It is unlikely that there are many countries in biathlon that would refuse the help of a superstar family duo. And the legendary Norwegian himself does not hide the fact that he had many offers, including from leading teams.
And yet, Bjoerndalen and Domracheva chose... China. The couple are inspired by the new challenge and are full of enthusiasm to develop biathlon in places where not everyone knows about its existence. Surely Ole Einar and Daria are driven not only by the desire to help their Chinese comrades, but also by a very generous reward for the Asian business trip.
In Belarus they saw Domracheva’s act as a betrayal.
“There is some sadness.” How Domracheva lives after finishing her career
Daria visits the Summer Biathlon World Championships, travels with her family, communicates with fans and develops her clothing line.
The Chinese, frankly speaking, do not shine in winter sports. And the lack of competitive results in medal-rich cross-country skiing and biathlon 2.5 years before the Winter Olympics in Beijing is particularly saddening for local sports officials. A year ago, Norwegian specialists were involved in working with skiers, and now the time has come to invite foreigners to biathlon. The choice of the Chinese side fell on the most famous biathlete of all time, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, and he agreed to work only in tandem with his wife Daria Domracheva, so as not to be separated from his family for a long time. Ole Einar will be the head coach of the Chinese national team, and Daria will lead the women's team.
Domracheva said that the priority in her and her husband’s upcoming work will be to build a highly professional team and develop the potential of each athlete.
Generous offer and move to Monaco
Despite their phenomenal achievements in biathlon, neither Bjoerndalen nor Domracheva have coaching experience. It’s hard to believe that the star couple will be able to bring the World Cup outsiders to the Olympic podium in two seasons. I think they understand this themselves. It’s another matter if they are not faced with such a task. Working with champions of the level of Bjoerndalen and Domracheva will in any case contribute to the professional growth of Chinese biathletes, but it is difficult to expect a breakthrough. And if this does not happen, then the biathlon legends may be labeled as chasing money.
Specific amounts have not been disclosed, but the Chinese have clearly made a very generous offer to Ole Einar and Daria. By the way, it recently became known about the couple’s desire to move to Monaco, where there is a simplified taxation system. Perhaps this is just a coincidence, or perhaps the former athletes actually plan to pay less taxes on their Chinese earnings. It is very doubtful that the cooperation between the Chinese federation and the newly minted coaches will last after the Olympics. After the home Games, funding will most likely be sharply reduced, and China will no longer be able to pay for the services of top stars. So Bjoerndalen and Domracheva have only 2.5 years to accomplish the great Chinese miracle.
Russia is worse than China in biathlon. The World Cup showed us the harsh reality
27-year-old Chinese Chang was ahead of the entire Russian team in the pursuit race; the Chinese juniors have two more gold medals. What do we have?
Domracheva is being persecuted at home
In Belarus, Domracheva’s decision caused a storm of criticism. People on social networks and on media websites called her act unpatriotic, accused her of chasing money, advised her to train the Belarusian team, and even demanded that she be deprived of the title “Hero of Belarus.” Daria replied that she had no offers from the Belarusian federation. At the same time, many Belarusian sports fans treated the new work of the four-time Olympic champion with understanding and wished her luck.
It’s interesting that in Norway it never occurred to anyone to criticize Bjoerndalen. On the contrary, they hope that Ole Einar will gain good coaching experience in China, which he will then use for the benefit of Norwegian biathlon. And no one accuses the titled biathlete of wanting to make money.
If only it weren't awkward
The World Summer Biathlon Championships in Belarus showed that the Chinese team, especially the women's part, has potential. And Domracheva and Bjoerndalen have accumulated vast experience over many years of their careers, which will help Chinese biathletes become leaders. Who knows, perhaps China will become the first point in the great coaching career of a star family contract. But for now it seems that the benefits of Domracheva and Bjoerndalen from this cooperation will be more tangible than those of the Chinese side.
