How the three-time Olympic champion turned Bjoerndalen's head

At the World Cup stage in Anterselva, Russian biathletes finally showed their true strength. Ekaterina YURLOVA, Olga PODCHUFAROVA, Anton SHIPULIN and the men's relay four brought Russia four gold medals at once! However, biathlon is not only skiing and shooting, victories and defeats. It is also love, meetings and partings. We decided to tell you, dear readers, some love stories from the life of world biathlon stars.

Dasha swimsuit slayed the champion

Perhaps, the relationship between the famous Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and the three-time Olympic champion Daria Domracheva is discussed most of all in the biathlon get-together. On the closing day of the Olympics in Sochi, they did not leave each other for a very long time, and after the ceremony, the great Norwegian appeared at the location of the national team ... of Belarus. He seemed to have come to congratulate the team on an unprecedented success, but it was clear that Bjoerndalen appeared there for the sake of Dasha, who, in fact, won all three gold medals for the country.
Later, the paparazzi photographed an international couple in a shopping center in the Finnish town of Kontiolahti. It was about nine o'clock in the evening, Ole Einar and Dasha were holding hands, and turning around the corner, the eight-time Olympic champion began to whisper something in Domracheva's ear and took her by the waist. And even earlier, at the World Cup stage in Germany, the Norwegian late at night left the cottage where the Belarusian charmer stayed.
At first, both denied this connection. Still, because Bjoerndalen for the time being was considered an exemplary family man. In 2006, he married an Italian Natalie Santer and once said in an interview:
- In many years, when I grow old, I would like to live on the ocean and hear the sound of the surf in the morning. And next to me, my Natalie will be busy in the kitchen. Of course we will be with her.

However, life is unpredictable. Six years later, Bjoerndalen confessed to his wife that he no longer had the same feelings for her. As a result, the couple divorced. And the Italian edition of Wintersport News reported that Domracheva became the reason for their divorce. It turns out that back in the summer of 2012, the women's biathlon team of Belarus came to the Austrian Obertilliach, where Bjoerndalen was preparing for the season. Led by Domracheva. When Daria appeared one day on the porch of the cottage in a revealing bathing suit, Ole was just passing by. The experienced Viking could not stand it - and went on boarding.
Domracheva misses this season. According to Dasha, doctors discovered she had mononucleosis (this disease leads to an increase in the lymph nodes, liver and spleen, and can cause tonsillitis and fever). However, rumors immediately spread that this was not the only thing - they say, Domracheva is pregnant! From Bjoerndalen! The Frenchman Martin Fourcade also added fuel to the fire. The famous biathlete, when asked about Domracheva, replied:
- I hope Dasha will return to biathlon soon. I have a good relationship with her. True, not as close as those of Bjoerndalen.
The Norwegian is 42 years old, Domracheva is 29. Both have no children. To be honest, it's time to think about it.

By the way, information about Domracheva's pregnancy, first in a private conversation with colleagues, and then on Twitter, was reported by journalist Dmitry Egorov. He is currently working on one of the sports Internet portals. Dima claimed that his source was quite reliable and had not been mistaken before. For example, in 2015, Dmitry learned about Olga Zaitseva's pregnancy from him, although Zaitseva hid everything. But someone told Domracheva that they wrote about her, and Yegorov had to apologize. "Russian voice of biathlon" Dmitry Guberniev, in an interview with our correspondent, also denied the rumor about Daria's pregnancy.
According to Belarusian colleagues, several years ago Domracheva met with director Maxim Subbotin. It was he who filmed a documentary about the best biathlete in the country. During filming, mutual sympathy arose between them. Domracheva carefully looked at the footage and asked to remove some of the footage related to her family. The director began to argue, they almost quarreled, but in the end Maxim conceded. Daria liked the documentary. Subbotin accompanied her to several social events and press conferences in Minsk. But when Bjoerndalen himself laid eyes on Domracheva, she could not resist. It won't be long before this love story ends.

