31-year-old “king of biathlon”, he repeated the result of the Olympic Games and again won four golds in the disciplines: sprint, pursuit, relay and mass start. That season "great and terrible" also received an absurd nickname - "Norwegian Vampire" who never gets enough of victories.
In the 2005-2006 Olympic season, Ole Einar is completely focused only on the winter games in Turin, Italy. However, in January, he had a cold, which was also complicated by sinusitis, and missed two stages because of this. The form had to be recruited again, in an accelerated mode. Perhaps this was the main reason for the failures in the Olympic Turin, but the Norwegian, mainly, was summed up by unstable shooting. Ole Einar won three medals, among which there is not a single gold one: two silver medals - in the individual race and in the pursuit race and bronze in the mass start. Björndalen failed his crown sprint, remaining in 12th place, and the Norwegian team performed extremely unsuccessfully in the relay race, and only thanks to the heroic efforts of Ole Einar at the last stage they managed to climb to a modest 5th place. Bjoerndalen, of course, did not hide his disappointment, but the World Cup still remained with him, despite missing three stages.
With 814 points, he won another Big Crystal Globe and small cups in the mass start and pursuit. He finally forged the victory in the overall standings at the last home stage in Holmenkollen, winning all three races.
In the 2006-2007 World Cup, the 33-year-old "king" set a fantastic record for most consecutive podiums and victories: 10 individual podiums and 8 individual victories in a row at the junction of the 2005-2006/2006-2007 seasons. Moreover, only in one of these ten races Ole Einar limited himself to bronze, all the other 9 were victorious, and it is not known how long this series would have continued if it had not been for skipping the stage. During the season, Björndalen won 11 victories and became "King of Östersund"(all 3 wins) and "King of Ruhpolding"(all 3 victories), but missed three stages, only 8 individual races, and therefore the German Michael Greis won the Big Crystal Globe. The Norwegian remained in second place with 736 points.
But one small Cup in the mass starts still remained with Bjoerndalen. Numerous missed stages were explained by skiing ambitions: Ole Einar had won a couple of personal prizes before, back in 2001, and in November 2006 he finally won the ski World Cup in Gällivar, Sweden, in a 15 km freestyle race. Berndalen highly appreciated this success, proving to skiers the competitiveness of biathletes in cross-country skiing. At the World Championships in Antholz, Ole Einar scored a winning double: in the sprint and in the pursuit, and also won silver in the relay. The mass start was very offensive at the World Championships - 4th place.
Björndalen has repeatedly taken part in the Christmas race of stars, where he has become the winner for the fourth year in a row. From the 2003/2004 season to the 2006/2007 season - first place.
In 2007, at the World Cup stage in Holmenkollen, the famous farewell race of Rafael Poiret took place. The Frenchman had originally declared the mass start at Holmenkollen as a top priority for the end of the season - he wanted to end his illustrious career on a winning note. However, Bjoerndalen prevented his main rival by winning the photo finish against the famous Frenchman by only one tenth of a second. The eternal rival of Björndalen, Poiret lost his last race, which turned into an amazing battle.
In the same 2007, Ole Einar took part in the Russian Open Championship in Novosibirsk, then he managed to win the 15 km race from the general start. He finished 7th in the sprint and 4th in the pursuit.
The 2007-2008 season was rich in medals at the World Championships in Östersund, Sweden: bronze in the sprint, gold in the pursuit, silver in the individual race, relay and mass start - a total of 5 medals. In terms of the amount of gold, Ole Einar was pushed back by the Russian Maxim Chudov and the young Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen. During the season, 7 victories were won (10 including relay races) and only 18 podium races. On the account there were 869 points and the next World Cup, along with three small ones in the sprint, pursuit, mass start.
Another Christmas race of the 2007/2008 season ended the series of victories for the great Norwegian, leaving him in second place.
In 2008, Ole Einar took part in the Russian Open Biathlon Championship in Uvat. He finished 9th in the sprint and 13th in the pursuit.
The 2008-2009 season turned out to be similar to last year's season, except for the World Championships in Pyeongchang, Korea, where instead of 5 medals, the Norwegian won four, but all were gold. Even before the world championship, Ole Einar warned that he was going only for gold, and prophetically managed to do this, repeating the result of Hochfilzen in 2005, having won gold in the sprint, pursuit, individual race and relay. In the mixed relay, the Norwegians remained fourth, and in the mass start, Björndalen again took fourth position. The victory in the individual race was the first and only one at the world championships, and the last relay gold in Pyeongchang was already his 14th gold medal, and this was an absolute record.
In the World Cup, 7 victories were again won (9 including relay races) and only 18 podiums. The record 1080 points reflect a solid overall win and a 6th World Cup, in addition to a 9th Mini Cup in the Sprints and 5th in the Pursuits. For the third time in his career, the “great and terrible” becomes the “King of Ruhpolding”, once again winning all three races at the 5th World Cup.
