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Ole Einar Bjørndalen

Bjørndalen in 2007
Personal information
Nickname(s)	King of Biathlon The Cannibal
Born	(1974-01-27) 27 January 1974 (age 50) Drammen, Norway
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Spouses	Nathalie Santer ​ ​(m. 2006; div. 2012)​ Darya Domracheva ​(m. 2016)​
Website	oleeinarbjorndalen.com
Professional information
Sport	Biathlon Cross-country skiing
Club	Simostranda IL Byåsen IL
Skis	Madshus
Rifle	Anschütz
World Cup debut	18 March 1993 28 November 1998
Olympic Games
Teams	6 (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) 1 (2002)
Medals	13 (8 gold)
World Championships
Teams	23 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) 2 (2005, 2007)
Medals	45 (20 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	26 (1993 – 2018)
Individual races	478 (biathlon) 16 (cross-country skiing)
All races	582 (biathlon) 20 (cross-country skiing)
Individual victories	95 (biathlon) 1 (cross-country skiing)
All victories	136 (biathlon) 1 (cross-country skiing)
Individual podiums	179 (biathlon) 3 (cross-country skiing)
All podiums	252 (biathlon) 5 (cross-country skiing)
Overall titles	6 (1997–98, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09)
Discipline titles	20: 1 Individual (2004–05); 9 Sprint (1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2008–09); 5 Pursuit (1999–00, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09); 5 Mass start (2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 8 4 1 World Championships 20 14 11 Summer World Championships 1 1 1 Junior/Youth World Championships 3 0 1 Total (65 medals) 32 19 14 Olympic Games 1998 Nagano 10 km sprint 2002 Salt Lake City 20 km individual 2002 Salt Lake City 10 km sprint 2002 Salt Lake City 12.5 km pursuit 2002 Salt Lake City 4 × 7.5 km relay 2010 Vancouver 4 × 7.5 km relay 2014 Sochi 10 km sprint 2014 Sochi Mixed relay 1998 Nagano 4 × 7.5 km relay 2006 Turin 20 km individual 2006 Turin 12.5 km pursuit 2010 Vancouver 20 km individual 2006 Turin 15 km mass start World Championships 1998 Hochfilzen Team event 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk 10 km sprint 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk 15 km mass start 2005 Hochfilzen 10 km sprint 2005 Hochfilzen 12.5 km pursuit 2005 Hochfilzen 15 km mass start 2005 Hochfilzen 4 × 7.5 km relay 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 10 km sprint 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 12.5 km pursuit 2008 Östersund 12.5 km pursuit 2009 Pyeongchang 20 km individual 2009 Pyeongchang 10 km sprint 2009 Pyeongchang 12.5 km pursuit 2009 Pyeongchang 4 × 7.5 km relay 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 4 × 7.5 km relay 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk Mixed relay 2012 Ruhpolding 4 × 7.5 km relay 2012 Ruhpolding Mixed relay 2013 Nové Město 4 × 7.5 km relay 2016 Oslo 4 × 7.5 km relay 1997 Brezno-Osrblie 4 × 7.5 km relay 1998 Pokljuka 12.5 km pursuit 2000 Lahti 4 × 7.5 km relay 2001 Pokljuka 15 km mass start 2004 Oberhof 4 × 7.5 km relay 2006 Pokljuka Mixed relay 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 4 × 7.5 km relay 2008 Östersund 20 km individual 2008 Östersund 15 km mass start 2008 Östersund 4 × 7.5 km relay 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk Mixed relay 2015 Kontiolahti 4 × 7.5 km relay 2016 Oslo 10 km sprint 2016 Oslo 12.5 km pursuit 1997 Brezno-Osrblie 12.5 km pursuit 1999 Oslo Holmenkollen 15 km mass start 1999 Kontiolahti 4 × 7.5 km relay 2000 Oslo Holmenkollen 15 km mass start 2001 Pokljuka 4 × 7.5 km relay 2004 Oberhof 20 km individual 2004 Oberhof 10 km sprint 2004 Oberhof 12.5 km pursuit 2008 Östersund 10 km sprint 2016 Oslo 15 km mass start 2017 Hochfilzen 12.5 km pursuit Junior World Championships 1992 Canmore 4 × 7.5 km relay 1993 Ruhpolding 20 km individual 1993 Ruhpolding 10 km sprint 1993 Ruhpolding 4 × 7.5 km relay

Ole Einar Bjørndalen (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈûːɽə ˈæ̂ɪnɑr ˈbjø̂ːɳˌɖɑːɫn̩]; born 27 January 1974) is a retired Norwegian professional biathlete and coach, often referred to by the nickname, the "King of Biathlon". With 13 Winter Olympic Games medals, he is second on the list of multiple medalists behind Marit Bjørgen who has won 15 medals. He is also the most successful biathlete of all time at the Biathlon World Championships, having won 45 medals. With 95 World Cup wins, Bjørndalen is ranked first all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour. He has won the Overall World Cup title six times, in 1997–98, in 2002–03, in 2004–05, in 2005–06, in 2007–08 and in 2008–09.