Will live in two countries

Ekaterina Yurlova, world champion in the individual race, confirms her class this season as well. At the World Cup stage in Anterselva, she won two medals at once - gold and bronze. But the former coach of the Russian women's team, Wolfgang Pichler, waved his hand at her. He spread rot on her, believed that this biathlete was not capable of anything, and threw her out of the team.
Katya was inspired to sports exploits by an affair with the masseur of the Austrian national team, Josef Percht. They met at a competition a few years ago. Yurlova at first did not want to accept the courtship of a foreigner, because she was sure that she would marry only a Russian. However, Josef was very gallant and persistent. He invited the girl to his place in Ramsau, introduced him to friends and parents. Then he showed Vienna at night, and Katya suddenly realized that she, too, was drawn to Josef.
“We got married in October,” Yurlova said. - The ceremony took place in the city hall of Ramsau am Dachstein. On my side were my mom and dad and a few of our biathletes. Where will we live? So far, for two houses - in St. Petersburg and Ramsau. And then it will be seen. But I will definitely play for Russia.

The bride is not confused

One of the country's most accurate biathletes, Alexei Volkov, experienced his finest hour in Sochi 2014. Together with partners, he became the Olympic champion in the men's relay. And a month after that triumphant race, a resident of Khanty-Mansiysk married a biathlete from Chelyabinsk, Evgenia Seledtsova. Of course, the young people faced the question: where to live?
- I offered Lesha to move to Chelyabinsk, - says Zhenya. - Firstly, housing prices are two times lower than in Khanty-Mansiysk. Secondly, the climate is better in the Urals. Finally, my parents live there. When Lesha and I have children, there will be someone to leave them to. (Laughs.)
Seledtsova admitted that a few years ago she was afraid of losing her boyfriend. When Volkov left for competitions and did not call for a long time, she could not find a place for herself. Once asked:
- Lyosha, with whom do you want to celebrate the New Year?
- Of course, with you, - the shooting skier answered.
- Then arrange with the authorities that at the December training camp you and I would train together. On the men's team. You understood me? Enough already, I'm bored.
And Lesha agreed. Since then they have been together. For five years in a row, Seledtsova has been flying to a training camp in Germany or Austria in the middle of the season to brighten up the gray everyday life of the hard worker Volkov.

Shipulin's beautiful gesture

Our best biathlete Anton Shipulin also showed aerobatics in amorous affairs. The Olympic champion approached the choice of a place where to propose to his bride Luiza Sabitova very thoroughly. Anton and Luisa came to the cinema to watch the film "The Dawns Here Are Quiet...". When the lights went on in the hall, Shipulin, in front of all the honest people, handed the girl a gorgeous bouquet of flowers, and then took out a box with an engagement ring and asked Louise to become his wife. The audience gasped and gave a standing ovation. The happy darling of the champion said “yes” after a short pause.
Sabitova and Shipulin are from Tyumen, where they met about four years ago. Louise studied economics at the Ural Stock Market Institute. The young people played the wedding in June 2015 in Yekaterinburg, where Shipulin now lives. His partners in the Russian national team, actors from the popular show "Ural dumplings" and even the governor of the Sverdlovsk region Evgeny Kuyvashev came to the celebration. And in December, Louise gave birth to Shipulina's son. Now it is clear why Anton was in such a hurry with the marriage - the bride was already in an interesting position in the summer.

Both looked to the side

The most eminent Russian biathlete of recent years, Olga Zaitseva, also hid her pregnancy for a long time. Shortly after the end of her career, the two-time Olympic champion, unexpectedly for many, was appointed head coach of the women's team. Zaitseva rolled up her sleeves and got down to business. And then she suddenly announced that she had changed her mind. Like, there is no such possibility, inexperienced yet. Only her new boyfriend Pyotr Trifonov (he prepares equipment before the start for the skiers of the Russian national team) knew what was going on. Already to him, Olga admitted that she was expecting a baby. In October last year, Zaitseva gave birth to a son, who was named Styopka.
She has not yet registered a marriage with Trifonov. Olga already had a bad marriage experience. For seven years, our Zaika was the wife of the Slovak biathlete Milan Augustin. He's a good-looking guy and dresses stylishly. Olga gave him a son, Sasha. But, as evil tongues say, while Bunny was running along the track and closing targets, Milan, bored without his wife, found another sweetheart in Slovakia. And the serviceman Trifonov just laid eyes on Olya. So the separation of the spouses passed without breaking dishes and dividing pots. Augustine has no obstacles to seeing his son. Apart from the distance, of course.

By the way
Olga Zaitseva told our correspondent that she would not be on maternity leave for long. In April or May of this year, she is going to return to coaching.

Valentine's Day this year fell on the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. It is there that one of the most famous couples in the world of sports, biathletes, will celebrate Valentine's Day Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Daria Domracheva. In honor of the holiday, we decided to tell how this "sports" love story was born.