Unlike the 2008-2009 season, the Olympic season gave only three victories in individual races, and unstable results that did not allow them to compete for the World Cup. But Ole Einar was aiming for the Olympics in Vancouver and hoped that she would become gold for him after the failure in Turin. However, the sprint and mass start failed due to poor shooting: 17th and 27th respectively. In the pursuit race, a possible victory was missed by misses at the last firing line (7th place). Björndalen won such an important silver medal in the 20 km individual race (having shown the same time with the Belarusian biathlete Sergei Novikov), but lost in a bitter struggle to his compatriot Emil Hegle Svendsen, and in the last race, in the relay, in a brilliant style, speaking at the last stage, led his team to victory. Ole Einar has held on at a high level for four years since losing in Turin to finally become a 6-time Olympic champion.
The 2009-2010 Olympic season ended a series of strong performances by the “king of biathlon”. Björndalen turned 36 and it is getting harder and harder to compete with the youth every year, and this is confirmed by a modest 10th place in the overall standings. Although an obvious crisis has come, he is still not going to give up and intends to perform until the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014, and he hopes to return to his previous level in the next 2010-2011 season.
The main task in the World Cup 2010-2011 was the victory in the overall standings and the World Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk. The start of the season in Östersund was great, together with Emil-Hegle Svendsen, they did not fall below second place in all three races. However, Ole Einar himself won only once and on the third attempt. In the individual race, he was prevented by two misses at the last shooting range, and in the sprint, a few meters before the finish line, Björndalen unexpectedly fell on a steep descent and lost his advantage, again remaining second. The revenge for the “king” was the pursuit, which he won with one less miss.
Subsequently, the two Norwegians had a big fight and did not talk for a long time, but then Svendsen apologized and the two of them settled their relationship. But after Christmas, Ole Einar lost his form, showing poor results, and for a long time could not understand what was wrong. It turned out that a viral infection and too hard training were to blame. As a result, the season became a failure, a nightmare and a collapse of hopes for a comeback. At the World Championships, personal races did not work out, and Ole, for the first time in 15 years of a long career, was left without personal awards at the World Championships. But he still managed to win two golds thanks to the mixed and men's relay races and became the 16-time champion of the planet.
Until the end of the season, he still did not manage to get into optimal shape, it remained terrible, and only thanks to good shooting in the mass start, in the last race of the season in Holmenkollen, Norway, he managed to break into the sole leaders with a 16-second handicap, but Russian Evgeny Ustyugov and Emil Svendsen, fighting among themselves for second place, suddenly managed to catch up with and surpass Ole Einar, who ended up in third place, a hundred meters before the finish line. After that race, Björndalen admitted that he was very tired, and could not even really stand on his feet. In April, Ole also received a serious back injury and could even end his career, but managed to recover. At the end of the season, again 10th place in the total, having won only one personal victory.
In March 2011, Ole Einar was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal. Her athlete received at the last stage of the World Cup in Norway in the 2010/2011 season.
In the same 2011, Björndalen came to Kamchatka, where every year after the end of the season competitions for the prize in memory of Vitaly Fatyanov started. But Ole Einar did not appear at the start of the sprint race, explaining that in the last two days he did not feel the best. Since he did not take part in the sprint, he could not compete in the pursuit race, which determined the winner.
Before the 2011-2012 season, due to a back injury, Ole Einar worked on an individual light training plan and rolled into the season slowly and gradually, unlike the rest of the Norwegian team. At the World Championships in Ruhpolding, he was left without personal awards, although he again won two relay races, becoming an 18-time world champion. Apparently, he managed to get sick and lose his shape again. Even from the brilliant and super-reliable relay this time there was not a trace left, since the partners had to get out in each relay when Ole entered the penalty loop, nevertheless, Norway's team is very strong. Bjoerndalen stopped at a modest 16th place in the overall World Cup standings. Obviously, back injury and age played a cruel joke in this not very successful season.
He took part in the Race of Champions in 2012. The main part of the commercial competition program consists of zeroing, which determines the starting list for the mass starts. Based on the results of the 6.5 km mass starts, athletes form pairs for the mixed relay (11.7 km in total), which closes the competition. In the mass start, Björndalen showed the eighth result, and in the mixed relay paired with Olga Zaitseva - the 6th.
Preparations for the 2012-2013 season went off without major circumstances, Ole Einar fully recovered from his injury and was ready to fight for the highest results. The coaches also assured that it seems that "the king is back." However, this time, the Norwegian was crippled by family problems: his father suddenly died of a heart attack, and later, after 6 years of marriage, Björndalen divorced his wife Natalie Santer. Ole Einar never managed to fully concentrate on competitions and training, although he tried his best. The best result of the season was the fourth place in the sprint at the World Championships in Czech Nove Mesto. Then one miss with the last shot on the rack deprived him not only of victory, but also of the medal. Björndalen did not take part in the mixed relay of the World Cup this time, but won the men's relay, becoming the 19-time world champion. But in the World Cup every year it gets more difficult, Ole Einar has already rolled back to 22nd place.