In 1992, he won his first career medal at the junior world championships. A year later in 1993, after winning three junior world championship titles, a medal haul only previously achieved by Sergei Tchepikov, Bjørndalen made his Biathlon World Cup debut. His breakthrough came in 1994 when he featured on his first World Cup podium in a sprint race held in Bad Gastein, Austria. Bjørndalen first competed in the Olympic Games at the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics, held in his home country of Norway. He obtained his first major victory on 11 January 1996 in an individual competition held in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy. On 20 February 2014, Bjørndalen was elected to an eight-year term at the International Olympic Committee's athlete commission. He resigned from this role in 2016 as he elected to continue his career.

Career

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At the age of 16 Bjørndalen left home to pursue his sporting career at a sports academy in Geilo, where he initially trained in both cross-country skiing and biathlon, although after one year there he decided to focus on the latter.

In 1993, at the age of 19, Bjørndalen first came into focus by winning 3 out of 4 possible gold medals at the Junior Biathlon World Championships, which among other things led to him being chosen to represent Norway in the 1994 Olympics, at the cost of highly merited biathlete Eirik Kvalfoss. At those Games Bjørndalen's best finish was a 28th position in the sprint.

He has won the World Cup six times (1997–98, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, and 2008–09), finished second six times (1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2003–04, and 2006–07), and third once (2001–02). In his first season (1992–93) he finished 62nd, the season after, 30th and the season after that, fourth. In the 1995–96 season, he dropped down to ninth, but finished in the runner-up position in 1996–97. When winning the overall world cup in 1998, at the age of 24, he won titles at each of the three major championships in biathlon in one season – a world championship gold medal, an Olympic gold medal and the overall World Cup title. He finished second in the overall World Cup for the following three seasons and then third in 2001–02.

His World Cup podium record is 179 podium finishes, 95 1st places, 53 2nd places, and 31 3rd places in the individual events. Bjørndalen has 1 World Cup victory in the team event. In relay Bjørndalen has won 37 races, he has also 21 2nd places and 14 3rd.places. In total he has 72 podium finishes in the world cup, relay event. Bjørndalen has 252 World cup podium finishes, individual, team and relay races combined in Biathlon, and 5 podium finishes in cross-country skiing World cup. In total Ole Einar Bjørndalen has 257 World cup podium finishes. When he took his 87th World Cup race victory in February 2009, he overtook Ingemar Stenmark as the skier with the most World Cup wins in history.

Bjørndalen has won the Sprint world cup nine times in the seasons: 1994–1995, 1996–1997, 1997–1998, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08 and 2008–09. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen also came 2nd in the Sprint world cup in the seasons: 2003–04 and 2005–06. Ole Einar has won Pursuit world cup five times from 1999 to 1900, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2007–08 and 2008–09. He has 2nd place in the seasons 2000–01, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07 and 3rd places in 1996–97, 1998–99 and 2001–02. Bjoerndalen has been winner of the Mass start world cup five times in: 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2007–08. He came 2nd in 2000–01, 2003–04 and 2008–09. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen was number 3 in the Mass start world cup in the season 1998–99. He has also once won the Individual distance world cup. It was in 2004–05. Bjoerndalen has also finished number 2 in the 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2005–06 seasons. Ole Einar also came 3rd in the 1997–98 season. He has won a total of 20 times, 13 times finished in second place and five times came in 3rd place. Overall, he has been on the podium 38 times.

Bjørndalen has won the relay world cup 11 times in the seasons: 1997–98, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2015–16 and 2017–18. He has 6 times finished second in the world cup relay in: 1996–97, 2006–07, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13 and 2014–15. Bjoerndalen also came in third place in 1998–99 and 2002–03. Altogether he has been on the podium 19 seasons in the world cup relay. Bjørndalen has won the mixed relay world cup 4 times. It happened in the seasons: 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16. Bjørndalen has won (together with the Norwegian biathlon team) the nations cup ten times. It happened in the: 1998–99, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2013–14, 2014–15 and 2015–16 season. Bjørndalen has also achieved five-second places in the nations cup in the years: 1999–00, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2005–06 and 2012–13. He has finished in third place in the nations cup 3 times, in the: 1996–97, 1997–98 and 2006–07 season. In total he has finished 18 times at the podium in the nations cup for men.

He is the only biathlete ever to win all biathlon events in a single Winter Olympics (2002 Salt Lake City Games). This encompassed the sprint, pursuit, individual, and relay events, the latter together with three other participants. He was the most successful competitor at these Games. This also made him only the third Winter Olympian to win four golds at one Games, and he was also the first biathlete to win more than two gold medals at a single Games. In addition, he had won all three competitions staged at the Olympic test event in Salt Lake City the previous year. He also took a four gold medal haul at the Biathlon World Championships 2005 in Hochfilzen, Austria and at the Biathlon World Championships 2009 in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Bjørndalen's 95 biathlon World Cup victories and one cross-country victory is two behind of Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann's record of 98 World Cup victories for a winter sport athlete.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Bjørndalen took three medals from five events, winning two silvers and a bronze. At the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, Bjørndalen became the most successful biathlete in Winter Olympic history by surpassing the previous record of nine career Olympic medals, which he shared with Uschi Disl of Germany. He then anchored Norway to gold in the 4 × 7.5 km relay. This was the second time that Norway had won a title in this event, with the other being at the 2002 Winter Olympics (also anchored by Bjørndalen). With this victory he became the second most decorated Winter Olympian of all time and one of only two athletes to win 11 medals at the Winter Olympics. With his gold medal in 10 km sprint at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, he tied fellow Norwegian Bjørn Dæhlie for most Winter Olympic medals, with 12 in total, before overtaking Dæhlie by winning his second gold of the Games as part of the Norwegian mixed relay team.

