Biathlon
- Maria Commandos
The great Norwegian biathlete, eight-time Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen told Maria Komandnaya about his life in Minsk, his attitude to anti-asthmatic drugs and life after big-time sports, from which Bjoerndalen, of course, never left.
8-time Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen spoke with Maria Command for the COMMANDOS show.
The Norwegian is 45; he finished biathlon last spring, but essentially remains in the sport: he regularly appears at World Cup stages and works as an expert on a Norwegian TV channel. Below is the main thing from a long interview: about meeting Klopp, the Loginov case, alcohol in childhood, Fourcade’s failure and Shipulin’s political career.
About life in Belarus
– Daria Domracheva (Bjoerndalen’s wife, four-time Olympic champion) and I live here from time to time for a couple of weeks, because we travel a lot – especially in winter. We spend a lot of time in Austria and, of course, Norway. Let's just say we live everywhere.
Almost all work on the house near Minsk has been completed, but Darya’s family is building it more. Her relatives are excellent architects, so I do not supervise the construction. Rather, this is the business of Daria and her family.
Stay in Belarus and get a passport? Let's see. We like this place - it depends on what I'm doing.
The end of the career of Ole Einar Bjoerndalen: what do fans remember about the biathlon legend?
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen spoke about his retirement with tears in his eyes: “I would like to compete for a few more years, I still had both motivation and pleasure from work. But in the summer I had an unpleasant episode due to heart problems. For the first time in my life I encountered atrial fibrillation. Doctors took the situation under control, but the problem did not go away.” And then 44-year-old Bjornadeln himself had to leave.
The retirement of Ole Einar Bjoerndalen became known on April 3. Remember, or better yet, write down - six Olympics, eight gold medals, four silver, one bronze, plus 20 victories at the world championships, six “Big Crystal Globes”, 95 races won at the Biathlon World Cup... These are not some kind of regalia. then the whole country. This is a list of titles of one athlete - Norwegian Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. Without him, biathlon will not be the same. If only because there is no one visible on the entire shooting range equal in greatness to Ole Einar. And it’s not just about the scattering of medals.
Why are we so attracted to a Norwegian guy with a name that sounds like a tongue twister? There are several stories to try to understand this.
First. He is not asthmatic. Bjoerndalen a decade and a half ago specifically told Russian journalists about this, and for some reason it was important for him that we knew about it.
Second. Bjoerndalen is a fan of his work. Have you seen his caravan where he lives during the World Cup? He designed it himself. This is a huge bus, half of the interior of which is occupied by a special ski simulator, and the remaining part is a hotel room, and all in order to live and train in the most remote corners, not only for Ole Einar himself, but also for his entire team. You have to be completely dedicated to your craft to come up with something like this.
Third. Bjoerndalen did not make it to the 2018 Olympics as part of the Norwegian team, 44 years old - an age at which it is difficult to compete with the Norwegian machine for producing champions. And then the IOC allowed him, bypassing quarantine, to change the country and go to Pyeongchang as an active athlete from Belarus. The seventh Olympics in your career - which of the athletes conquered such peaks? And here is such a luxurious offer - to compete on the same team with my wife Dasha Domarcheva. Ole Einar refused. Because even for a biathlon fan, there are more important principles.
And now we will watch biathlon without Bjoerndalen. No, it will be next to the highway. For at least several years he will be next to Daria Domracheva - according to polls, the most influential woman in Belarus. And a training camp on wheels will serve them well. But still, it won’t be the same.
Farewell matches are often held for great football players - the same legends come to take the field together for the last time and celebrate the beginning of a new life. It's a pity that the legendary biathletes don't have a farewell race. One with flowers and a finish line with a flag in hand.
About the interview with Klopp
– Klopp is a big biathlon fan. He knows the biathletes and me well. The channel I work for has the rights to the APL - this is the reason why our meeting took place. It lasted 3 hours: we played table tennis, talked as if we had known each other for many years. Jurgen turned out to be very kind, energetic, and I was proud to have met him. He is real, he doesn’t try to seem like someone else - on the screen he is the same as in life.
According to the plan, I had to ask questions, I was well prepared. But it turned out 50/50 - Klopp is very interested in biathlon, how we prepare and don’t lose concentration. After my interview, we came to his office, where he asked me in detail about biathlon. I got all the answers to my questions, and he got all his answers.
As a child, I dreamed of being a football player, and I trained a lot until I was about 14 years old. But then I realized I wouldn’t achieve great heights. I was a Liverpool fan until I was 14, after which I didn’t have a favorite team. Perhaps after a new acquaintance I will return to my roots.