In the summer of 2013, Ole Einar decided to end his career after the Olympic Games in Sochi. Thus, the 2013-2014 season was supposed to be the last for the great Norwegian.
However, as it turns out, in the last season for himself, the 39-year-old Norwegian is in good shape and was still able to win. Preparation for the season was more successful than ever, and Bjoerndalen himself was incredibly motivated to end his career in a worthy way. "The Great and Terrible" put the maximum into his preparation. Back in April, for optimal training and recovery, prevention of unforeseen illnesses, etc., he purchased a "mobile home" - a camper worth up to a couple of million crowns. Colossal motivation, as he himself admits, appeared last season at the pre-Olympic stage in Sochi, and all the preparation, with the onset of optimal form, went to the Olympics. So in the sprint, at the World Cup stage in Hochfilzen, after a long break, Ole Einar wins a bronze medal and one miss deprives him of victory.
Later, in a combination of sprint-pursuit, he gives out a series of two consecutive second places in the German Oberhof, losing in a bitter struggle in both races to his compatriot Emil Hegle Svendsen. Bjoerndalen fights on equal terms with much younger leaders of recent years: Martin Fourcade and Emil Svendsen, almost not inferior to them in speed on the track even at 40 years old. In the sprint, with two misses, he lost less than a second, and in the pursuit, where Ole was in the lead for a long time, two misses separated him from victory at the last firing line.
For the Olympic Games in Sochi, Björndalen has been preparing for the entire season according to an individual plan, and according to the same plan, he fits in optimal conditions. Already in the first start (sprint), despite one miss, he becomes the owner of the next, seventh Olympic gold, having won a little more than one second from the closest pursuer. The 40-year-old "King of Biathlon" is showing almost the best move in the race, despite the incredibly old age for the sport. A personal Olympic gold medal came only in Sochi, 12 years after the triumph in Salt Lake City. After this great victory, Bjoerndalen raises his own bar two years ago even higher - the oldest winner of a personal race in biathlon, and this record is already becoming an Olympic one. The great Norwegian gets another gold in the mixed relay, where he already becomes an eight-time Olympic champion and is compared in this indicator with the skier Bjorn Delhi. Ole Einar becomes the most decorated athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics with 13 medals, ahead of his idol Björn Delhi.
At the closing ceremony of the Olympiad, Björndalen deservedly carried the flag of his country and was officially elected to the IOC commission. Bjoerndalen, together with the Belarusian biathlete Daria Domracheva, were named the best athletes of the past Olympics.
At the end of the season, Björndalen shows a number of stable results with hitting the top 10. Another podium (3rd place), he wins the pursuit race at the World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia. Also, the “great and terrible” is celebrating an anniversary: his record 400 World Cup race, which he did in the second sprint of the Finnish Kontiolahti.
At the end of the season, Ole Einar takes a very high 6th place for himself in the overall World Cup standings, which is much better than the result in the previous 4 seasons. And the speed of the “40-year-old junior” can be envied by many elite and young biathletes, since Ole Einar entered the top 5 strongest for the entire season.
After a brilliant Olympics, Björndalen admits that he is still hungry for victories and feels the strength to win, which is why he remains two more years before the World Championships in his native Oslo in 2016.
Before the season, Björndalen set his sights on experiments and therefore decided to change his usual ski poles to curved ones with an eye to increasing the efficiency of pushing and, accordingly, increasing the speed on the track. According to the results of the first stage in Östersund, he sensationally showed the second speed in each race, but made mistakes at the turn. He ended up with 6th, 8th and 10th places in the first stage, but the next stages did not work out: he failed the sprint in Hochfilzen and fell ill, because of which he did not race until Christmas.
By 2015, Björndalen was preparing at his best and managed to approach the German stages in good shape. At Oberhof, for the first time in a long time, he ran the last leg of the relay but lost first place; the same thing happened in the sprint, where he led with one penalty, but lost in the last meters of the race. As a result, he managed to make a silver double - his first podiums of the season.
At the World Championships in Kontiolahti, Björndalen took 5th, 6th and 4th places.
At the last stage of the World Cup, the Norwegians had problems with lubrication, and because of this, Björndalen could not compete for the podium in the sprint, where he shot clean - for the third race in a row, but took only 9th place. After unsuccessful shooting in the pursuit race, Ole Einar fell ill and missed the mass start - the season ended in 14th place in the overall World Cup standings.
Ole Einar Björndalen's height: 179 centimeters.
Personal life of Ole Einar Björndalen:
The biathlete lives in the Austrian Obertilliach in the federal state of Tyrol.
On May 27, 2006, he married Natalie Santer, a Belgian biathlete of Italian origin. No kids.
Ole Einar Björndalen and Natalie Santer
In October 2012, it was announced that Natalie and Ole Einar were divorcing after 6 years of marriage. The reason for the divorce in the press was an affair with a Belarusian biathlete.
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Daria Domracheva
In April 2016, a biathlete that they will have a child with Domracheva.