If only the great champions would not have to later remember working in China with a feeling of awkwardness.
Eight-time Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, to whom the prima of the Belarusian biathlon Daria Domracheva gave birth to a daughter, Ksenia, on October 1, told reporters from Se og Hør about how the two stars and their baby are preparing for the new winter season. In addition, Bjoerndalen remembered how the wedding ceremony took place in the summer.
"Daria is incredible"
“She’s very good, she eats and sleeps most of the time.” It’s just a pleasure to be the father of this girl,” says Ole Einar Bjoerndalen.
The most titled biathlete in history also never ceases to admire his wife.
- Daria is incredible. She is at least as good a mother as she is a biathlete. Her life has changed a lot lately, but she is coping just fine. Ksenia eats with pleasure at night, and Daria has to take on the main burden,” says Ole Einar, looking lovingly at his wife.
Bjoerndalen is happy with the pre-season preparations, he managed to do most of the training work, and he intends to continue to fight for medals.
“We were prepared for what was going to happen, so the changes didn’t affect me that much.” I managed to train almost as normal with minor adjustments. A trailer, equipped with everything necessary for preparation, was also with me in Minsk. We used it for two months before our daughter was born. Everything I need is there. Now it has already been transferred to Norway. So everything is in its place,” says Bjoerndalen.
Now the star family expects a lot of travel. Bjoerndalen's base is in Obertilliach, Austria. They will also spend time in Minsk, where Daria is building a house.
Secret wedding, beautiful ceremony
This spring, Ole Einar and Daria announced their relationship. In addition, they talked about the fact that they were expecting a child. To the surprise of many, the couple managed to formalize their relationship before the birth of their daughter. The ceremony took place on July 7 in an idyllic church in the mountains in Shushen ( in the top corner of the photo).
- This did not come as a surprise to us. We had been planning this for a long time and wanted to have a quiet celebration with close friends and family members in a beautiful setting. And we succeeded,” says Bjoerndalen.
The church is located in a place that is very familiar to Norwegians. He ran countless kilometers on the trails in Shushen. The wedding turned out to be so secret that only a few knew about it.
The event became known more than a week later, when the couple posted a photo from the holiday, where they smiled widely at the camera.
“We planned everything together down to the smallest detail. Everything went exactly the way we wanted. It was just perfect, but we’ll keep the details to ourselves,” says Bjoerndalen.
“Rivals have something to fear”
Bjoerndalen has already started the winter season and is looking forward to the races of the first stage of the World Cup, which starts on November 28 in Östersund. Later, from February 8 to 19, the World Championships will be held in Hochfilzen, and shortly before that Ole Einar will turn 43 years old. But the biathlete really wants to go there and try to extract the precious metal again.
Bjoerndalen has eight Olympic gold medals and 20 world championship medals. No one in the history of biathlon can compare with the hero from Simostranda.
— I don’t know about the number of medals. You probably know this better than me. “I will gratefully accept new victories, although I know that winning will not be easy,” he says. “There are still a few more weeks of intense training ahead, so I’m where I need to be.”
Bjoerndalen managed to avoid illness, and this is unlikely to be good news for his rivals.
- Hehe, let's hope they have something to fear. In any case, for my part, I will do everything possible, and we’ll see how much it’s enough for,” he says modestly.
Bodyguards are needed only in Russia
Ole Einar is a megastar in many parts of the world interested in sports. One of its main sponsors is the Russian chain of sports stores Ski World.
“Perhaps my biggest fans are in Russia, Germany and Norway,” he says.
Only in Russia does he sometimes need bodyguards.
“I feel a lot of pressure there.” Obviously biathlon is very loved and popular, but I must add that I have never been in any scary situations. I need bodyguards to get from one place to another,” Bjoerndalen clarifies.
Domracheva hopes to return to racing in January
These days, the Belarusian national biathlon team is working at a training camp in Shushen, Norway. Based on its results, the lineups for participation in the opening stages of the World Cup in Östersund and the IBU Cup in Beitostolen will be determined.