Bjørndalen has won eight Olympic gold medals, four silver and a bronze. He has also won 20 World Championship gold medals, 14 silver and 11 bronze (more than anybody in biathlon history), along with a record 95 World Cup victories in biathlon and 1 World Cup victory in cross-country skiing, 179 podium finishes in biathlon individual races and 3 in cross-country skiing. He also finished in the top three of the Overall World Cup rankings for a record thirteen successive seasons between the 1996–97 and 2008–09 seasons. In total Ole Einar Bjørndalen has won 44 Norwegian Championship gold medals. He has won 30 gold medals in the Norwegian Championship, biathlon, winter event: 20 individual gold medals: individual (4), sprint (6), pursuit (6), mass start (4) and 10 gold medals in relay and the team event: relay (8) and team (2). Bjørndalen has also achieved 14 individual gold medals in the Norwegian Championship, biathlon, summer event: sprint (7) and pursuit (7).

In January 2018 Arne Botnan, the sporting director for Norwegian biathlon, announced that Bjørndalen would not be selected for the 2018 Winter Olympics, after he failed to achieve the qualifying standard of a top six finish in a World Cup race before the Norwegian Biathlon Association was due to nominate its Olympic squad on the 15th of that month. However, he did travel to the Games after being accredited as part of the Belarusian Olympic delegation as a coach, in order to support Darya Domracheva. On 3 April 2018 Bjørndalen announced his retirement from competition, explaining that his form had been affected by heart murmurs several times during the previous season.

In September 2019, Bjørndalen and Domracheva were appointed as head coach and women's coach respectively of the Chinese biathlon team.

2005–06 World Cup season

2005–06 World Cup season results
No.	World Cup location		Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass start	Relay	Mixed relay
1	Östersund, Sweden		—	4	1	—	1	—
2	Hochfilzen, Austria		2	5	—	—	8	—
3	Osrblie, Slovakia		DNS	DNS	DNS	—	—	—
4	Oberhof, Germany		—	DNS	—	DNS	DNS	—
5	Ruhpolding, Germany		—	DNS	DNS	—	DNS	—
6	Antholz-Anterselva, Italy		—	5	5	1	—	—
	Turin, Italy		2	11	2	3	5	—
7	Pokljuka, Slovenia		—	1	1	—	—	2
8	Kontiolahti, Finland		—	16	1	3	—	—
9	Oslo, Norway		—	1	1	1	—	—
Key:"—" denotes discipline not held; DNS—Did not start.

Bjørndalen finished the 2005–06 International Biathlon Union World Cup season in first place, with Frenchman Raphaël Poirée in second place and German Sven Fischer in third. Bjørndalen lay in third place in the standings going into the last three races of the season in Holmenkollen, with Poirée in first, and Fischer in second. However, Bjørndalen won all three races, giving him six victories in the last eight races, and clinching the crystal globe. He also won the pursuit, and the mass start title, and came second in the individual and the sprint. In the pursuit he finished ahead of Fischer by 54 points, and 29 points ahead of Poirée in the mass start. In the individual he finished 41 points behind Michael Greis, and in the sprint he was 5 points behind Tomasz Sikora. Norway finished fourth in the relay.

Bjørndalen closed out the season by winning all three events (sprint, pursuit, and mass start) at the Holmenkollen ski festival biathlon competition. This put his career victories at the ski events to five, having won once both in 2003 (pursuit) and in 2004 (sprint).

2006–07 World Cup season

Bjørndalen made a perfect start to the season, winning all of the first five races in Östersund and Hochfilzen. In the fifth race of the season, the pursuit race in Hochfilzen, he won with one of his largest margins ever, more than 2 minutes. On 30 December 2006 Bjørndalen took part in the Biathlon World Team Challenge in Gelsenkirchen in the Veltins Arena. In front of about 51,000 people he won it for fourth time in a row. His partner for second consecutive time was Linda Grubben. They both left their rivals, the Robert family, more than one minute behind.

In Oberhof, coming down from training in the heights, Bjørndalen performed below standard for the season, and finishing only 30th and 5th in the individual competitions. In Ruhpolding he led his teammates to victory in the relay event. He won the two following individual competitions. After competing in the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships Sapporo 2007, he missed several Biathlon World Cup events; after missing eight competitions altogether Bjørndalen finished second in the overall standings, after German Michael Greis.

2008–09 World Cup season

Bjørndalen started off the season suffering from the effects of long-term illness, but still placed second in both of the pursuit events. He missed the Biathlon World Team Challenge in Gelsenkirchen, focusing on training instead. After the break, he returned with victories in both the sprint and pursuit events in Ruhpolding and a third place in the mass start in Oberhof.