An interesting fact about Björndalen is that he cares so much about cleanliness and his health that he carries a vacuum cleaner with him and rarely shakes hands. “Vacuum cleaners occupy a special place in my life.- said the athlete. - I take this thing with me everywhere.”. Björndalen also said that it was not his idea to ride with a vacuum cleaner, he adopted it from older teammates.
Height - 179 cm. Combat weight - 66 kg
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen was born in Drammen, Norway on January 27, 1974. Like any Norwegian, Ole Einar spent a lot of time skiing with his older brother Dag and younger Hans Anton since childhood. Dag soon became a biathlete and in many ways served as an example for Ole, who also became a shooting skier from the age of 12.
Even during his performances among juniors, Ole was distinguished by good ski training. This allowed him to start competing with the biathlon elite already in the 1992/93 season. But in the first years, the athlete defending the colors of the Simostrand club spent most of the time in the European Cup.
In 1994, Ole Einar took part in the Olympic Games in Lillehammer, but the lack of experience did not allow the 20-year-old athlete to show a good result. He began his ascent in the 1994/95 season, following which he took 4th place in the general classification of the World Cup.
But the real success came to the Norwegian in 1998 - the World Cup and Olympic gold. From that moment on, Bjoerndalen has become the most iconic figure in the world of biathlon. And his fight with Rafael Poiret for victory in the World Cup becomes the main event of the next 4th anniversary. It would seem that success accompanies the Frenchman, who, even yielding to Ole Einar in speed, constantly left rivals behind due to well-aimed shooting. But the Norwegian has always been distinguished by his unbending will, hard work in training in the mountains and fantastic dedication in the race.
Best of the day
2004 was the year of the Frenchman, and Bjoerndalen went into the shadows, winning only 3 bronze medals at the World Championships in Oberhof. In addition to failures on the track, the Norwegian's mother died. It takes a strong character to endure such trials. And the 5-time Olympic champion has it, which Ole Einar successfully proved last season. Despite combining biathlon with cross-country skiing, he managed to win his third Cup, scoring 12 victories and winning 4 world championship golds. Finally, Bjoerndalen surpassed his idol Bjorn Daly in terms of the number of victories at the World Cup stages. Bjoerndalen is a versatile athlete. He is a master of mountain biking, rock climbing, cross runs well. In the life of an athlete, he is distinguished by modesty, phlegm.
To date, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen is the only biathlete with four individual Olympic gold medals, and a total of five top Olympic awards. He trained for the Winter Olympics in Italy, without joining the rest of the Norwegian team training at West Yellstone.
Bjoerndalen's other sports hobbies include cross-country skiing and cycling. Moreover, as a skier, he successfully performs at the stages of the World Cup. He spends a significant part of the year in the highlands of Italy, where he lives with his girlfriend, Italian biathlete Natalie Santer.
Before the Olympic triumph in Salt Lake City, the best year in Ole Einar's sports career was 1998. At the Nagano Olympics, Bjoerndalen won the sprint and silver medal with the Norwegian relay team. Moreover, he won the sprint only from the second run. On the originally scheduled day, Bjoerndalen showed the best result, but the organizers were forced to cancel the competition due to a sudden snowstorm. “Then I was angry,” he says, “but after five minutes I was ready for a new race.” And indeed, the next day he became an Olympic champion.
During the 2003 Biathlon World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, there was an embarrassment. During the races, Russian TV commentators made a number of incorrect statements about the multiple world and Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. They said that the Norwegian is an asthmatic, and because of necessity he uses various anti-asthma drugs, which, possibly, have a positive effect on his results (which causes a far ambiguous reaction in the sports world).
Asthma is a common disease in Norway, this is due to climatic conditions. Therefore, Ole Einar conducts tests every year to see if he has asthma or not. Tests show that the great Norwegian biathlete does not and never had asthma. Accordingly, he never used anti-asthma drugs, which would be immediately revealed during the doping test, which Bjoerndalen was subjected to repeatedly. It is known that some athletes in the Norwegian team suffer from asthma and are forced to take appropriate drugs. However, the multiple Olympic champion simply does not have any need for this. He is a healthy person.
Between 2002 and 2005, the quality of his shooting improved markedly. Now, in addition to the title of "best runner", he can safely bear the title of "one of the best shooters." In the period February-March 2005, he had a series of 53 (!!!) shots without a miss at the World Cup and, as a result, a series of 7 victories in a row.
The more surprising is the metamorphosis that took place in the Olympic Turin (Italy, 2006). The Olympics, which promised to lift Ole Einar Bjoerndalen to new heights, turned out to be less successful than the previous one. There were problems with shooting, which did not allow the Norwegian to compete for gold in the individual race, pursuit and mass start, and in the sprint, generally throwing him out of the top ten to 12th place. The race that can really be added to Bjoerndalen's asset can be called the relay race, in which he significantly improved the position of his team in the last stage, moving it from the bottom of the top ten to a modest fifth place
After such a performance, it is not difficult to understand in what mood Bjoerndalen returned to his homeland. The following phrase, said by Ole Einar after the bronze mass start, is noteworthy: “I had a bad race today, and I am very ashamed, because I am really in great shape. I had great skis, but even so I could not catch up with the leaders. Today I almost failed shooting, which is why I failed to win gold."