Rosenborg is the best Norwegian club. But Molde is also a great team, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer came from there. I know him well, he's just a fantastic guy. It seems to me that he is similar to Klopp - they are sincere, real, there is nothing pretentious.
The principles of Ole Einar Bjoerndalen
At press conferences and official events, Bjoerndalen sticks to only the classics - an impeccable classic suit.
He imposed a taboo on all topics that concern the family.
Ole Einar is categorical about doping and believes that it is better to double-check a particular medicine several times. If you make a mistake, you fail not yourself, but the team. He doesn't drink alcohol.
In athletes, he values not only physical fitness, but also intelligence. Thus, thanks to his thinking, Bjoerndalen believes, M. Fourcade can cope with difficult situations from which not every experienced athlete can get out.
About talent
– Talent is a dangerous thing. If a person's head doesn't work properly, talent can disappear quickly. If you want to be the best, you need talent, but you also need hard work. I have the talent to run fast. I have minimal talent in shooting. I used my mental toughness to learn how to shoot without making mistakes.
The fact that I developed as an athlete was my inspiration. In Norway, biathlon is less popular than skiing. I wanted to bring it up to the level of skis - this was my biggest dream, this also served as motivation for me.
About the vacuum cleaner that I carried with me throughout my career
– In biathlon you can’t get sick – then you won’t be able to be at the top. And I had a period when I was sick all the time at Christmas and before the World Cup. I decided to correct the situation.
The rooms we stayed in were very dirty. So I took a very good vacuum cleaner to fight germs - this was the case in every hotel. I didn’t fail a single World Cup from 1994 to 2017, also because I carried a vacuum cleaner with me.
Personal life and other interesting facts of Ole Einar Bjoerndalen
In the life of a famous athlete, marriage with Italian biathlete Natalie Santer. The marital union of the two celebrities lasted about six years (from 2006 to 2012), but later broke up.
Ole Bjoerndalen's ex-wife is biathlete Natalie Santer
In July 2020, the Norwegian and Belarusian biathlete Daria Domracheva tied the knot. The athletes met in 2010 at the Olympic Games in Vancouver. At that time, the biathlete was still married to Santer, and many journalists suspected that it was the affair with Daria that caused his divorce.
Domracheva and Bjoerndalen met at the 2010 Olympics
In October 2020, the first child of Bjoerndalen and Domracheva was born. The 30-year-old athlete gave birth to a girl.
The wedding of Bjoerndalen and Domracheva took place in the summer of 2020
In everyday life, Ole Einar loves good literature, music and travel. He speaks four languages (Norwegian, German, English and Italian) and always takes with him on every trip... a vacuum cleaner. This funny fact is associated with the well-known oddity of the athlete - a craving for cleanliness. He avoids shaking hands and pays great attention to the cleanliness of his body.
About alcohol
- I do not drink. I'm not against alcohol and parties with alcohol - I just don't drink because I want to be the best. I know that after drinking alcohol I don’t feel very good: my head can hurt and it’s harder to train.
In 1992, sport was not so clean and transparent. I didn't like the way people trained. I wanted to be crystal clear, not take anything at all: no alcohol, no drugs, no manipulation. Now the situation in biathlon is better than 25 years ago - then there was a lot of crap. But even now biathlon is not perfectly clean.
When I was little, before I was 12 years old, I tried everything: smoked, got terribly drunk, just terribly. I’m a simple guy, born on a farm - I think there are similar places in Russia. Dad was good at distilling moonshine – 90-96 degrees. Nobody allowed me, but I drank it anyway - it’s not difficult when no one is watching.
Bjoerndalen ended his career: he broke all records and married biathletes twice
It seemed that Bjoerndalen would perform forever. We graduated from schools, universities, got married, became fathers and put our children on skis (and they already managed to leave the sport), and he won and won. And on Tuesday he announced that he was retiring. Almost every word was difficult for the 44-year-old biathlon king; tears were visible in his eyes.
“I would like to compete for a few more years, I still had both motivation and pleasure from work. But in the summer I had an unpleasant episode due to heart problems. For the first time in my life I encountered atrial fibrillation. Doctors took the situation under control, but the problem did not go away.
And then 44-year-old Bjoerndalen himself had to leave. Without him, biathlon will not be the same. The Norwegian also said that he has already received many offers from different areas, but for now he wants to devote more time to his family.
— Family played a big role. This Easter we gathered all our relatives in Beitostolen. The last time I did this was 25 years ago. This is what it means to perform at a high level,” NRK quotes the Norwegian.
Now Ole Einar will be able to pay more attention to Ksenia.