How it all began

Some say that Domracheva met her future Norwegian husband at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, others suggest that they began to communicate closely in 2012 at a summer training camp in Austria. However, we know only one exact date - October 4, 2012, when Bjoerndalen broke up with the Italian biathlete Natalie Santer. Apparently, then the biathlete already felt sympathy for the Belarusian colleague.

Veil of secrecy

In the next few years, biathletes carefully concealed their relationship, the most discussed at that time was Daria's phrase: “The only official information about my personal life will be a message about my marriage.” Soon it almost happened! Of course, many friends and fellow biathletes knew about their relationship, but the strength of friendship was stronger than the desire to tell the public about the personal lives of Domracheva and Bjoerndalen.

The first to pierce was a French biathlete Martin Fourcade, who in 2015 stated: "I am on good terms with Domracheva, but, of course, not as close as Bjoerndalen."

official confirmation

On April 5, 2016, at a press conference by Bjoerndalen, at which, as the journalists expected, the biathlete’s sports career was to be discussed, the main statement was not only confirmation of the relationship with Daria, but also the fact that the Belarusian biathlete was pregnant: “I have an excellent relationship with Daria Domracheva. We are now a couple and expecting a baby. We didn't want to keep it a secret, but we'll focus on our relationship. It's very exciting to be a father."

On July 16 of the same year, the couple got married in Oslo. The ceremony was held modestly, in the circle of family and friends. The only public picture of the celebration is on Daria's Instagram.

Not only biathletes, but also parents

Naturally, at first Daria and Ole Einar devoted all their time to their daughter, but already in 2017 they returned to training. At the 2018 Olympics, Daria adequately represents her homeland, and Bjoerndalen helps athletes in training.

But, despite the career, the child remains the most important link in the life of both biathletes. “I need to learn Norwegian, as this is my daughter's second native language,” Daria admitted in an interview. “Who is the head of our family? Of course Xenia. She often laughs. I think she will make a great comedian,” says Bjoerndalen.

It all started with the fact that in January 2013, the Italian edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport in its weekly magazine Sportweek.it announced the sudden divorce of the King of Biathlon Ole Einar Bjoerndalen from the former Italian biathlete Natalie Santer and that such a decision was allegedly connected with the novel , which the Norwegian allegedly spun with Daria Domracheva. According to Italian journalists, the relationship between the athletes arose in the summer of 2012 during a training camp in Obertillach, Austria.

A lot of time has passed since then, but the issue has not become clearer. The biathletes themselves are silent, and the publication has not issued a refutation. The intrigued public can only guess, based on indirect signs. Tribuna.com decided not to stand aside and collected reasons why this whole story can be believed and why it should not be believed.

Why believe

There is a house in Obertillach near Bjoerndalen

In the Austrian Obertillach in the federal state of Tyrol, where the Belarusian team trained according to the plan in the summer of 2012, Bjoerndalen has a house. Ole Einar has long lived in Austria. For Norway, he exclusively runs in competitions.

Domracheva openly complimented Bjoerndalen this fall

The beginning of this season at Bjoerndalen did not work out. At the first stage of the World Cup in Östersund, he performed only in two races - in the individual he became 31st, in the sprint - 12th, he refused to pursue. But the Belarusian, as best she could, supported the biathlete: “Yes, I support Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and wish him all the victories. This is a person whom you can look up to and take an example not only from an athlete, but also in life. He knows how to get what you want."

Serviman of the Belarusian national team Ivar Michal Ulekleiv is an old friend of Bjoerndalen

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Norwegian serviceman Ivar Michal Ulekleiv, who joined the Belarusian team this season, have been good friends for over 20 years. The Great and Terrible wanted the greaser to work for the Norwegian team, but when Ivar failed to negotiate with the functionaries, for some reason he moved to Belarus, and not to Russia, for example, where he was offered more serious financial conditions.

Bjoerndalen divorced his wife

Bjoerndalen's marriage to Italian biathlete Natalie Santer was registered in 2006, and they have been dating since 1998. In October 2012, the couple announced that they were officially ending their relationship. Here is a joint statement by Bjoerndalen and Santer: “We must admit that our desire to live a long life together has not come true. We have a separate life ahead of us. We agreed that we would say nothing more than this statement. Please respect and understand our desire not to comment on this topic in future interviews.” This happened exactly after the summer gathering in Austria, so in time with the beginning of the affair with Domracheva, if we take the message from the Italian edition on faith, everything converges. Natalie and Ole were considered the perfect couple. Who, if not a participant in five Olympics, was destined to touch the heart of such a man? Together, the Bjoerndalens loved to do extreme sports, and everything was fine. But they never had children.