At the Biathlon World Championships 2009 in Pyeongchang, during the men's 12.5 km pursuit, Bjørndalen with at least 15 other competitors accidentally skied the wrong way at the start of the first lap due to the bad marking. Just after leaving the start, the athletes skied over a bridge instead of skiing beside it, which was the right way. A jury meeting decided to give all these athletes a one-minute time penalty, following a complaint from the Russian team. However, another complaint by seven other member states led to the Appeal Jury reverting to the original result. Along with Bjørndalen's first ever 20 km individual World Championship title, he won four out of six possible gold medals (10 km sprint, 12.5 km pursuit, 20 km individual and the 4 × 7.5 km relay).

After the World Championships Bjørndalen came second in the sprint in Vancouver, he took over the world cup overall lead. He followed up with a second place, and two victories at the events in Granåsen, Trondheim (the latter being a mass start where he shot clean). He secured his sixth overall win in the last sprint of the season, in Khanty-Mansiysk where he placed second. In the following event (a pursuit), he was beaten at the finish line by teammate Emil Hegle Svendsen, but won the pursuit cup.

Personal life

Bjørndalen grew up on a farm in Simostranda [no], the fourth of five children: one of his siblings is fellow biathlete Dag Bjørndalen. Both brothers were part of the Norwegian team that took the silver medal in the men's relay at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Bjørndalen resides in the village of Obertilliach, Austria. He also used to live in Toblach, Italy, with Italian-Belgian biathlete Nathalie Santer. They started dating in 1998 and married on 27 May 2006. On 4 October 2012, they filed for divorce by mutual consent.

In April 2016, along with announcing that he will continue his career until the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Bjørndalen confirmed that he was in a relationship with Belarusian biathlete Darya Domracheva, and that she was pregnant with the couple's first child. On 7 July 2016, they married in Sjusjøen, Norway. Their daughter Xenia was born on 1 October 2016.

On 3 April 2018 Bjørndalen announced his retirement from biathlon. Bjørndalen ended his Olympic career after being left off Norway's 2018 team for PyeongChang, thus ending a bid for a seventh Winter Games.

Endorsement

His close to one hundred individual World Cup wins makes Ole Bjorndalen the most winning winter sports athlete of all time. He brings the same focused intensity and spirit of victory to the brands and products who sponsor him. Ole Bjorndalen cooperates with big and renowned brands. He has been Certina's loyal ambassador since 2011, InstaForex brand ambassador since 2015. Among sports equipment brands that he promotes are Madshus, Odlo [de], and Casco.

Awards and honors

Ole Einar Bjørndalen won the Aftenposten Gold Medal in 1998. He was named the Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year in 2002 and 2014. For his accomplishments in biathlon and cross-country skiing, Bjørndalen received the Egebergs Ærespris in 2002. Bjørndalen was also awarded with the Fearnleys olympic honorary award in 2002. He was voted Best Male Athlete of 2002 by International Sports Press Association. Ole Einar Bjørndalen was nominated for Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2003. He came second, only lost to Lance Armstrong that year, who was later rescinded. In 2008, a nearly three meter tall bronze statue of Bjørndalen, created by sculptor Kirsten Kokkin, was erected in his hometown of Simostranda, Norway. Bjørndalen was awarded the Fair Play Mecenante Award in Castiglion in Fiorentino in Italy in 2009. Bjørndalen was elected Biathlon Athlete of the Year by AIPS Nordic Ski and Biathlon Commission in 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2009. In March 2011, he, Michael Greis and Andrea Henkel were awarded the Holmenkollen Medal, the first biathletes to receive the medal. In February 2014, Bjørndalen was voted Best Male Athlete of the 2014 Winter Olympics by International Sports Press Association. In November 2014, Bjørndalen was awarded Best Male Athlete of the 2014 Winter Olympics by the Association des Comités Nationaux Olympiques.

Cross-country skiing

Bjørndalen first participated in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Finland in the 10 kilometre freestyle event in a small town called Muonio in November 1998, finishing 23rd. His first podium place in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup came in Kuopio 25 November 2001, where he finished in 2nd place in the 10 km freestyle event. One month later he once again came in 2nd place, this time losing out to Per Elofsson in the 30 km freestyle mass-start event in Ramsau, Austria.

On 18 November 2006 Bjørndalen made history by becoming the first male biathlete to win a FIS Cross-Country World Cup event in the Swedish town Gällivare. Bjørndalen won the 15 km freestyle event. In 2007 his countryman, and fellow biathlete Lars Berger won the 15 km cross-country event at the World Championship in 2007. Bjørndalen has twice finished on the podium in cross-country world cup relays for Norway: first in Beitostølen in 2003, where his team finished third, and secondly in La Clusaz in France in 2006, where Norway came in 2nd place. In total Bjørndalen has been on the podium 5 times in the Cross-Country World Cup.