- It's great to be a father. Now Ksenia needs to devote more and more time. I will devote this time to her. Children need parents who are nearby. I'm looking forward to it.
We recall the most striking moments in the biography of the inimitable Norwegian.
The most titled
Bjoerndalen is the most titled biathlete in the history of the Olympic Games: 8 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze medals. He has no equal at the world championships, where he has competed since 1996: he has 20 victories, including 11 personal ones. The first and last medals were separated by 20 years: Osorbly 1997 and Hochfilzen 2017. At the World Cup stages he won 95 times (Fourcade - 74).
Like his compatriot Lars Berger, Bjoerndalen also competed with skiers. Moreover, he won several times and stood on the podium at the World Cup stages, and took sixth place at the Olympics.
Born into a family of farmers
Bjoerndalen comes from the city of Drammen, his parents were farmers.
“I’m a Norwegian from a simple peasant family, where there were nine cows and five children, and where cows were sometimes given more attention than children,” he said in an interview with Esquire magazine.
Older brother Doug was the first in the family to start biathlon. At the 1998 Games in Nagano, Dag (four years older) and Ole won their first Olympic medals. And Dag won his first World Championship medal in 1995, so Ole Einar had an example to follow.
Was married twice to biathletes
On May 27, 2006, the Norwegian married Belgian biathlete of Italian origin Nathalie Santer. But in October 2012 they divorced. On April 5, 2020, it became known that Daria Domracheva was expecting a child from Bjoerndalen; on July 16, they got married in Norway. On October 1, 2016, the couple had a daughter, Ksenia, in Minsk.
Favorite dish: wild deer meat
Many people associate the secret of athletic longevity with diet. Bjoerndalen once posted a photo on Instagram of himself eating deer meat:
— I try to eat meat from wild animals as often as possible. Today they prepared my favorite - wild deer meat. Unfortunately, this is not my prey, but I hope that soon I will be able to hunt myself... Many people believe that victory is a diet. But this is nonsense. I eat everything. I remember one day before a competition I ate two bags of chips and drank a can of cola. And he was the first,” said Ole Einar.
I took a vacuum cleaner with me
The king of biathlon is a fan of cleanliness. Wherever he went, he always tried to ensure that there was not a hint of dust.
“After all, I’m away from home two hundred days a year, and all these two hundred days I have to rely on other people’s standards of cleanliness. At first glance, hotel carpets look clean, but in fact they are full of bacteria. And no one will save you from them, only you yourself. By the way, traveling with a vacuum cleaner is not my idea. “I adopted it from my older teammates,” the biathlete noted.
He also tries not to shake hands again, explaining that this makes him more likely to get sick. And even a mild cold sets a biathlete back a lot in terms of physical fitness.
I made a trailer so that the training base was always nearby
Before the 2014-2020 season, I lost a month and a half of summer training due to illness. However, he quickly recovered. A personal 20-ton trailer - Bjoerndalen's superweapon, which he had been developing for several years - played a major role in preparing the athlete for the season.
There is a gym, a treadmill (treadmill), six sleeping places, a kitchen, and a bathroom.
“I thought about it for five years and spent two years creating it. “I had a dream to take high-altitude training to a new level,” the biathlete admitted in an interview with TV2.
AND AT THIS TIME
Daria Domracheva - about her husband: “A man who broke boundaries”
On the day of Bjoerndalen’s separation from sports, Daria posted on Twitter a kind of declaration of love to her husband:
- And the winner... (probably a reference to the phrase And the winner is..., which is said when presenting the Oscar. - Ed.) Ole Einar Bjoerndalen! The king of biathlon, the king in life. I'm proud of this Man. A man who broke boundaries, A man who broke stereotypes. His sports career is an example for millions of how to fight and strive for a goal. A career that will inspire many more generations. His behavior in life is an example for everyone how to respect others. How to save face in the face of difficulties. How to be superior to underwater games. How to be human. Just a winner...
About Fourcade's unsuccessful season
- Many reasons. He has won a lot - maybe he no longer has such a thirst for victory. But in his case it matters little, only a few percent. Maybe he is very open to the media - all these interviews, meetings. He also looks good and is very attractive to sponsors - maybe that's too much.
He also changed his coach. Vincent Vittoz is not a biathlete, but a skier, he hates biathlon. But now he coaches the biathlon team. Perhaps there is some conflict, but I'm not sure. But I hope Martin returns - he is an amazing athlete. Martin motivated me to become better. I regret that we haven’t communicated much in recent years - that’s just how it turned out.
