The 42-year-old eight-time Olympic champion gave an exclusive interview to SE during his visit to Moscow.

Bjoerndalen moves as fast in life as he does on the track. Even the day before, at a press conference in Norway, he announced two news: one, quite predictable, about continuing his career at least until the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea; and the second, unexpectedly pleasant, that she and the Belarusian biathlete Daria Domracheva will become parents in October.

The very next day, Bjoerndalen in Moscow, together with the company Certina, presented his own collection of watches. The Norwegian was true to himself: an impeccable classic suit, thoughtful and extremely correct answers to any questions. At the same time, Bjoerndalen cannot be denied a sense of humor and self-irony: for example, before starting an interview, he offered to vacuum the hotel carpet, because there could be germs. And then he defiantly extended his hand to the TV journalist - here, they say, is proof to you that in fact I do not suffer from paranoia and calmly shake hands with strangers, not thinking about potential viruses.

But the topic of personal life is still taboo for Bjoerndalen. The great Norwegian admitted that he and Domracheva are a couple and are expecting a baby. But he did not intend to go deep and warned in advance that it would be better for him not to ask questions on this topic.

"BIATHLON FOR ME IS A HOBBY, NOT A JOB"

After a brilliant performance at the home world championship in Oslo, you apparently had almost no doubts whether it was worth continuing your career. Or did this decision cost you several sleepless nights?

- No, this time the decision was not as difficult for me as it was two years ago, in 2014 after the Sochi Olympics. Now I feel the strength and desire to run, my results last season were just fantastically good: I won four medals at the home world championship, won and was on the podium at the World Cup. Although, of course, I didn’t care what to discuss with the closest people: family, coaches, doctors.

- Do you see any disadvantages in staying in biathlon for at least another two years?

- Of course I see! There is a fairly high chance that in one of the next seasons I will not be able to achieve a result and will perform disastrously badly. And people say that you need to stop with sports when you are at the top. And if I left now, I would be guaranteed to do so, without any risk.

- But you really didn't want to leave now?

- To be honest, I still enjoy playing sports. It's not even about the result, I enjoy the process of achieving it. The case when the path is more interesting than the goal. Therefore, biathlon is a hobby for me, not a job. Work is, for example, what I do now: sponsorship events, interviews and the like. And in my free time, I can do what I want - that is, go to train.

You mentioned the other day that you are just as motivated now as you were 20 years ago. But surely the current incentives are very different from those that were in the past - one thing is a novice athlete, and another - an eight-time Olympic champion?

- Probably, motivation should change over the years, but for me it is not. And then, and now I was engaged in biathlon, because I like it. Of course, I am aware that sooner or later the day will come when I will have to leave the sport. I have to feel this moment in my heart. Until I think he came.

It seems to me that even when you stop competing, you will continue to train in the same mode - because you simply cannot do without it?

- Of course, if only because abruptly stopping training is dangerous to health. I will reduce the load, but very gradually.

- Tell us about your workouts - how do they change with age?

- Now I train a little less than at the beginning of my career. But I focus on quality, on high-speed work, on various technical issues. I have never paid as much attention to this as now.

You were never afraid of experiments - you changed your ski technique several times, performed with curved poles. Should we expect something similar in the future?

- Oh sure. I'm collaborating with a ski firm and we're preparing something interesting. Also next year, a serviceman with whom we have worked throughout my career is leaving my team. He said he was tired and would like to spend more time at home. Although in the preparatory period, he will still help me. I'm sorry, but this is my friend and I have to respect his decision.

- People around you get tired and leave, and you stay...

- Of course, because it is not easy to work with me. I am demanding and persistent. But my results are largely the result of my team's work.

"NORTUG - PARTY CHAMPION"

Your compatriot, two-time Olympic champion skier Petter Nortug is looking forward to how you will celebrate good news in your personal life together at the "Race of Champions" in Tyumen. You are ready?