In addition, Bjørndalen has won FIS events in cross-country twice. His first win was in 1997 in the 30 kilometre freestyle event in Valdres, Norway, and the second was in the 10 km freestyle event in Beitostølen, Norway in 2006. He has also two 2nd places in a FIS-event: in the 15 km freestyle event in Misurina, Italy in 1998 and in the 10 km freestyle event at Beitostølen in 2004. In addition to this, Bjørndalen has one third place in a FIS event, in the 10 km freestyle at Beitostølen in 2001. Following his two Cross-Country World Cup podium finishes in the 2001–02 season, ahead of the 2002 Winter Olympics he stated that he was hoping to become the first competitor to take Olympic medals in both biathlon and cross-country skiing, however Bjørndalen missed out on a cross-country medal, finishing 5th in the 30 km freestyle cross-country race in Salt Lake City on 9 February 2002. He won Skarverennet in 2006 and 2007, and came in 2nd after Petter Northug in 2008.

Other victories

Ole Einar Bjørndalen won the Beach Volleyball Championship at Laguna Beach in 2001. Bjørndalen has won the World Team Challenge biathlon exhibition event in Gelsenkirchen (held at the Veltins-Arena, the home ground of football club Schalke 04) in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006. He also won a bronze together with his wife Darya Domracheva in 2018 Ole Einar Bjørndalen finished second in the 2003 Dobbiaco-Cortina, a long-distance cross-country skiing event, (42 km) in Italy in the town of Cortina. He took his second place in the 26th edition of this prestigious event, finishing behind Italy's Costantin Pierluigi, and finishing half a second behind Pierluigi's winning time of 1 hour 43 minutes and 16.5 seconds. In 2008, Bjørndalen won the biathlon exhibition event in Püttlingen together with Kati Wilhelm. He also finished in second place in 2011 alongside Magdalena Neuner. Bjørndalen also got a bronze in this event in 2005 together with Nathalie Santer and in 2010 with Sabrina Buchholz. He won the Blink Festival in Sandnes in 2008. In April 2016, Bjørndalen and Karin Oberhofer won the Champions Race in Tyumen, Russia.

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Winter Games

13 medals (8 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze)

Event	Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass start	Relay	Mixed relay
1994 Lillehammer	36th	28th	—	—	7th	—
1998 Nagano	7th	Gold	—	—	Silver	—
2002 Salt Lake City	Gold	Gold	Gold	—	Gold	—
2006 Turin	Silver	11th	Silver	Bronze	5th	—
2010 Vancouver	Silver	17th	7th	27th	Gold	—
2014 Sochi	33rd	Gold	4th	22nd	4th	Gold

*Pursuit was first added in 2002, mass start in 2006 and the mixed relay in 2014.

World Championships

45 medals (20 gold, 14 silver, 11 bronze)

Event	Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass start	Team	Relay	Mixed relay
1994 Canmore	—	—	—	—	4th	—	—
1995 Antholz-Anterselva	12th	4th	—	—	—	5th	—
1996 Ruhpolding	19th	6th	—	—	4th	4th	—
1997 Brezno-Osrblie	6th	9th	Bronze	—	4th	Silver	—
1998 Pokljuka	—	—	Silver	—	Gold	—	—
1999 Kontiolahti	4th	19th	5th	Bronze	—	Bronze	—
2000 Oslo	20th	5th	4th	Bronze	—	Silver	—
2001 Pokljuka	10th	19th	4th	Silver	—	Bronze	—
2002 Oslo	—	—	—	7th	—	—	—
2003 Khanty-Mansiysk	30th	Gold	8th	Gold	—	4th	—
2004 Oberhof	Bronze	Bronze	Bronze	7th	—	Silver	—
2005 Hochfilzen	6th	Gold	Gold	Gold	—	Gold	—
2006 Pokljuka	—	—	—	—	—	—	Silver
2007 Antholz-Anterselva	32nd	Gold	Gold	4th	—	Silver	—
2008 Östersund	Silver	Bronze	Gold	Silver	—	Silver	—
2009 Pyeongchang	Gold	Gold	Gold	4th	—	Gold	4th
2010 Khanty-Mansiysk	—	—	—	—	—	—	Silver
2011 Khanty-Mansiysk	6th	22nd	24th	6th	—	Gold	Gold
2012 Ruhpolding	47th	20th	14th	8th	—	Gold	Gold
2013 Nové Město	25th	4th	10th	24th	—	Gold	—
2015 Kontiolahti	6th	19th	5th	4th	—	Silver	—
2016 Oslo	17th	Silver	Silver	Bronze	—	Gold	—
2017 Hochfilzen	47th	8th	Bronze	23rd	—	8th	—

*Team was removed as an event in 1998, and pursuit was added in 1997 with mass start being added in 1999 and the mixed relay in 2005.

Overall record

*Results in all IBU World Cup races.

Junior/Youth World Championships

Event	Individual	Sprint	Relay	Team
1992 Canmore	23rd	47th	6th	Bronze
1993 Ruhpolding	Gold	Gold	8th	Gold

World Cup

*Pursuit was added as an event in the 1996–97 season, and mass start was added in the 1998–99 season.

Individual victories

95 victories (36 Sp, 37 Pu, 8 In, 14 MS); one victory at Winter Olympics 2014 isn't counted as a World Cup victory.