Nothing has been heard about the guy Domracheva for a long time

The information that Maxim Subbotin (a talented screenwriter and director, winner of various international festivals) and Daria are dating surfaced after they appeared in public several times, in particular, at the Dreams Come True charity project. In 2010, Maxim made a film about his beloved - “Daria Domracheva. Representing Belarus. But in the last couple of years, nothing has been heard about Subbotin at all.

Domracheva and Bjoerndalen missed the Annecy World Cup this season

The World Cup in French Annecy takes place in mid-December. Leading biathletes missed it for the sake of preparing for the Olympic Games in Sochi. These included both Bjoerndalen and Domracheva. Ole Einar went to train in Italy, where Daria was also actively sent. But at the last moment, the women's team of Belarus decided to train in Austria, where, again, the house of the great Norwegian is located.

The appearance of the mysterious Alexander Askoldovich

Speaking about her successful shooting at the Sochi Olympics, Domracheva mentioned a certain respected specialist, whom she still calls Alexander Askoldovich for the sake of intrigue. It is noteworthy that Bjoerndalen has recently added to shooting. And if earlier he won races due to speed, now his trump card is accuracy at the shooting range.

Biathletes have not yet issued a rebuttal

Neither Daria herself nor Ole Einar confirmed the information about feelings for each other. But what is important, and not refuted. The Belarusian woman left the following message on her website: “I am not a supporter of private life becoming public, but in connection with the emerging wave of all kinds of rumors, I think it is worth clarifying. Official information about my personal life will only be a message about my marriage. Everything else is rumors that I see no reason to comment on. Clarity was not achieved. There was no specific denial from Daria.

Why you don't believe

Belarus national team did not train in Obertillach

“We have not trained in Obertillach for two years now,” says the head coach of the biathlon team Andrian Cybulsky. “Obertilliach, of course, has a well-established base, but we had a training camp in Seefeld, 300 kilometers away.” The Austrian home of Bjoerndalen is far away.

None of the third parties confirmed the information about the novel

Absolutely everyone from Domracheva's entourage calls the whole situation complete nonsense. Darya's mother Larisa Domracheva, in a conversation with a Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent, denies information about the novel, stating that these are all rumors. And the state biathlon coach Yuri Albers claims the following: “This is real nonsense!”

Natalie Santer could leave Bjoerndalen because of his troubles

Ole Einar is not easy in family life. The Norwegian is considered a person with big troubles: he cares so much about cleanliness and hygiene that he carries a vacuum cleaner with him and rarely shakes hands. And it is also known that he uses the services of several psychologists, one of whom made his client walk on hot coals to concentrate. Not everyone is able to withstand such a person around. Perhaps that is why Natalie Santer decided to divorce her husband, and not at all because of Domracheva.

There is no joint photo

For all the time that the rumor lives, not a single joint photo of the couple has appeared anywhere. Although biathletes, as a rule, are in plain sight. Hide a relationship with anyone - it still needs to be able to. Bjoerndalen's active Facebook pages and Domracheva's Google+ pages are pristine in terms of mutual connection with each other. At the same time, none of the paparazzi also captured the famous biathletes together. Although, it seems that a good fee is due for such a picture.

Holidays spent in different places

Bjoerndalen has never been seen in Minsk. Darya Domracheva regularly visits her parents' home in the capital of Belarus for several days. Why not do it with your loved one? Plus, it is known for certain that Domracheva spent her only vacation in 2013, when the rumor was actively circulating in the media, without Bjoerndalen. She went to the Mediterranean Sea to Greece. Ole Einar was vacationing in Austria.

Ole Einar Bjorndalen is a Norwegian biathlete who over the years has become a true symbol of his sport. In his track record there are countless victories won at various world championships and Olympic competitions. In terms of the total number of awards, our today's hero is the most titled athlete in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. That is why, even before the end of his career, a talented Norwegian is called the “King of Biathlon”. But what else can be said about our today's hero? You can learn about the most interesting events in the life of the great and terrible Ulle from our article.

The early years, childhood and family of Ole Einar Bjorndalen

Ole Einar Björndalen was born on January 27, 1974 in the Norwegian city of Drammen, but as a child he moved with his family to another locality - Simostranda. From an early age, our today's hero was fond of various sports. Studying practically did not occupy him, and therefore the Norwegian devoted most of his time to football, handball, cycling and athletics.