- Petter is a good friend of mine, we have a great relationship. I would love to mark everything together with him, but I can’t do it. In terms of parties, Northug is a real pro, just a champion. I don’t know how to have fun like that, here I’m much more modest. I also like the holidays, I like to relax a little, but I'm far from some.

You run as well as young people, but in life you behave like a mature man - from the classic style of clothing to the rejection of wild parties. How old do you feel?

- It's hard to forget that I'm already 42, but I feel much younger. Well, maybe 25 years at the most. I like the feeling that I can still compete on equal terms with guys who are 21 or 22 years old, and even beat them. To the same Johannes Be, I am fit to be a father, so what? It makes me feel young and strong like before.

In 2007, when you and I were interviewed during the World Ski Championships in Sapporo, you said: "Young children often get sick, and I can't afford it. Two professional athletes with children is not the best option." Apparently your opinion has changed since then?

- I don't remember those exact words. It seems to me that, in general, this topic is another tale that they write about me and which has nothing to do with reality. I have never said that I do not want and do not like children. The infection can be picked up anywhere, the more people around - the greater the likelihood. But that's no reason not to talk to anyone, right? You just need to follow certain precautions, for example, wash your hands before eating.

- How are you and Daria Domracheva going to combine raising a child and active performances?

- It will be a new life, very different from the one we led before. Daria wants to start competing in January and I'm looking forward to that moment. Apparently, it will not be easy to combine everything, but we are not the first to follow this path.

- How are you doing in learning Russian?

- No, I don't understand or speak a word. Although it would be great to learn a little: for example, here in Moscow, I would like to drive, but as soon as I saw a noisy intersection and figured that I didn’t know the language at all, I changed my mind.

Ole Einar BJORNDALEN in the Olympic Sochi. Photo by Fedor USPENSKY, "SE"

"I WILL BE HAPPY TO RETURN TO PYEONGCHANG AGAIN"

- Have you heard anything about the latest doping scandals involving Russian athletes?

- Yes, but I do not think that I have the right to give any comments on this topic.

- Have you ever been offered doping personally?

- No. I have lived in Austria, Italy and Norway and have always been extremely careful with the drugs I took. Sometimes you have to double-check everything until you find a familiar remedy in which you are sure. But this is entirely the area of ​​responsibility of the athlete, because in case of a mistake, you will substitute not only yourself personally, but also your team.

- How do you feel about the fact that the Frenchman Martin Fourcade is called the "second Bjoerndalen"?

- Marten is a fantastic biathlete and of course he will be the first Fourcade and not the second Bjoerndalen. At the moment, Fourcade is the best in the world. What I like is that he is not only physically strong, but also a very smart athlete. It is difficult to explain how it works, but it is this mind that helps him cope with difficult situations, from which not everyone will get out. .

Our Olympic champion Olga Medvedtseva said that when you end your career, she will cry. How often do you have to deal with such manifestations of feelings?

- Often. I am pleased that people think so, but I cannot draw motivation from such words. It is somewhere inside me, not outside.

At the 2009 World Championships in Pyeongchang, Korea, where the next Olympics will take place, you won four gold medals. But that tournament was also remembered for your insulting mistake, when in the pursuit race you missed the right turn and accidentally cut off a few meters ...

- That championship turned out to be one of the best in my career, despite the very difficult conditions - constant wind, rain, lack of snow. As for that case, I did mistakenly drive over the bridge and not under it. This is my fault, although the marking of the route was not done in the best way. I think the jury of appeal then made the right decision, leaving me the gold, as I was the strongest athlete in that race. But I am aware that there are people who think differently. I will be glad to return to Pyeongchang in good shape in two years and try to repeat all the same, but without mistakes.