Season	Date	Location	Discipline	Level
1995–96 1 victory (1 In)	11 January 1996	Antholz-Anterselva	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
1996–97 3 victories (2 Sp, 1 Pu)	4 January 1997	Oberhof	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	5 January 1997	Oberhof	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	11 January 1997	Ruhpolding	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
1997–98 2 victories (2 Sp)	17 January 1998	Antholz-Anterselva	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	18 February 1998	Nagano-Nozawa Onsen	10 km sprint	Winter Olympic Games
1998–99 3 victories (1 Sp. 2 Pu)	11 December 1998	Hochfilzen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	9 January 1999	Oberhof	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	23 January 1999	Antholz-Anterselva	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
1999–2000 5 victories (1 Sp, 3 Pu, 1 In)	2 December 1999	Hochfilzen	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	4 December 1999	Hochfilzen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	6 January 2000	Oberhof	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	7 January 2000	Oberhof	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	22 January 2000	Antholz-Anterselva	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
2000–01 8 victories (4 Sp, 2 Pu, 1 In, 1 MS)	1 December 2000	Antholz-Anterselva	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	17 December 2000	Antholz-Anterselva	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	12 January 2001	Ruhpolding	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	18 January 2001	Antholz-Anterselva	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	21 January 2001	Antholz-Anterselva	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	28 February 2001	Salt Lake City	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	2 March 2001	Salt Lake City	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	3 March 2001	Salt Lake City	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
2001–02 5 victories (2 Sp, 2 Pu, 1 In)	6 December 2001	Hochfilzen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	9 December 2001	Hochfilzen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	11 February 2002	Salt Lake City	20 km individual	Winter Olympic Games
	13 February 2002	Salt Lake City	10 km sprint	Winter Olympic Games
	16 February 2002	Salt Lake City	12.5 km pursuit	Winter Olympic Games
2002–03 11 victories (4 Sp, 4 Pu, 3 MS)	8 December 2002	Östersund	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	14 December 2002	Östersund	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	15 December 2002	Östersund	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	9 January 2003	Oberhof	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	12 January 2003	Oberhof	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	18 January 2003	Ruhpolding	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	19 January 2003	Ruhpolding	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	9 February 2003	Lahti	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	16 February 2003	Oslo Holmenkollen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	15 March 2003	Khanty-Mansiysk	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Championships
	23 March 2003	Khanty-Mansiysk	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Championships
2003–04 5 victories (1 Sp, 4 Pu)	4 December 2003	Kontiolahti	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	7 December 2003	Kontiolahti	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	14 December 2003	Hochfilzen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	10 January 2004	Pokljuka	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	18 January 2004	Ruhpolding	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
2004–05 12 victories (5 Sp, 4 Pu, 1 In, 2 MS)	2 December 2004	Beitostølen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	11 December 2004	Oslo Holmenkollen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	15 January 2005	Ruhpolding	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	16 January 2005	Ruhpolding	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	19 January 2005	Antholz-Anterselva	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	21 January 2005	Antholz-Anterselva	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	23 January 2005	Antholz-Anterselva	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	20 February 2005	Pokljuka	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	5 March 2005	Hochfilzen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Championships
	6 March 2005	Hochfilzen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Championships
	13 March 2005	Hochfilzen	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Championships
	17 March 2005	Khanty-Mansiysk	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
2005–06 8 victories (2 Sp, 4 Pu, 2 MS)	27 November 2005	Östersund	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	22 January 2006	Antholz-Anterselva	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	8 March 2006	Pokljuka	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	11 March 2006	Pokljuka	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	18 March 2006	Kontiolahti	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	23 March 2006	Oslo Holmenkollen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	25 March 2006	Oslo Holmenkollen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	26 March 2006	Oslo Holmenkollen	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
2006–07 11 victories (4 Sp, 4 Pu, 1 In, 2 MS)	30 November 2006	Östersund	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	2 December 2006	Östersund	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	3 December 2006	Östersund	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	8 December 2006	Hochfilzen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	9 December 2006	Hochfilzen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	13 January 2007	Ruhpolding	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	14 January 2007	Ruhpolding	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	3 February 2007	Antholz-Anterselva	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Championships
	4 February 2007	Antholz-Anterselva	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Championships
	10 March 2007	Oslo Holmenkollen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	11 March 2007	Oslo Holmenkollen	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
2007–08 7 victories (3 Sp, 2 Pu, 2 MS)	1 December 2007	Kontiolahti	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	8 December 2007	Hochfilzen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	15 December 2007	Pokljuka	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	6 January 2008	Oberhof	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	20 January 2008	Antholz-Anterselva	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	10 February 2008	Östersund	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Championships
	6 March 2008	Khanty-Mansiysk	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
2008–09 7 victories (2 Sp, 3 Pu, 1 In, 1 MS)	17 January 2009	Ruhpolding	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	18 January 2009	Ruhpolding	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	14 February 2009	Pyeongchang	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Championships
	15 February 2009	Pyeongchang	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Championships
	17 February 2009	Pyeongchang	20 km individual	Biathlon World Championships
	21 March 2009	Trondheim	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	22 March 2009	Trondheim	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
2009–10 3 victories (2 Sp, 1 MS)	5 December 2009	Östersund	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	11 December 2009	Hochfilzen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	10 January 2010	Oberhof	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
2010–11 1 victory (1 Pu)	5 December 2010	Östersund	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
2011–12 1 victory (1 Pu)	12 February 2012	Kontiolahti	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
2013–14 1 victory (1 Sp)	8 February 2014	Sochi	10 km sprint	Winter Olympic Games
2015–16 1 victory (1 In)	2 December 2015	Östersund	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup

*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.