The first stage of the Biathlon World Cup of the 2016/2017 season starts on November 27 in Östersund with mixed relays (mixed and super mixed). On November 30, there will be an individual 15 km race for women, and a 20 km individual race for men on December 1. Sprint races will take place on December 3, and the stage will end on December 4 with pursuit races.
Included women's team Nadezhda Skardino, Anastasia Kinnunen (Duborezova), Nadezhda Pisareva, Irina Krivko, Anna Sola, Kristina Ilchenko, Daria Yurkevich, Maria Panfilova, Dinara Alimbekova are preparing for the season.
Three-time Olympic champion Daria Domracheva also started in Shushen, who started four weeks after her daughter Ksenia. Bjoerndalen also prepared for the season there. And then the star family moved to Norway.
Domracheva and Bjoerndalen train together. Photo: facebook.com In early November, the daughter of the famous biathlon couple will bear her father's surname.
It was previously reported that Domracheva will be helped in preparing for the 2018 Olympics, who at one time helped Ole Einar Bjoerndalen achieve impressive success.
Domracheva hopes to return to racing in January. And if functional readiness allows, Daria expects to compete for medals at the World Championships in Hochfilzen, which will begin on February 9, 2017.
IN men's team In Belarus in Shushen, Roman Eletnov, Yuri Lyadov, Vladimir Chepelin, Viktor Krivko, Maxim Vorobey, Dmitry Dyuzhev, Dmitry Abashev, Alexander Dorozhko and Sergei Bocharnikov are preparing for the new season.
Meanwhile, two months before the start of the season, a Russian specialist became the head coach of the Belarusian national team Valery Polkhovsky, who took over the team in May. The helm of the national team was urgently taken over by the most experienced Belarusian coach Yuri Albers, who was previously responsible at the Biathlon Federation for holding international and republican competitions.
These days, Daria Domracheva is fighting for the Olympic medals in Pyeongchang, and her husband Bjoerndalen accompanies her as a coach. Daria and Ole Einar have remained high-class biathletes for many years and manage to motivate fans to exercise and eat healthy lifestyles. GO.TUT.BY tells and shows what the diet of the star couple is, how they spend their vacations and recover from impressive workloads.
The Belarusian biathlete’s diet has been formed over many years. Now Domracheva is planning it herself, listening to her own body, and before, consulting with specialists.
Daria is selective about what appears on her table. The menu must include fish, a sufficient amount of complex carbohydrates, a lot of vegetables and fruits, herbs and water. The three-time Sochi champion does not shy away from desserts and loves to bake pies for her family and friends. She is sure: everything is good in moderation - the main thing is to maintain balance.
Domracheva likes national dishes from different countries of the world. Of course, the first on her list are Belarusian potato pancakes and pancakes. Next in line are Norwegian fish and traditional Scandinavian rice porridge with cinnamon. In the family of Olympic champions, it is usually prepared on Saturday morning. Athletes love to eat spaghetti and are already introducing little Ksenia to haute Italian cuisine.
When they have free hours, Domracheva and Bjoerndalen try themselves as cooks. For example, in the company of her husband and family friend, a Chinese massage therapist, Daria learned to cook Asian food.
And the family’s diet always includes meat from wild animals: venison is Ole Einar’s favorite meat delicacy. By the way, the famous Norwegian hopes to become a hunter himself. It seems that Bjoerndalen should have no problems with accuracy.
In addition to proper nutrition, the Belarusian biathlete closely monitors her body and gives it a variety of exercises. Daria does not hide the fact that she likes her own figure.
— I have never acted in men's magazines. But, if they had offered, I could have appeared in a swimsuit without any problems. I like my body. But shooting for truly men’s magazines doesn’t really appeal to me,” Domracheva said.