The love of sports was passed on to the young guy from his father. At one time, Bjoerndalen Sr. achieved good success in athletics, but later he was still forced to leave the sport due to financial difficulties and responsibilities associated with supporting his family. In the future, the father of our today's hero was engaged in farming. Often, in everyday affairs, the man was also helped by his sons, among whom Ole Einar was the middle one. In addition, the family of the future famous athlete also had two sisters.

As for the passion for biathlon, it appeared in Ole's soul relatively late. First, the boy's older brother, Doug, began to engage in this sport, who later made a good career in professional sports. Thus, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen simply followed in his footsteps. The guys began to train together. But later their paths diverged.

Thanks to his good skiing, already in his teens, Ole Einar managed to make an excellent impression on some prominent Norwegian coaches. He began to study in the best academies of his country, and therefore, he soon began to appear at the junior world championships. After a series of high-profile victories at the "junior" age level, Ole Einar was promoted to the adult group.

In the 1992/1993 season, he first appeared at the World Championships, and a year later he went with the Norwegian national team to the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. At the “home” Olympic Games for the Norwegian team, the young athlete performed quite confidently, but lack of experience did not allow him to eventually take a high place. The best result of that season was the seventh place in the team relay.

Star Trek Ole Einar Bjorndalen in biathlon

Ole Einar Björndalen achieved his first major success in 1996, when he won a silver medal at the “summer” world championship in Hochfilzen. After that, medals of various denominations began to appear in his track record with amazing regularity. In the 1996/1997 season, Ole won his first gold medal at the World Championships in Krakow (4x4 relay), and then also won bronze in the individual sprint.

Einar Bjoerndalen took gold in Sochi 2014

Even more striking in the career of the Norwegian was the 1997/1998 season and the Olympics in Nagano that came with it. That season, the talented young biathlete managed to win his first Olympic medals - gold in the individual 10 km sprint and silver in the team relay. It was at this moment that the victories of Ole Einar Björndalen ceased to seem to the audience and specialists as a happy coincidence. The medals of the Norwegian all began to be taken for granted. Almost every race of his young Scandinavian approached in the status of a favorite. And subsequently, Ole repeatedly proved that he was capable, if not of everything, then of a lot.

During his career, our today's hero became the Olympic champion eight times. Such an achievement seems even more impressive when you consider the fact that at the 2002 Olympics in the American Salt Lake City, the famous athlete managed to win in all four biathlon disciplines. Thus, in that year, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen became the absolute champion in biathlon. So far, not a single athlete on our planet has been able to repeat such an achievement.

The performances of the athlete at the Biathlon Championships and World Cups have always been no less bright. Over the years, the Norwegian won nineteen victories at the world championships. During his career, Ole won six times in the overall standings and in cup competitions. In total, our today's hero won ninety-five victories at various stages of the Biathlon World Cup. Such results, you see, inspire respect.

Personal life and other interesting facts of Ole Einar Bjorndalen

In the life of a famous athlete, marriage to the Italian biathlete Natalie Santer. The marriage of two celebrities lasted about six years (from 2006 to 2012), but subsequently broke up.

In July 2016, the Norwegian and Belarusian biathlete Daria Domracheva combined themselves by marriage. The athletes met in 2010 at the Vancouver Olympics. At that time, the biathlete was still married to Santer, and many journalists suspected that it was the affair with Daria that caused his divorce.

In October 2016, the firstborn of Bjoerndalen and Domracheva was born. 30-year-old athlete gave birth to a girl.

In ordinary life, Ole Einar loves good literature, music and travel. He knows four languages ​​(Norwegian, German, English and Italian) and on every trip he invariably takes with him ... a vacuum cleaner. This funny fact is connected with the well-known strangeness of the athlete - the craving for cleanliness. He avoids handshakes and pays great attention to the cleanliness of his body.

Ole Einara Bjorndalen now

Currently, despite his rather middle age, Ole Einar Björndalen continues to race. Despite the fact that recently his name is rarely mentioned among the favorites, the Norwegian continues to amaze all biathlon fans. What are only two victories obtained at the recent Olympics in the Russian city of Sochi (in the 10 km sprint and in the mixed relay).

Bjoerndalen and Guberniev

Such victories were perceived by many viewers as a small sensation. And only Ole Einar Bjoerndalen always knew what he was capable of in his forties.