Victories by year

Shooting

Bjørndalen is a solid shooter, but is generally outside the top twenty marksmen. Bjørndalen finished the 2005–06 season with a shooting percentage of 84%, hitting 292 out of 345 possible targets, that placed him in 36th position for shooting accuracy. His shooting record for both prone and standing were practically identical, 146/172 in the prone and 146/173 in the standing position. In the individual disciplines, he shot 92% in the individual, 89% in the sprint, 96% in the pursuit, 93% in the mass start and 96% in the relay.

In the 2004–05 season Bjørndalen was the 16th best shot with an 85% success rate, the second best Norwegian behind Egil Gjelland. He hit 331 targets out of a possible 364. His prone like most biathletes was much better than his standing shoot, he hit 169/180 (92%) in the prone and 163/184 (81%) in the standing. He had an average of 88% in the individual, sprint and relay, a 91% hit rate in the mass start but only 79% in the pursuit. During his career in 1999–00 he averaged 82%, in 2000–01 78%, 2001–02 74%, 2002–03 86% and in 2003–04 he hit 80% of the targets, however in those five years his standing shoot was the same or better than his prone shoot. In comparison, his greatest rival Raphaël Poirée averaged 87% in 2004–05 and 86% in 2005–06. Nikolay Kruglov was the best shot in 2004–05 with a 91% success rate, with Ricco Groß in second with 89%, and in 2005 Julien Robert was best with a 93% average and Groß again second with 91%.

Shooting statistics

Statistics sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

and

Cross-country skiing results

All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation (FIS).

Olympic Games

World Championships

World Cup

Season standings

Individual podiums

• 1 victory – (1 WC)
• 3 podiums – (3 WC)

No.	Season	Date	Location	Race	Level	Place
1	2001–02	25 November 2001	Kuopio, Finland	10 km Individual F	World Cup	2nd
2		22 December 2001	Ramsau, Austria	30 km Mass Start F	World Cup	2nd
3	2006–07	18 November 2006	Gällivare, Sweden	15 km Individual F	World Cup	1st

Team podiums

• 3 podiums – (3 RL)

No.	Season	Date	Location	Race	Level	Place	Teammates
1	1998–99	29 November 1998	Muonio, Finland	4 × 10 km Relay F	World Cup	2nd	Skjeldal / Dæhlie / Hetland
2	2003–04	23 November 2003	Beitostølen, Norway	4 × 10 km Relay C/F	World Cup	3rd	Estil / Bjonviken / Andresen
3	2006–07	17 December 2006	La Clusaz, France	4 × 10 km Relay C/F	World Cup	2nd	Hetland / Rønning / Northug

Equipment

Bjørndalen uses Madshus skis, boots and poles. He uses Rottefella NNN bindings. His gloves and base layer are from Odlo, and he uses Casco glasses.

During the off-season in 2006 Bjørndalen was testing a new ski boot that had a high heel in the Torsby ski tunnel with boot manufacturers Madshus. The theory is that it forces the knee more forward for better position and it incorporates the large gluteal muscles.

See also

• List of multiple Winter Olympic medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists at a single Games

References

General

• All placings and results are sourced by the International Biathlon Union's searchable results database: "IBU Datacenter". International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 1 March 2011.
• "Biathlon World Cup results". International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2014. – searchable database of all World Cup race results
• "International Biathlon Union event results". International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2014. – searchable database of all IBU races