Anyone who is at least a little interested in biathlon, and just sports life, does not need to explain who Ole Einar Bjoerndalen is. This is probably one of the most titled athletes in the history of biathlon. In addition, this athlete is completely without age. It seems that he has always been and always will be, he will take part in more than one Olympics and receive well-deserved awards. Nevertheless, he is already 41 years old - a respectable age for any sport.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, biography.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen was born in Norway, in Drammen, on a frosty January day on January 27, 1974. Ole also has an older brother, Dag, and a younger one, Hans Anton, as well as two sisters. There are few Norwegian children who would not get up on skis and whom their parents would not send to skiing. The older brother was the first to go to biathlon and became a shooting skier, Ole - already after him. The younger brother did not lag behind, with whom Ole later formed the backbone of the national biathlon team.

Ole has been biathlon since the age of 12. His ski training was already good at that time, so soon Ole begins to compete in serious competitions. In principle, Ole also won victories in skiing, but in biathlon he was attracted by the fact that he needed to be able to switch from dynamic skiing to calm and balanced shooting. It is very difficult and not for everyone. Although, according to the athlete himself, shooting was not very good for him, there was clearly no talent for the shooter.

Therefore, after working with a psychologist, he simply began to train a lot in shooting - 5 times a week, 2 times a day. Since then, he himself has given advice that if there is no special ability for something, then you just need to study a lot and everything will turn out even better than those who have talent.

His debut took place when the athlete was 18 years old. And it was not a junior competition. In 1992, he took part in competitions among serious biathletes. And after 2 years there was the first Olympics in Lillehammer. True, these competitions did not bring Ole awards, the lack of experience affected. But already in the next season, his triumphant ascent to the sports Olympus began.

Ole's finest hour was the Olympic Games in Nagano in 1998, where he took gold and silver.

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However, the greatest triumph awaited him four years later in Salt Lake City. There he became the first four times in different races. In the same year, he won other significant competitions. Then he had more or less successful seasons. Before the Sochi Olympics, Ole stated that it would be the end of his sports career. However, having shown brilliant results at the Olympics, not losing in any way to his young colleagues, he decided that he would still like to feel the taste of victory and remained in the sport until the World Championships in Oslo in the 16th year.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen is rightly called the king of biathlon, no one has such a number of victories and well-deserved awards, and no one else has held the personal championship for so long. But such achievements are a huge work of the athlete himself. According to him, he constantly monitors the development of sports, what other, younger athletes bring to it, learns from them. Moreover, for this it is enough for him to carefully observe their manner of performing at competitions, and then simply copy. Therefore, even in his forties, he continues to improve and improve his technique.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, personal life

Ole tries not to talk about his personal life with numerous correspondents. He does not like such questions. With his ex-wife Natalie Santer, an Italian biathlete, he met back in 1998, since then they have been together, as far as their busy sports schedule allowed. In 2006 they got married. Despite many years of living together, they never had children. In 2012, the couple decided to divorce, which she very discreetly told reporters, without disclosing details.

Most believe that this happened because of Ole's romance with the Belarusian biathlete. Daria Domracheva. Although some believe that the homeowner has nothing to do with it, Ole's difficult character is to blame for everything. Be that as it may, Bjoerndalen is now alone, but surrounded by thick rumors about his upcoming wedding with Daria. Neither Ole nor Daria comment on their future marriage, and the reporters were not able to film them together.

However, more recently, Bjoerndalen himself said in an interview that after the wedding, he and Daria intend to settle in Moscow, which would be more comfortable for both of them, since Daria would not like to live in Norway, and Ole in Minsk. Moscow could be a link for them. So, soon we will see a new beautiful union of outstanding athletes.

UPD: April 5, 2016 it became known that in October of this year, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Daria Domracheva will become parents.

Bjoerndalen announced this at a press conference.

“I had a good friendship with Daria for a long time. Recently, she has developed a little ... And it has come to the point that we will become parents!

We are looking forward to it. And we are very happy,” said Bjoerndalen.

If you love sports, then on our website you can find a lot of wonderful photos and biographies.