He said that he wants to beat my records - this is a great motivation for him. Although I wouldn't want him to beat me. Our motivations are of a different nature: he is in the role of catching up, although he has a chance to surpass me. But we must remember: when we started, there were three disciplines in biathlon, now there are seven.
“King of biathlon, king in life”
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen's imminent retirement from the sport seemed inevitable, but in the end it was still sudden. The man whom his all-powerful compatriots, the Norwegians, Germans and Russians, had been trying to beat for many years, announced on April 3 that he was quitting the sport. Even if his last season was a failure, the fact remains: one of its best representatives left biathlon. Lenta.ru recalls the athlete’s greatest victories.
Perhaps he should have left much earlier. Even after Sochi 2014, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen thought about ending his outstanding career, but something stopped him. More precisely, on the contrary, it forced me to move on. Having become an eight-time Olympic champion, the Norwegian set his sights on Pyeongchang. The results also supported this: at the age of 40, although the athlete was not close to the Big Crystal Globe, he fought for individual victories at the World Cup stages. The games in South Korea were supposed to be his eighth. But they didn’t.
He spent the 2017/18 season simply awful. A crumpled summer preparation, health problems along the way and the progress of young Norwegians left him outside the Olympic team. Bjoerndalen suddenly found himself in an unusual position: he was not applauded after another victory, but sympathized with and pitied. However, Ole Einar himself never complained or cried. For him, there were no pains that could be used to justify failures, as well as reasons to give what he needed most - victory.
Photo: Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
He entered adult biathlon as the strongest young athlete in the world. This was in 1993, when, for example, Anfisa Reztsova, Ricco Gross or Sergei Chepikov were in their prime. About a year and a half later, he stood on the podium for the first time in the World Cup, and before that he went to the first Olympics of his career.
It wasn't far to travel: The Games took place in Lillehammer, Norway, so for young Bjoerndalen and his partners they were at home. For Ole Einar, this Olympics was the only one in which he was left without medals. Four years later, in Nagano, he won his first race - the sprint. Silver in the relay was a pleasant bonus and, perhaps, a seed before the main start. Ahead was Salt Lake City.
The year 2002 was perhaps the most important year in Bjoerndalen's career. The 28-year-old athlete reached the peak of his physical and psychological capabilities and gave the Olympics a name for himself: in the USA he won the individual race, sprint, pursuit and relay. Only the mass start failed - the Norwegian will never win Olympic gold in this discipline.
Bjoerndalen was quite selfish: at the end of the 2006/07 season, he did not allow the Frenchman Raphael Poiret, one of his main rivals, to win the last race of his career. The Frenchman, by the way, is six months younger than Bjoerndalen and has already given up sports for ten years. The Norwegian, apparently, had a desire for victory that controlled his body movements. That season, Ole Einar did not become first in the overall World Cup standings. He was replaced on the throne by the German Michael Greis, but only for one year. Bjoerndalen returned to his place in 2008, and the next season he once again showed who is boss in world biathlon.
From that moment on, the great champion began to give up. His body was aging and could not withstand the usual stress. The Norwegian began to often fall out of even the top ten. In the 2009/10 Olympic season, he was swaying from side to side: his aim suddenly went wrong, and his skis were no longer moving so fast. In Vancouver, he still wanted to win personal gold after the “shameful” (in his own words) silver and bronze medals in Turin 2006, but in the end he became a six-time champion, winning only in the relay.
Four years later, Bjoerndalen was perceived more as a museum exhibit on the track than as a real contender for the podium. But it was in Sochi, 12 years later, that he again became an Olympic champion on his own, without the help of partners. Moreover, he decided not to postpone the moment of the long-awaited triumph, having won the sprint. Then it got worse: the terrible 30th and 40th places appeared in his statistics more and more often, and he appeared on the podium less and less often.
The 2017/18 season was the last straw: 51st place in the overall standings, health problems and the refusal of the Norwegian national team from his services. Rumors that the Norwegian was going to retire took on more and more distinct forms. Everyone was waiting for him to explain what was happening at the last stage of the World Cup. But this did not happen. Only two weeks later Ole Einar convened a special press conference, even before the start of which everything became completely clear.
Photo: Leonhard Foeger / Reuters
“Since 2008 I have been experiencing heart problems. I have chronic arrhythmia. In the last season she became more serious and disturbing. I had problems during training and preparations for the races,” Bjoerndalen said at a meeting with reporters. This time he was extremely frank. It turned out that for 10 years he had also been worried about his stomach: “I regularly have heartburn and acid reflux. I never told anyone about this. Even though I was able to adapt to the pain, I was never able to solve the problem.”