However, Ole Einar's performances after the Olympics showed that the Norwegian is still able to beat everyone even with not the most successful shooting. In the 2005/2006 season, out of eight starts after the main event of the four-year period, Bjoerndalen excelled in six, breaking the line of 60 victories at the World Cup stages along the way. The logical conclusion of the season was the Big Crystal Globe of the World Cup winner won one race before the end of the season.
On May 27 of the same (2006) year, a significant event in the history (I'm not afraid of this expression) of biathlon took place: another married couple of biathletes was born. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen from Norway and Natalie Santer from Italy got married. The celebration took place in the church of the town of Toblach, where Natalie was born. It is located on the Italian side of the border with Austria. When the couple left the church, they were offered to go through the front "tunnel" of crossed skis, which were held by the athletes of the local club.
Total: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen has in his collection 30 medals of various denominations (21 - world championships and 9 - Olympic), unless, of course, they were stolen from him or he did not lose them. Of these, 12 gold (5 - Olympic, 7 - World Champion), 9 silver (3 Olympic) and 9 bronze (1 - Olympic). Individual medals - 20 (Gold - 9, silver - 4, bronze - 7.
Achievements
Olympics-1994. Lillihamer (Norway). Biathlon. Sprint - 28. Relay - 7. Individual race - 36.
Olympics-1998. Nagano (Japan). Biathlon. Sprint is gold. Relay - silver. Individual race - 7.
Olympics-2002. Salt Lake City (USA). Biathlon - the absolute champion (gold - individual race, sprint, pursuit, relay). Ski race. 30 km freestyle - 6 (5th after the disqualification of Johan Mulleg).
Olympics-2006. Turin (Italy). Biathlon Individual race - silver. Sprint - 12. Pursuit - silver. Relay - 5. Race from the general start - bronze.
Biathlon. World medal championships. Brezhno-Oserbli (Slovakia) 1997. Pursuit - Bronze. Relay - silver. Pokljuka (Slovenia) 1998. Pursuit - silver. Hochfilzen (Austria) 1998. Patrol team race - gold. Konhiolahti (Finland) 1999. Relay - bronze. Holmenkolen (Norway) 1999. Mass start - bronze. Holmenkolen (Norway) 2000. Mass start - bronze. Lahti (Finland) 2000. Relay - silver. Pokljuka (Slovenia) 2001. Mass start - silver. Relay - bronze. Khanty-Mansiysk (Russia) 2003. Sprint - gold. Mass start - gold. Oberhof (Germany) 2004. Sprint, pursuit, individual - bronze. Relay - silver. Hochfilzen (Austria) 2005. Sprint, pursuit, mass start, relay - gold. Pokljuka (Slovenia) 2006. Mixed relay - silver.
Ski race. World Championship 2005. Obersdorf (Germany). 30 km freestyle - 11.
Biathlon. Medal World Cups. 1997 - 2. 1998 - 1. 1999, 2000, 2001 - 2. 2002 - 3. 2003 - 1. 2004 - 2. 2005 - 1. 2006 - 1.
It did happen! The king of biathlon, the Great and Terrible Bjoerndalen, retired from the sport.
He could not compete forever, although almost all biathlon fans would very much like to. But he set an example of amazing sportsmanship and longevity. He first started performing at the World Cup in the 1992/93 season, and made the decision to quit sports 25 years later!
Bjoerndalen: I would like to play a couple more years, but it was the last season
Bjoerndalen could not stop
During his outstanding sports career, Bjoerndalen has won 13 Olympic awards, eight of which are gold, as well as 45 world championship awards, 20 of the highest standard. There are six Big Crystal Globes and 20 Small ones on Ole Einar's shelf, and the awards won at the World Cup stages are simply innumerable: there are only 96 victories alone, including one in cross-country skiing. In terms of the totality of achievements, there is no equal in the world to the outstanding Norwegian.
Not everything can be kings. Why Bjoerndalen does not want to jump off the needle
Coaches and the press do not spare the living legend and are ready to dance on his bones. Bjoerndalen is not needed by the Norwegian biathlon.
It's a shame only that in the last season in the sport, Bjoerndalen was ranked among the strongest cohort rather by inertia, and respected on the track more for past merits. Of course, everyone is strong in hindsight, but if the amazing Norwegian ended his career after the triumphant home world championship in Oslo, where he won four awards, including gold in the relay, now he would be associated only with his endless victories and prizes.
But we've all seen Bjoerndalen lose, and that's the saddest part of all.
The great Norwegian could not stop - it was not in his rules. He devoted his whole life to sports, he is a professional to the marrow of his bones, who did not allow anyone or anything to stop his desire for victories. And how could such a person leave biathlon after the World Championships in Oslo, when there were only two years left before the Olympics in Pyeongchang, which could have become the seventh in his sports career? Oh, if only he knew how long they would be.