In the family of Olympic champions in biathlon, Belarusians Daria Domracheva and Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen replenishment - they have. This is the first child for each parent. Daria gave birth in the maternity hospital No. 6 in Minsk, in a superior ward. The girl and mother are now doing well. The name of the baby has not yet been advertised, but the weight of the newborn is known - 3650 g.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. Photo: RIA Novosti

The athletes met at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, then hid their relationship for a long time. On July 17, 2016, three-time Olympic champion Daria Domracheva and eight-time Olympic gold medalist Ole Einar Bjoernadalen got married.

AiF.ru gives a biography of the most titled biathlete in the history of Ole Einar Bjoerndalen.

Dossier

Born January 27, 1974 in the Norwegian town of Drammen in a family of farmers. He has two brothers and two sisters.

Since childhood, he went in for sports, attended various sections: football, handball, javelin throwing, cycling, athletics.

Since 1984 - engaged in biathlon.

Since 1992 he has been a member of the national biathlon team.

Sports achivments

• 13 Olympic medals;
• 8 Olympic gold medals - shares the record for the number of titles of the champion of the Winter Olympic Games with skier Bjorn Delhi;
• the world's only absolute Olympic champion in biathlon - at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, he won four out of four possible victories;
• 20 victories at the Biathlon World Championships;
• 6 victories in the overall standings at the Biathlon World Cups;
• 95 personal victories at the stages of the Biathlon World Cup and 1 victory in cross-country skiing;
• a total of 133 victories along with team disciplines;
• Member of the IOC in 2014-2016.

Personal life

He 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.

In October 2012, he divorced his wife after 6 years of marriage. No kids.

In their history - the Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. the site tells why the National Olympic Committee of Norway decided to take this step, and also who will replace the legendary athlete in the national team.

These Games were to be the last for the most successful biathlete in history. In the summer, Ole Einar prepared for the Olympics, trying to bring himself to the peak of his form by February. Unfortunately, it wasn't without problems. The 43-year-old Norwegian, who also visited Raubichi, did not feel the best, but continued to be brave, not focusing on his failures in the preparatory period. Three-time Sochi 2014 champion and wife of Bjoerndalen Daria Domracheva recently told NRK that her husband's difficulties were quite serious.

- At first he had problems in preparation in the summer. I don't think a lot of athletes could handle that at all. But still he began to perform in the World Cup. However, perhaps due to the fact that everything happened shortly before the season, it was difficult to get back in shape at the start of the season, when it was very important.

Bjoerndalen himself again modestly denied, calling the problems "unpleasant little things."

Be that as it may, Bjoerndalen started the season well. He was twice 18th at the first stage of the World Cup. Then few doubted that Ole would easily meet the standards in the next races, but the results began to decline. In Hochfilzen, the Norwegian became 28th in the sprint, and fell back outside the top 40 in the pursuit.

Bjoerndalen did not go to the third stage in France, having gone with Domracheva to another training camp. And if Daria benefited from additional training, then Ole was again far from the necessary conditions. In the sprint at Oberhof, he was only 52nd with two penalties, and in the pursuit he was 36th. The stage in Ruhpolding was approaching, after which the Norwegian coaching staff planned to decide on the six that would go to Pyeongchang.

Brothers Boe and Emil Hegle Svendsen met all the standards at the beginning of the season. They repeatedly got into the top 12 at the stages, without raising doubts about their candidacies. The remaining three places were claimed by four: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Lars Birkeland, Erlend Bjontegaard and Henrik L'Abe-Lund. The challenge is to finish in the top 12 individual races twice (or once in the top 6) or be in the top six Norwegians overall. In previous years, Bjoerndalen would have easily dealt with this trio, but now their results looked much more preferable.

Birkeland finished in the top 12 four times in individual races and proved to be an excellent relay starter. In the overall standings, he is on the border of the top ten and even bypassed Svendsen.

L'Abe-Lund also outpaced Bjoerndalen many times, and in Hochfilzen he was twice in the top 10. In the overall standings, he is now in 24th place.