Daria Domracheva has been helping him cope with all the difficulties for a long time. The Belarusian biathlete gave birth to Bjoerndalen’s daughter, Ksenia, in 2016, and from that moment Ole Einar’s life changed. I couldn't help but change. Simply finding a nanny was not an option, so the family began to take up a lot of his time and at the same time give him more strength, especially when the Norwegian was unable to do anything.
“The king of biathlon, the king in life. I'm proud of this man. A man who broke boundaries, a man who broke stereotypes. His sports career is an example for millions of how to fight and strive for a goal. A career that will inspire many more generations. His behavior in life is an example for everyone how to respect others. How to save face in the face of difficulties. How to rise above the behind-the-scenes games. How to be human. Simply a winner,” Daria wrote in a letter to her husband. At 44, his sports career ended. And life has just begun.
About the first purchase and cars
– When I won the Junior World Championships in Ruhpolding 1993, I received money from a sponsor. I spent it on the sound in my car - I bought a cool stereo system.
The fastest car in my garage is the Porsche GT2 RS - it's my favorite car. But there is also one that I would like to buy - Aston Martin, they are developing a new concept car. Red Bull-Aston Martin-001, 002, 003 are very cool cars. They use technology from Formula 1, which they want to implement in city cars.
About Shipulin and politics
– Shipulin is a wonderful guy. I think he finished too early. He could beat Fourcade and Beau if he wanted to and trained correctly. I hope he comes back.
As for politics, I don’t know what he’s capable of. He probably needs to learn a lot to play this game. You need to understand politics - for me this is out of the question. But maybe Anton will succeed. Success in sports in itself does not guarantee anything. Although I can judge from biathlon that Anton is a good student. Maybe he can do something good for the future of Russia.
I am very far from politics - there is a lot of dirt there, I don’t like it. On the other hand, it is important that politics bring many benefits to the world. What is happening now in different parts of the world is tough and difficult.
Latest successes
Inspired by his success in Sochi, Bjoerndalen changed his mind about leaving the sport, declaring that he would remain in biathlon until the end of the 2015/2016 season. The joy of his fans knew no bounds - Ole Einar will say goodbye to them at the home World Cup.
Having started right off the bat at the cup stages, the Norwegian was well prepared for the main start of the season. His speed, of course, was slower than that of Fourcade and Johannes Boe, but compared to the others he was good. The shooting at the home stadium also went well. As a result, the 42-year-old super-veteran became second in the sprint and pursuit, excelled as part of the relay four and won bronze in the mass start.
What a beautiful end to a career - but no! Bjoerndalen surprises the public again by declaring that he plans to run until the next Olympics. However, this time a miracle did not happen - despite the fact that he did not leave the 2017 World Championships empty-handed (bronze in the pursuit), the Norwegian was disappointed in the Olympic season - his results dropped sharply, and he was unable to qualify for the team .
And in April 2018, something happened that should have happened a long time ago - Bjoerndalen announced his retirement. But despite the disappointing final note, Ole Einar has nothing to be sad about. Biathlon gave him everything he could in terms of satisfying his personal ambitions. And, of course, the Norwegian should thank fate that thanks to his favorite sport he has Daria Domracheva and daughter Ksenia.
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Daria Domracheva
About Loginov, doping and Sochi 2014
– Sundby (Norwegian skier, two-time Olympic champion – Sports.ru) was caught doping – he took an asthma drug and exceeded the dose. This is a clear story without a double bottom, although this is still being discussed. And in Norway, and definitely in Russia.
With Loginov it’s a different story: he was caught using EPO - this is a very strong doping. There is a lot of uncertainty here, people want to know how EPO got into the body. The worst thing is that he doesn't talk about it. I’m sure it’s hard for Loginov, but he must start talking. Otherwise it won't stop.
Russia needs to be more open about doping issues. I don’t like it when a person is caught and he remains silent. This raises so many questions.
We also had cases: Sundby, Johaug - an anti-asthma drug and lip balm. But here it is important to analyze a specific case and understand what happened. In these cases there is such a possibility; but when people don’t explain anything, it’s unclear how to continue to believe them. Loginov is silent, your federation is silent - a thousand questions to which there is no answer. Perhaps it’s a matter of mentality, cultural differences.
If the test is positive, the athlete is guilty. If there is no positive test, then the athlete is clean. I speak like an athlete. If you read all the documents on Sochi 2014, it does not look like a pleasant story. But you can’t believe everything that’s written either. Not many athletes were caught with violations in tests. There is a report by McLaren, and the story of Dr. Mark Schmidt recently surfaced. But in general, I don’t like the whole story with Sochi.