Specific

1. ^ "Ole Einar Bjørndalen". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
2. ^ "Ole Einar Bjørndalen". FIS. International Ski Federation. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
3. "Bjorndalen sets Winter Olympics medal record". UPI. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
4. "World Cup Biathlon Victories: How Many for Ole?". IBU. 3 December 2015. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
5. "Athletes select two IOC reps". ESPN. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
6. "IOC statement on Ole Einar Bjørndalen". IOC. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
7. ^ "Ole Einar Bjørndalen". Encyclopædia Britannica. 14 March 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
8. "Biathlon Crystal Globes Men". www.wintersport-charts.info.
9. "DATACENTER". biathlonresults.com.
10. "Biathlon World Cup Nations". www.wintersport-charts.info.
11. Strauss, Chris (8 February 2014). "Ole Einar Bjoerndalen's not the all-time winter medal king just yet". USA Today. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
12. "Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics". International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
13. "Ole Einar Bjoerndalen wins gold in men's 10 km sprint, matching record for most career Olympic medals". NBC. 8 February 2014. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
14. "Sochi 2014: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen makes Winter Olympic history". BBC Sport. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
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16. "Adelskalender NM". skiskyting.no (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 19 February 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
17. Heinrich, Sigi (11 January 2018). "Sigi-Heinrich-Blog: Der "Kannibale" Ole Einar Björndalen Ist Zahnlos Geworden" [Sigi Heinrich Blog: The "Cannibal" Ole Einar Bjoerndalen Has Become Toothless]. Eurosport (in German). Retrieved 11 January 2018.
18. "IOC permits Ole Einar Bjoerndalen to join Belarus' Olympic delegation". Belarusian Telegraph Agency. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
19. Zaccardi, Nick (3 April 2018). "Ole Einar Bjørndalen retires after six Olympics, 13 medals". NBCSports.com. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
20. "Ole and Darya: Coaching the Chinese Team". International Biathlon Union. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
21. WTC Hall of Fame Archived 27 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 21 February 2014.
22. "Bjorndalen becomes triple biathlon world champion". The New York Times. 17 February 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
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24. "Giftet seg på Sjusjøen". 26 September 2016.
25. "Bjørndalen og Domratsjeva har fått en datter: – Vi er to stolte foreldre". October 2016.
26. "Our partnerships in favour of the sport development | Certina".
27. "Ole Einar Bjørndalen ─ Norwegian phenomenal biathlete".
28. "Caldwell Sport | Madshus".
29. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "ODLO - Ole Einar Bjorndalen & Dario Cologna, Schnalstal (english)". YouTube. 17 June 2011.
30. "This is Ole Einar Björndalen: Achievements, supporters, sponsors". www.ispo.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
31. "Ole Einar Bjoermdalen – Laureus". www.laureus.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
32. "Panoramio is no longer available". www.panoramio.com.
33. "BJOERNDALEN Ole Einar". www.premiofairplay.com. 4 April 2023.
34. "Bjørndalen elected Biathlon Athlete of the year – The Norwegian American". na-weekly.com. 19 May 2009.
35. "Oslo Awards and Endings". IBU. 18 March 2011. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
36. "Norway's Bjoerndalen and Belarusian Domracheva voted best athletes of the Sochi Games". www.aipsmedia.com.
37. "International Biathlon Union / "Best in Sochi 2014" Honor to Björndalen". Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
38. Kim Nystøl (18 November 2006). "Bjørndalen vant, ble historisk". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.
39. ^ "BJOERNDALEN Ole Einar – Biographie". data.fis-ski.com.
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41. Hall of Fame – Die bisherigen Sieger der Biathlon-WTC auf Schalke Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine on www.biathlon-aufschalke.de
42. "2 Febbraio 2003 26ª Edizione della Dobbiaco-Cortina". www.skiroll.it.
43. "COSTANTIN E GENUIN FIRMANO LA DOBBIACO-CORTINA". www.skiroll.it.
44. "International Biathlon Union / Wilhelm und Bjoerndalen win 4th Puettlingen City-Biathlon". Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
45. "BJOERNDALEN Ole Einar personal data, photos".
46. "Biathlon's King on Changes: An Interview with Bjørndalen – FasterSkier.com". fasterskier.com. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
47. Prestvik, Johan (19 October 2006). "Will Bjorndalen Win Gold in High Heels". FasterSkier. Retrieved 19 February 2014.

External links

Media related to Ole Einar Bjørndalen at Wikimedia Commons

• Ole Einar Bjoerndalen at IBU BiathlonWorld.com
• Ole Einar Bjoerndalen at IBU BiathlonResults.com
• Ole Einar Bjoerndalen at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
• Ole Einar Bjørndalen at Olympics.com
• Ole Einar Bjørndalen at Olympedia (archive)

Awards
Preceded byOlaf Tufte Magnus Carlsen	Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year 2002 2014	Succeeded byPetter Solberg Petter Northug
Records
Preceded by Bjørn Dæhlie	Athletes with the most medals at Winter Olympics 2014–2018	Succeeded by Marit Bjørgen

• 1974 births
• Living people
• Sportspeople from Drammen
• Skiers from Buskerud
• People from Modum
• Sportspeople from Buskerud
• Norwegian male biathletes
• Norwegian male cross-country skiers
• Biathletes at the 1994 Winter Olympics
• Biathletes at the 1998 Winter Olympics
• Biathletes at the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Biathletes at the 2006 Winter Olympics
• Biathletes at the 2010 Winter Olympics
• Biathletes at the 2014 Winter Olympics
• Olympic biathletes for Norway
• Cross-country skiers at the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Olympic cross-country skiers for Norway
• Medalists at the 1998 Winter Olympics
• Medalists at the 2002 Winter Olympics
• Medalists at the 2006 Winter Olympics
• Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics
• Medalists at the 2014 Winter Olympics
• Olympic medalists in biathlon
• Olympic bronze medalists for Norway
• Olympic silver medalists for Norway
• Olympic gold medalists for Norway
• Biathlon World Championships medalists
• Holmenkollen Ski Festival winners
• Holmenkollen medalists
• Norwegian International Olympic Committee members
• Cross-country skiing coaches
• Norwegian sports coaches