Finally, Ole Einar's main rival was the least known biathlete of this squad, Erlend Bjontegaard. The 28-year-old native of Kongsberg was regularly placed seventh out of the national team. He was not taken to the Olympic Games and only once included in the application for the World Cup. What can I say, even at the stages of the World Cup, Erlend is an infrequent guest. When it became clear that it was he, and not Bjoerndalen, who could go to Pyeongchang, Bjöntegaard felt out of place, saying that he would normally accept the decision of the coaches if they chose Ole. But Erlend's results spoke better than any words. He was left out of the team for the Östersund and Oberhof stages, but he made the most of his chance at Annecy when Bjoerndalen left for the training camp. In the sprint and mass start, the 28-year-old biathlete finished tenth, having immediately completed the standard in the form of two hits in the top 12 riders in individual races.

Erlend Bjontegaard, laagendalsposten.no

Everything was decided in an individual in Ruhpolding. Neither Bjontegard nor Bjoerndalen got into the mass start, and therefore the 20 km race with four firing lines was the last test. For an iron hit at the Olympics, Ole Einar needed to drop into the top six, but for sure the coaching staff would have convinced any high result of Bjoerndalen, provided that Bjontegaard performed worse. Before the start, the veteran was focused. He understood that the key factor would be not so much physical form as shooting, because for each miss in the individual race, a minute of penalty is given.

Bjoerndalen started the race at a good pace and passed the first firing line without a miss. Ole secured his success on the rack. By the third shooting, he was fifth, and by that time Bjontegard had already made two misses. Alas, it was the third firing line that became fatal for Bjoerndalen. He unexpectedly missed twice in prone. At the last shooting, Ole Einar added another miss to his liability and went to the finish lap. In the final protocol of his most important race in this World Cup, he was 42nd. This is the worst result in the team. Even Sjostad Christiansen, who does not claim a ticket to Pyeongchang Vetle, ran better. Bjöntegaard, like Ole Einar, missed three times, but finished in 21st place. On the track, he was faster than Bjoerndalen by a whole minute.

After that, the coach of the Norwegian men's team, Siegfried Maze, faced a difficult dilemma. On the one hand, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen did not fulfill the selection criteria, on the other hand, the rejection of a great champion may cause the anger of the fans. If Maze had a choice, he would probably limit himself to an application of four people. It is clear that it will be difficult for L'Abe-Lund and Bjontegard to fight for medals, and then Bjoerndalen will be repeatedly remembered by the coaching staff. But, take Maze Ole Einar, who would also hardly have joined the fight for awards, there would have been a fuss about non-compliance with the sports principle.

Maze decided to focus on the selection criteria. Birkeland, Bjontegaard and L'Abe-Lund fulfilled them, Bjoerndalen did not. Albeit not immediately, but nevertheless agreed with the opinion of the coaches and the National Olympic Committee of Norway, which initially advocated the inclusion of Ole Einar, which approves applications for the Games.

— We had thorough discussions with the sports directorate of the biathlon federation. Unfortunately, it was decided not to include Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in the composition for the Olympics in Pyeongchang. His results this season do not give hope for a good result. Other biathletes performed better and deserved the opportunity to compete at the Games. It is difficult to make such decisions, given the merits of Bjoerndalen. His name will forever remain in the history of the Olympic movement in Norway, - quotes the words of the representative of the NOC of Norway, Toure Evrebo, the NRK channel.

It's hard to disagree with Evrebo. The decision of the Norwegian side is difficult, but fair. There is no doubt that this step will be discussed before, during and long after the Olympics. But it is much more important now to pay tribute to the great champion, who at the age of 43 decided to enter the fight for selection for the Olympics in the team with the highest competition in the world. Bjoerndalen does not live on the moon, he was well aware that his experience and endurance were no longer so effective in modern biathlon with these explosive speeds and crazy intensity. At his age, it is already difficult to digest loads sufficient for competitive struggle. But Bjoerndalen fought to the end and looked decent. His results were enough to qualify for any national team in the world except Norway and Germany.