Bjoerndalen: meeting with Putin is fantastic!
Eight-time Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen talks about continuing his sports career, meeting with Putin and the Russian failure in Oslo.
There is no place for pity in sport
Bjoerndalen has always been famous for his ability to bring himself to the most important start of the season, which is why he won at least one World Championship or Olympic medal every year. The series lasted two decades: from 1997, when the Norwegian fought on the track with Maigurov and Gross, until 2017, when Ole Einar fought Martin Fourcade and Johannes Boe. For 20 years, three generations of biathletes have changed, and only Bjoerndalen has always been at his best.
But in 2018, the stock was not enough. As the athlete himself admitted, his heart began to fail - in spite of everything, he continued to train, but could not work at the limit, just like before. In addition, family affairs were captured: raising a daughter, of course, took precious hours from training, to which Ole Einar, in his prime, devoted almost all his free time.
The result turned out to be logical: on the eve of the Olympics, the great Norwegian in his team remained only seventh in terms of sports performance, and did not go to Pyeongchang as part of the national team. Even then, a career could have ended, but Bjoerndalen steadfastly decided to end the season.
Terrible finale of the Great. Bjoerndalen was not taken to the Olympics
No one listened to the promises of the king of biathlon. Once Ole Einar was both Great and Terrible, and now he has simply grown old. And it went into circulation.
During the remaining winter and spring months, Bjoerndalen had to get acquainted with a previously unknown feeling of compassion and pity. People signed petitions for the return of the champion to the national team, the IOC started talking about a special “wild card” for the Olympics, the Belarusians were ready to quickly get a passport and provide a place in their team, and the Norwegian coaches began to hesitate in their decision. But pity for someone who has always terrified his rivals is an extremely bad sign. After all, Ole Einar lost not in undercover games, but in a fair wrestling match. And so he knew it was time for him to finish.
At a press conference, announcing the end of his sports career, Bjoerndalen especially emphasized that he was not tired of biathlon. He simply can’t fight at the limit anymore, and therefore sees no point in staying in the sport further. And the super-sportsman is now more interested in simple family values - he wants to spend more time with his family.
The main wedding of the century. How the king and queen got married
Who is the most athletic couple, what would have awaited Bjorndalen and Domracheva if they had not met, and how to use the unique genes of their child.
The world needs new heroes
Bjoerndalen, of course, left a grandiose mark in the history of biathlon and sports in general. He is the ideal athlete, the true embodiment of biathlon. And he will always stand on a par with Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps, Larisa Latynina and Alexander Tikhonov, who forever inscribed their names in the books of records and sports heroes of mankind.
But Bjoerndalen's records won't last forever. Biathlon is developing, competition is growing, the competition program is expanding. Martin Fourcade at the age of 29 is already close to overtaking the great Norwegian in terms of the number of victories - how could you imagine this five years ago? Yes, and in terms of the number of Olympic awards of the Winter Games, Bjoerndalen is not the first: the Norwegian skier Marit Bjorgen in Pyeongchang replenished her collection and was ahead of her compatriot.
Martin Fourcade already has seven Large Crystal Globes against Ole Einar's six. And Marten recently said that he would fight for at least two more seasons. Whether this will be enough to break the records of the great Norwegian is unknown. But one thing is clear: together with Bjoerndalen, a whole era of biathlon has gone - measured and sedate. Now the world is hungry for new heroes: sharp-tongued, sitting in social networks, deliberately creating a hype around themselves and biathlon in general.
Breaking up is always difficult, but sometimes necessary. Bjoerndalen will forever remain a hero of his era. But now someone else will try on the crown.
Olympic champions build a house near Minsk, go to football games and ride in BELAZ.
Have a farewell party
More precisely, in fact, only Bjoerndalen had a farewell party. Daria announced her retirement later. The event took place in Oslo. Ole invited current and retired athletes to the party. Those with whom the Norwegian competed throughout his career. However, many biathletes could not attend an important evening for Bjoerndalen. The Russian side at the event was represented by the “voice of biathlon” Dmitry Guberniev and Match TV correspondent Ilya Trifanov.
In addition to a delicious dinner, guests could enjoy live music, watch the performance of the Norwegian Royal Orchestra and the guard of honor company, study Bjoerndalen's awards, of which he had accumulated a lot. The main entertainment at the party was the dance of Ole and Daria. We have never seen biathletes in such a role.
Building a house near Minsk
It was planned that the house of biathletes in the village of Laporovichi, which is located 20 kilometers from Minsk, would be commissioned in 2016. However, the construction was delayed. Now only finishing work remains. Athletes will be able to move in this fall.
The house, which the locals called the "ship", looks unusual in the Belarusian landscape. It is all the more surprising that Domracheva was involved in the design of the building. The mansion will have a gym, swimming pool and cinema. They say that the owners are closely monitoring the progress of construction and often come to Laporovichi.