Bjoerndalen couldn't beat the clock
The Norwegian Biathlon Union announced that the main star of world biathlon of the last 20 years, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, will not go to the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang. The reason for this decision was the unsuccessful performance of the 44-year-old athlete at the World Cup this season. Since December, the eight-time Olympic champion has never finished in the first 15 places, and three times he was completely out of the points zone - that is, below 40th place. Back in early January, the threat of the legendary biathlete failing to meet the qualification standards sparked a wide debate as to whether Bjoerndalen should be included in the national team despite the selection criteria.
All this time, the leading opinion in a number of media outlets and among experts was that Bjoerndalen should be sent to Korea “for his past services,” otherwise the ratings of the Olympics would rapidly decline. However, in the end, the leadership of the Norwegian biathlon acted according to formal criteria.
“Bjoerndalen has special genetics”
Experts commented on the statement of the famous biathlete that he will continue his career at least until 2020
“The Norwegian Union immediately answered all questions, outlining priorities in favor of the strongest athletes at the moment - regardless of their titles and regalia,” noted five-time Olympic champion, ex-president of the Russian Biathlon Union (RBU) Alexander Tikhonov in an interview with Izvestia. - There are rules of the game - official selection. And he stands above any status. No one is discussing whether the Olympics will be poorer due to the absence of Bjoerndalen. But now we need to look not at the problems of the Norwegians and how they will help us. You need to rely on yourself and understand the failures of your team and your biathletes. The same Anton Shipulin can fight for the highest awards, but he must stop making the monstrous mistakes that have been haunting him throughout this season. And don’t look back at the problems of others, including Bjoerndalen.
According to experts, for Russian biathletes the absence of the legendary Norwegian should not matter - their prospects do not depend on his presence on the list of participants.
“It is inappropriate to judge someone’s chances in personal races based on Bjoerndalen,” two-time Olympic champion Sergei Chepikov told Izvestia. — Considering that both our athletes and Ole Einar are not doing very well this season, anyone’s absence cannot affect the assessment of the Russians’ chances almost a month before the start of the Olympics. As for the relay, the Norwegians will be very strong here, since it is now clear who will run for them. If their management had kept the team and Bjoerndalen himself in limbo until the last minute, it could have contributed to their poor psychological state in preparation, which would have given an advantage to competitors, including Russia. And now that there is certainty, Norway will be able to calmly prepare for the Games and approach the main competitions in a good moral state.
Norway will be represented at the Olympics by 2010/11 World Cup winner and 2010 Olympic relay champion Tyrei Boe and his brother Johannes, three-time world champion, as well as four-time Olympic champion and 2009/10 World Cup winner Emil Hegle Svendsen. In addition to them, Bjoerndalen was also surpassed by Lars Hilge Birkeland, Erlend Ovreng Bjontegård and Henrik L'Abe Lunn.
— Bjoerndalen has done a lot for world biathlon, he is a great athlete and person. But you can’t fool time—it’s fantastic that he lasted until he was 44,” two-time Olympic champion and former head coach of the Russian men’s team Vladimir Alikin told Izvestia. — There are strict selection criteria, and the Norwegians strictly follow them. It’s a human shame that the Olympics will take place without Bjoerndalen, but the law is the law. The main thing is that this will not affect the greatness of Ole Einar.
Bjoerndalen himself noted that he has not yet decided whether he will retire at the end of this season, and did not rule out attempts to compete for a place in the national team at the 2020 World Championships in Östersund.
“At an advanced age, even selection criteria cannot be a guarantee of success,” emphasized Sergei Chepikov. — I had a case: in 2007 I qualified for the World Championships, but left the stage from Paklyuka to give way to the young and promising Maxim Chudov, Ivan Tcherezov and Nikolai Kruglov. There was an understanding that they were stronger than me. As a result, they won the relay at the World Championships in Anterselva. I was turning 40 at the time, and Bjoerndalen generally showed fantastic vitality, performing at a high level until he was 44.
During his career, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen won 13 Olympic medals, including eight gold medals in Nagano 1998, Salt Lake City 2002, Turin 2006, Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014. He also has 20 World Championship wins and six overall World Cup wins.
“I know how concentratedly Bjoerndalen prepared for all his Olympics,” noted Sergei Chepikov. “But, apparently, the time has come to give way to another generation.” This happened to me and other athletes. We need to treat this with understanding. It would have been much worse if Ole Einar had gotten into the team and not brought it the desired result. Therefore, I would not be dramatic about this situation. I think Bjoerndalen himself also understands everything.
The Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang will take place from February 9 to 25.