Failure to qualify for the Olympics will not make him any less great or take away his legendary status. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen will be an eight-time Olympic champion tomorrow, a 20-time world champion, a 135-time World Cup winner and the best biathlete in history. Well, we will once again regret that the International Olympic Committee does not issue a wild-card outside the selection criteria, following the example of the organizers of tennis tournaments.

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen is a famous Norwegian biathlete.

He was born on January 27, 1974 in the Norwegian town of Drammen. From an early age, he, like all Norwegian children, knew how to ski well. At school, he did not strive to get good grades, but devoted all his time to sports. Among his friends, he had the nickname Fat Man, although he was not fat, but had a large face.

At first, Ole played handball, then tennis, then football. Many years later, Bjoerndalen admits that at a young age he smoked and drank alcohol, but decided to change his life.

At the age of 12, he begins to seriously engage in biathlon. Since then, he has not smoked a single cigarette and has not drunk a drop of alcohol.

At first, Bjoerndalen showed terrible results in shooting, but, having set himself the goal of learning to work brilliantly on the line, he soon became one of the best shooters on the team.

Biathlon career

Already at the age of 18, the talented Ole Einar makes his debut at the Biathlon World Cup. In his first season, Bjoerndalen failed to win medals. In the winter of 1994, the coaches, having seen all the makings of a future biathlon star in the young Norwegian, take him to the Olympic Games. But there Ole also did not climb the podium. There was a lack of experience.

On December 8, 1994, Bjoerndalen won the World Cup prize for the first time. In the sprint race of the Austrian Bad Gastein, Ole Einar finished second, 14 seconds behind his compatriot Jon Aage Tyldum. Bjoerndalen's first victory took place on January 11, 1996. In the individual race at the third stage of the World Cup in Anterselva, Italy, the Norwegian shot to zero and was able to win.

In the 1996 season, Bjoerndalen becomes one of the strongest biathletes on the planet. At the end of the season, Ole Einar took second place in the overall standings, losing 11 points to the German Sven Fischer.

At 24, Bjoerndalen becomes an Olympic champion. In Japanese Nagano on February 18, 1998, he wins the sprint, a minute ahead of Frode Andresen, who finished second in that race. In the same year, Bjoerndalen wins his first World Cup, taking first place in the overall standings.

In 2002, Ole Einar went to the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, of course, one of the favorites. But no one could imagine what an incredible result he would show. Bjoerndalen won all three individual races: individual, sprint and pursuit, and then won the “victory” as part of the Norwegian team in the relay. Thus, he became a five-time Olympic champion.

In the post-Olympic season 2002/03, Bjoerndalen takes the World Cup for the second time, and in 2004/05 and 2005/06 repeats the success.

Ole failed to win gold medals at his third Olympics, but he became second twice and third once.

In the 2007/08 and 2008/09 seasons, Bjoerndalen won two more Big Crystal Globes - a trophy for winning the overall World Cup, and then things went into decline. At the 2010 Olympics, the first two races for the "King of Biathlon" were a failure - first seventeenth in the sprint, and then seventh in the pursuit. In the individual race, Ole pulled himself together and showed the second result. But after 3 days in the mass start, the titled Norwegian missed 7 times. Such shooting did not allow Bjoerndalen to take a more or less decent place. As a result, 27 result.

In 2011, Ole was injured and his results deteriorated further. In the 2011/12 season, 16th place in the overall standings, and the next year even 22nd. In the summer of 2013, Bjoerndalen announces his intention to end his career after the Sochi Olympics. Ole Einar prepared for his last Games according to an individual program.

February 8, 2014, to everyone's surprise, the 40-year-old Norwegian becomes a 7-time Olympic champion. Despite a miss, Bjoerndalen wins the sprint. After 10 days in the mixed relay, the eighth gold is submitted to the Norwegian. In the overall standings at the end of the season, Ole becomes the sixth. He decides to continue performing until the 2016 home world championship in Oslo.