During her vacation, the Belarusian woman does not take a break from sports. She enjoys going on bike rides with her family, snowboarding, Nordic walking, and even fishing.
— In the spring, Ole and I go snowboarding and our cross-country skis for fun. When the season is over, it's great to fill your hydration tank with cocoa instead of a sports drink, grab some sandwiches instead of sports bars, and head out for a long ski trip. This is real pleasure, relaxation and an opportunity to admire the snowy beauty around,” the racer shared her passions.
On October 1, the star couple had a daughter, Ksenia, in Minsk. Bjoerndalen was present at the birth, having given up training in the mountains for the sake of this event - a mandatory part of his pre-season training for the last twenty years. Daria, in turn, trained almost until she left for the maternity hospital, and now she has returned to work again and hopes to compete in the coming season!
Such a rapid return to skiing is not news for leading foreign athletes. Bjoerndalen's compatriot Marit Bjorgen, who is to cross-country skiing what Domracheva is to biathlon, competed 11 weeks after the birth of her son. French biathlete Marie Dorin-Habert became a two-time world champion a year and a half ago, also having a three-month-old child in her arms.
“I had a similar experience when I, with my little son in my arms, did two workouts a day and also exercises,” says Bogaliy. “This, of course, is very difficult, but I think Dasha will have enough help to care for her daughter.” If a child sleeps well at night, and during the day, for example, there is a nanny who will take him for a walk and let his mother rest after training, then everything is possible. The Frenchwoman Dorain-Habert has already accomplished such a feat, and this year, in addition to Dasha, our Katya Yurlova, who recently gave birth to a daughter, is going to repeat it. I sincerely wish the girls success.
Bjoerndalen has already stated that he has given his wife first right of use of his trailer. And this is not just a huge truck, but an entire high-tech structure, stuffed inside with state-of-the-art simulators and rehabilitation equipment. The Norwegian himself took part in the construction of this unique structure, which followed him to all stages of the World Cup. Now the trailer has a photo of Domracheva and a Belarusian flag, and it has turned from personal into a real family base.
Training trailer
“Dasha is very strong, and it is important for me that she gets back into shape as soon as possible,” said Bjoerndalen. The couple is currently training in full swing in Norway. Ole Einar is ready to tear apart his opponents already from the first stages of the World Cup, and Domracheva will most likely enter the fight immediately after the New Year.
Bjoerndalen's cheerful compatriots, the Boe brothers, have already made a whole bunch of jokes about the fact that now diapers will appear in the trailer of The Great and the Terrible, and that instead of training, he will begin to walk with a stroller. In fact, for a Norwegian, biathlon is not just a sport or a job, but a way of life. If Daria decided to give up her own sports career and stay at home with the child, for Ole Einar it would look as strange as for most men - the opposite option.
Yesterday in Oslo Ole Einar Bjoerndalen gave a party to celebrate his retirement from sports. There were 230 guests at the celebration. Most of all, the guests of the evening and fans remembered their hot dance with Daria Domracheva. Russian commentator Dmitry Guberniev filmed it and posted it online.
The athlete explained this number of guests by his desire to thank everyone and referred to the fact that he had not had a normal party for a long time, since before his thoughts were always occupied with performances.
According to Bjoerndalen, he invited everyone who played some role in the athlete’s career: coaches, sports friends and even drivers.
There were also his two brothers and two sisters with their children, but his daughter Ksenia was not at the party: it was too noisy an event for a little girl.
Among the famous Belarusian athletes at the party were Nadezhda Skardino, Nadezhda Pisareva and Anastasia Kinnunen (Duborezova).
The highlight of the program was the bright dance of two athletes, which was leaked online and has already collected hundreds of thousands of views.
Regarding whether Daria Domracheva will continue her career, Bjoerndalen replies that no decision has been made. He hopes it will be decided within a couple of weeks.
Quick communication with the editors: read the Onliner public chat and write to us on Viber!