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About asthma
– After a career of almost 30 years, my lungs are clear. Because I never trained sick, my lungs never needed medication, I never used asthma medications.
All athletes should know that if they have asthma, they can take medication. But these medications must be specifically for asthma and with a prescription from a doctor. Another thing is that now this prescription is easy to obtain: in Norway too many athletes use therapeutic exceptions (TI), and in Germany and Sweden. In my opinion, this is wrong.
I believe that Norway should not issue TUEs to Norwegian athletes, and Russia should not issue TUEs to Russian athletes. A neutral body must be created - and there will be no questions. I know athletes who do not have asthma, but have TI. 50-60% of skiers in the world use anti-asthmatic drugs - this is harmful to their health.
What do Bjoerndalen and Domracheva do in retirement?
Olympic champions build a house near Minsk, go to football games and ride a BELAZ.
We had a farewell party
More precisely, only Bjoerndalen had a farewell party. Daria announced her retirement from her career later. The event took place in Oslo. Ole invited current and retired athletes to the party. Those with whom the Norwegian competed throughout his career. However, many biathletes were unable to attend the important evening for Bjoerndalen. The Russian side at the event was represented by the “voice of biathlon” Dmitry Guberniev and Match TV correspondent Ilya Trifanov.
In addition to a delicious dinner, guests could enjoy live music, watch a performance by the Royal Norwegian Orchestra and an honor guard company, and study Bjoerndalen's awards, of which he had many. The main entertainment at the party was the dance of Ole and Daria. We have never seen biathletes in this role before.
They are building a house near Minsk
It was planned that the biathletes’ house in the village of Laporovichi, which is located 20 kilometers from Minsk, will be commissioned in 2016. However, construction was delayed. Now only finishing work remains. Athletes will be able to move in this fall.
The house, which locals nicknamed “the ship,” looks unusual in the Belarusian landscape. It is all the more surprising that Domracheva was involved in the design of the building. The mansion will have a gym, swimming pool and cinema. They say that the owners closely monitor the progress of construction and often come to Laporovichi.
Photo: © RIA Novosti/Viktor Tolochko
Attended the World Cup final
There were many recognizable faces in the Luzhniki stands. Daria and Ole also came to Moscow for the final match. Domracheva had the flag of Belarus painted on her cheek, and Bjoerndalen had the flag of Norway. Although their national teams could not make it to the tournament. At the stadium, the couple took a selfie with actors Danila Kozlovsky (AKA Yuri Stoleshnikov) and Oleg Menshikov.
“It was nice to watch beautiful football. The World Championship is well organized. We are happy that we managed to get to the finals. Thank you, Moscow!” – Bjoerndalen said after the game to Match TV correspondent Yegor Kuznets.
Domracheva became an ambassador of the European Games, and Bjoerndalen became an honorary member of the FBN
When Ole Einar announced his retirement, many were sure that the Norwegian would not live long without biathlon. Anders Besseberg called Bjoerndalen his successor as head of the IBU, and in May the NRK publication reported that the eight-time Olympic champion would soon become the head coach of the Russian national team. According to a Norwegian media source, he was supposed to replace Rico Gross. But it seems that for now Bjoerndalen is more interested in his family than in finding a new job. The only biathlon post that Ole currently holds is an honorary member of the Norwegian Biathlon Federation. This appointment took place at the organization's gala in June.
Domracheva was offered the position of ambassador of the European Games, which will be held in Minsk next summer. Her task is to inform people about the competition, maintain and strengthen the tournament brand through her achievements and successes. The biathlete became the first person to be entrusted with the position of star ambassador of the Games.
Daria also runs her own clothing brand
The idea for the project came to Domracheva in the summer of 2016, when she was pregnant and could not participate in biathlon. But I missed my favorite sport. He became the inspiration for the first collection. According to Daria, the love of creativity was instilled in her by her architect parents.
Some clothes from Domracheva’s line have references to biathlon (five target eyes) and an image of the athlete. My husband also helps promote the brand.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYU8nH4BIZL/?hl=en&taken-by=shop.daryadomracheva.by
Enjoying life in Belarus
The couple celebrated the start of their joint retirement with a day at sea. And then - to Belarus. The biathletes' vacation can be tracked using the hashtag #NorwegianInBelarus, which Daria came up with for her Instagram followers.
My acquaintance with Belarus began with a bathhouse.