In the summer of 2014, Bjoerndalen trained in an unusual way. He bent his sticks at the top. He found that in this way a more powerful repulsion is achieved. This allows you to win a few treasured seconds at a distance. He started the 2014/15 season with such sticks. Soon several biathletes joined him, including such celebrities as the Swede Fredrich Lindström and the Belarusian Daria Domracheva. The following season, Ole Einar abandoned this "invention" and began another experiment - super-light sticks.

At the World Championships in the Norwegian capital, “King of Biathlon” performed excellently: two silver, gold and bronze. Bjoerndalen announces that he is not going to retire yet.

The twenty-fifth biathlon season was the last for Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. The best result is 18th place. The 44-year-old biathlete failed to qualify for the Olympics in Korean Pyeongchang, but Bjoerndalen went there as part of the coaching staff of the Belarusian national team.

On December 29, 2018, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen took part in the Christmas Race of the Stars, an annual biathlon show. This race was the last official start for the Norwegian. Bjoerndalen was paired with his wife Daria Domracheva.

From the last shooting, Ole Einar left third, but soon the German Benedikt Doll overtook him. A few meters before the finish line, Doll stopped. After waiting for Bjoerndalen, the German gave him a hand and crossed the finish line with him.

Ski race

In addition to performances in biathlon, Bjoerndalen is a good skier. He took part in ski races. Twice participated in the World Ski Championships, but could not get into the top ten, finishing 11th and 13th. In the World Cup, Ole Einar won the silver medal twice. The first time it happened on November 25, 2001, and the second time on December 22 of the same year. November 18, 2006 Bjoerndalen won the 15 km start in the Swedish Gällivare.

In the relay races, Ole Einar won two awards - bronze in 2003 and silver in 2006.

Victories in individual and team competitions

Bjoerndalen is the most titled biathlete in history. He has many awards to his credit. The Norwegian has 96 victories in personal biathlon races, and his last victory was a kind of record.

On December 2, 2015, he became the oldest Biathlon World Cup winner in the history of the competition. Ole Einar was 41 years 10 months and 5 days old at the time of the “victory” in the Östersund individual race.

In team disciplines, Bjoerndalen won 41 times.

In total, the great biathlete has 137 victories, which is a record that most likely no one will be able to beat.

Results in the overall standings of the small and large World Cups

In the overall standings of the World Cup, Bjoerndalen won 6 times. So many times he became the second.

Ole Einar has twenty Small Crystal Globes on his account. This award is given to biathletes for victories in the overall standings of any particular discipline. In nine seasons, the Norwegian was recognized as the best in the sprint. He won the Pursuit and Mass Start classifications five times each and won the individual race standings once. This discipline is the most unfortunate in the history of Bjoerndalen.

Shooting statistics

In his youth, Bjoerndalen shot poorly, but over time, due to hard training, the Norwegian achieved stable performance in statistics. Ole Einar showed the best shooting in the 2010/11 season - the percentage of accurate hits was 86.7%. The next season, the figure deteriorated significantly - 79.6%.

Life after leaving professional sports

Bjoerndalen gave biathlon a quarter of a century. He spent 25 seasons at the World Cup, where he reached the podium 261 times.

It is not for nothing that Ole Einar is called the “King of Biathlon”, because he was and remains the strongest biathlete in history, who even at the age of 40 fought for prizes and was able to win. It seemed that he had always been and always will be, and when it was time for him to leave, all the biathlon fans were upset.

The era of Bjoerndalen is over, but he himself decided not to deviate far from biathlon and became a journalist on one of the Norwegian sports channels. Now Ole Einar is interviewing, shooting reports, attending the World Cup, where he himself recently performed.

So far, his coaching career has not attracted him, although he has received offers from various teams, including the Russian one, more than once.

According to Bjoerndalen, now his family comes first. In 2016, he married the famous Belarusian biathlete Daria Domracheva, and on October 1 of the same year they had a daughter, Ksenia.

Interesting video: bright victories and duels by U.A. Bjoerndalen (seasons 2002-2012)