Visited the final of the World Cup
There were many recognizable faces in the stands of Luzhniki. Daria and Ole also came to Moscow for the final match. Domracheva had the flag of Belarus painted on her cheek, Bjoerndalen had Norway. Although their national teams failed to qualify for the tournament. At the stadium, the couple took a selfie with actors Danila Kozlovsky (AKA Yuri Stoleshnikov) and Oleg Menshikov.
“It was nice to watch beautiful football. The World Cup is well organized. We are happy that we managed to get to the final. Thanks, Moscow! - Bjoerndalen said after the game to the correspondent of "Match TV" Egor Kuznets.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlSewo4leRo/?hl=en&taken-by=dadofunDomracheva became the ambassador of the European Games, and Bjoerndalen became an honorary member of the FBN
When Ole Einar announced his retirement, many were sure that the Norwegian would not live long without biathlon. Anders Besseberg called Bjoerndalen his successor as head of the IBU, and in May, NRK reported that the eight-time Olympic champion would soon become the head coach of the Russian national team. According to a Norwegian media source, he was supposed to replace Rico Gross. But it seems that while Bjoerndalen is more passionate about his family than looking for a new job. The only biathlon post that Ole currently holds is an honorary member of the Norwegian Biathlon Federation. This appointment took place at the organization's gala in June.
Domracheva was offered the post of ambassador of the European Games, which will be held in Minsk next summer. Her task is to inform people about the competition, maintain and strengthen the brand of the tournament through her achievements and success. The biathlete became the first person to be entrusted with the position of star ambassador of the Games.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlnqX1UFA8i/?hl=en&taken-by=dadofunDaria also has her own clothing brand.
The idea of the project came to Domracheva in the summer of 2016, when she was pregnant and could not do biathlon. But I missed my favorite sport. He became the inspiration for the first collection. The love of creativity, according to Daria, was instilled in her by her architect parents.
Some clothes from the Domracheva line have references to biathlon (five eyes on the target) and an image of an athlete. The spouse also helps to promote the brand.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYU8nH4BIZL/?hl=en&taken-by=shop.daryadomracheva.byEnjoy life in Belarus
The couple celebrated the start of their joint retirement with one day at sea. And then - to Belarus. The rest of biathletes can be traced by the hashtag #NorwegianInBelarus, which Daria came up with for her Instagram followers.
Acquaintance with Belarus began with a bath.
The couple also attended the World Helicopter Championship. Daria, Ole, as well as the younger brother and nephew of Bjoerndalen flew over the outskirts of Minsk.
Last weekend, biathletes rode the world's largest car - BELAZ. After the trip, they were awarded a certificate of successful completion of the initial mining truck driving course.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Blv7FzllpQf/?hl=en&taken-by=dadofunAfter Belarus, the couple will go to Norway. This trip also has its own hashtag - #Belarusian in Norway.
A photo: globallookpress.com, RIA Novosti/Viktor Tolochko
There are a large number of sports in the world, but if we separate summer and winter sports, then football will take the first place in popularity among summer sports, and biathlon will undoubtedly take the first place in winter sports.
Biathlon lovers enjoy watching the ups and downs of the fight on the track, sometimes the winner is determined only after shooting at the lines or on the last centimeters of the race. No wonder this sport is gradually “crowding out” skiing and becoming the most popular winter sport.
In the list of biathletes of the last 20 years, such as Michael Grice, Rafael Poiret, Martin Fourcade, the Be brothers, the first place is rightfully given to the outstanding Norwegian athlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. He is often referred to as the "King of Biathlon". It will be discussed in the article.
Biathlete Bjoerndalen: biography
The future champion and biathlon "King" Ole Einar Bjoerndalen was born on 01/27/1974 in the Norwegian city of Drammen. Childhood years were spent in the city of Simostrand. Parents ran a farm, they had five children in the family, three sons (Ole Einar - middle) and two daughters. Zodiac sign - Aquarius, in the eastern horoscope - Tiger.
As a child, the future champion spent more time not studying, but playing sports in sections. He was fond of football, cycling, athletics, javelin throwing. He achieved good results in the 3,000 m. But then, at the age of 10, he decided to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Doug, who was already involved in biathlon.
Ole Einar already then differed from his peers in fast skiing and was immediately noted by the coaches, who sent the guy to study at the Norwegian Sports Academy. He is a member of the Norwegian biathlon team from 1992 to the present.
How old is a biathlete? Bjoerndalen does not need to be asked about this, since he does not like to talk about personal things. But it is easy to calculate that Ole Einar is currently 42 years old. The athlete weighs 65 kg with a height of 179 cm. In addition to Norwegian, he knows three more languages: Italian, English and German.
Sports career
In the 90s, biathlete Bjoerndalen, as a member of the junior team of Norway, competed in various biathlon competitions and became a three-time champion at the World Championships in Ruhpolding (1993). Based on such success, he was invited to the national team of the country. His debut season was 1992/1993, which was marked by the athlete's performances at top-level competitions (World Cup and the Olympics in Lillehammer). 7th place - the best result.