We are going to drive through beautiful and interesting blue-eyed places. Finally, this opportunity has arrived! Any ideas? Advise! Well, then, let’s rush through the Norwegian expanses #BelarusochkainNorway - very interesting. A bathhouse is a familiar and beloved ritual, a steam room, birch brooms, honey massage, kvass, warm tea and pleasant conversations - isn’t this the best recovery? By those pictures we begin a series of photos under the hashtag #NorwegianInBelarus . In a plans to visit some interesting and beautiful places of my country. Exited. And we'll be back with some more pics. Banja-traditional relaxation ritual with hot steam, birch twigs, honey massage, kvass, warm tea and nice talks…- became fully recovered and regenerated after…must try. And little later, to explore a country of my husband — #BelarussianInNorway trip — looking forward #musttry #moveyourbody #BLRNOR #Exploretheworld #exploreBelarus #myBelarus #banja #banya The couple also attended the World Helicopter Championships. Daria, Ole, as well as Bjoerndalen’s younger brother and nephew flew over the outskirts of Minsk.
Last weekend, biathletes took a ride in the world's largest car - BELAZ. After the trip, they were awarded a certificate of successful completion of the initial mining dump truck driving course.
After Belarus, the couple will go to Norway. This trip also has its own hashtag - #BelarusianinNorway.
Photo:
globallookpress.com, RIA Novosti/Viktor Tolochko
About the first victory at the World Cup and the biggest defeat
– I couldn’t become world champion for a long time. I had 26 starts, I was on the podium with silver or bronze. In 2003, I won the World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk - I remember it like yesterday.
I especially remember the last race there – it was a mass start. It was very windy, but I hit 20 out of 20 - and it was my best race ever. Thank you for Khanty-Mansiysk - I became the world champion in Russia.
The biggest disappointment: it may not be very good to admit, but it was second place at the 2001 World Cup. I walked the last lap with Poiret, fell 1.5 km before the finish and lost to Rafael.
Domination
Success at the Olympic Games inspired Ole Einar, who from the next season until the end of the 2000s began to literally churn out victories. In seven years, he won five World Cups and eleven gold medals at world championships: sprint and mass start in Khanty-Mansiysk 2003, sprint, pursuit and mass start in Hochfilzen 2005, sprint and pursuit in Anterselva 2007, pursuit in Ostersund 2008, sprint, pursuit and individual race in Pyeongchang 2009.
Amazing speed, which was maintained from the first stage of the season to the last, and stable shooting made Bjoerndalen the favorite in absolutely every race. And the Norwegian justified his status at all world championships, except Oberhof, when Poiret still did not allow him to reach the gold. Particularly chic is the fact that Ole Einar won the overall world cup championships, missing several stages every year.
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen wins another World Cup victory
By the mid-2000s, Bjoerndalen’s successes had become so commonplace that he was given the nickname “king of biathlon,” which he had to confirm in Turin 2006. However, shortly before the Olympics, something happened to the Norwegian that you cannot insure against - an illness, as a result of which the favorite had to completely redraw his training plan and go to Italy not in the best condition. Alas, the temporary downtime and decline in form affected the results: silver in the individual and pursuit and bronze in the mass start. An excellent catch for any athlete, but not for Ole Einar, who planned to repeat the success of four years ago and had every reason to do so.
About Domracheva
“She perceives people as they are.” She is a deep person and sees only the good in others. She knows how to make positive traits even brighter. We talked about talent, but she has it: she is very smart.
She finished too early, just like Shipulin. I hope she comes back, but I really don't know. Once you have achieved all your goals, it is difficult to continue.
About traveling around Belarus
– The bathhouse is great, an interesting cultural feature. Norway also has baths. But you have a long procedure with finding, with food - everything is so leisurely. I'm going to go to the bathhouse more often.
I really like the food in Belarus - it’s similar to what we used to have in Norway. This is a potato country - Norway was like that too. I remember a time when Norway was very poor. Oil was discovered only 25 years ago; before that we were very poor. I come from a farming family, I know how important every potato on the table is. And I really like traditional Belarusian cuisine.
Favorite Belarusian dish? There are so many things, I can’t pick just one. Maybe hash browns. Daria cooks borscht, but I'm not a big fan of borscht. Belarus has tasty meat, but not fish. I don’t like Belarusian fish - in northern countries it is much better. The meat is fantastic, and there are also many delicious soups.
About Me
– I don’t have any special secrets. I love to work, I don’t pretend to be anyone - I am the way you see me. I always try to be honest, I enjoy learning, and I like to listen. I gained knowledge not from sports, but from life. It wasn’t the coaches who taught me everything, it was other people: my parents, my brother. I'm lucky, I have a good family.
From birth until about age 12, the foundation of the person you will be is laid. I believe that this is the most important time - the foundation has already been laid, and it is unlikely that anything can change it.