The first podiums came in the 1994/1995 season, where Ole Einar climbed to second place and twice to third place. As part of the relay team, he finished first. In the asset recorded the Small Crystal World Cup (MHKM) (sprint). He became the fourth biathlete of the planet according to the results of the World Cup offset.
The first personal victory in the 20-kilometer individual race came the following season. In addition, 1995/1996 gave the athlete three more awards (2 silver and bronze) at the World Cup.
The 1996/1997 season was quite successful, when 13 medals were added to the biathlete's treasury, of which bronze and silver were at the World Championships. At the end of this period, he became the second biathlete in the world and received the MHKM in sprint races.
The ascent of the “King of Biathlon” took place the following season - Olympic gold, two world cups (in the overall standings and in the sprint).
The 1998-2001 seasons were quite successful for the biathlete. The numbers speak of this: 45 prizes, 2nd place in the overall standings and 3rd MHKM.
In subsequent seasons 2002-2016 biathlete Bjoerndalen is at the top of his glory. He is already perceived as a favorite, as the leader of his team, despite the death of his parents, constant injuries and divorce from his wife. Over the years, it was he who became the "King of Biathlon".
Participating in biathlon competitions, Ole Einar proved that he can also successfully compete in freestyle cross-country skiing at different distances. For all the time he took part in 17 competitions at the Olympic Games, World Championships and World Cup stages. At the same time, he personally took one gold and two silver, and as part of the relay team - a silver and
Biathlete awards
U. Bjoerndalen is the most titled athlete in So, he won 13 medals, 8 of them gold; won 20 first places at the World Championships; at the stages of the World Cup 95 times rose to first place. He also won the Big Crystal Cup 6 times based on the results of the offsets of the World Cup stages.
Outstanding Achievement
On (1998), U. Bjoerndalen won two sprint races in a row (the results of the first were canceled due to weather conditions).
In two seasons, 1999-2001, Ole Einar climbed the podium 34 times, 13 of them in the individual competition and 4 in the team race.
Ole Einar has an unsurpassed and fantastic record: he climbed the steps of the podium 10 times in a row, 8 of them to the first position (seasons 2005-2007)!
At the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, he conquered all four peaks of biathlon, became the absolute and only Olympic champion in this sport on the planet.
At the age of 40, the great Norwegian biathlete Bjoerndalen won two victories (sprint and mixed relay) at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
According to the results of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Bjoerndalen was named one of the best athletes of the Olympics. In addition, he was officially elected to the IOC commission.
Personal life
05/27/2006 Ole married a biathlete from Belgium Natalie Santer, they lived together for 6 years, there were no children.
2016 was a year of change in the athlete's personal life. At the beginning of the year, “behind the scenes” they talked about the warm relationship between Bjoerndalen and back in Sochi (2014), athletes were often seen together. Daria is a three-time Olympic champion in Sochi-2104 and competes for the Belarusian biathlon team. 07/17/2016 biathletes Bjoerndalen and Domracheva got married, their wedding took place in Oslo. In addition, in October of this year, Ole Einar is going to become a father. Biathletes Bjoerndalen and Domracheva, whose photos you see in the article, are really a wonderful couple. It is worth wishing happiness to the young family!
Ole Einar is a versatile athlete. In addition to biathlon, he enjoys rock climbing and cross country. Biathlon for him is primarily a hobby, not a job.
Biathlete Bjoerndalen devotes a lot of time to sponsorship events.
She currently lives in the Austrian city of Obertilliach, where Daria also plans to move.
Our champion very carefully takes care of his health, protects himself from viruses and maintains cleanliness everywhere, so he always takes a vacuum cleaner on a trip and very rarely shakes hands. He adopted the habit of carrying this device from older “collectors”.
In April 2014, in order to prevent unforeseen illnesses, create optimal conditions for the training process and restore strength, he buys a 20-ton van. The cost of such a motor home was estimated at 2 million crowns.
In 2016, in Moscow, our hero, together with Certina, presented his own collection of watches.
By his nature, he is distinguished by modesty, phlegm. He has a sense of humor and self-irony.
Principles of Ole Einar Bjoerndalen
At press conferences and official events, Bjoerndalen sticks only to the classics - an impeccable classic suit.
On all topics that relate to the family, he imposed a taboo.
Ole Einar is categorical in relation to doping, he believes that it is better to double-check this or that medicine several times. In case of a mistake, you fail not yourself, but the team. He doesn't drink alcohol.
In athletes, he appreciates not only physical training, but also the mind. So, thanks to his thinking, Bjoerndalen believes, M. Fourcade can cope with difficult situations, from which not every experienced athlete will get out.
Future plans
At a recent press conference, Bjoerndalen said he plans to continue his biathlon career for at least two years. He wants to compete at the 2018 South Korean Olympics. In addition, he is looking forward to the time when he and Daria will compete together. D. Domracheva plans to participate in competitions from January 2017.