Maren Kirkeeide

Maren Hjelmeset Kirkeeide (born 3 March 2003) is a Norwegian biathlete. She has competed in the Biathlon World Cup since 2023. She won gold medal in the individual race at the 2024 IBU Open European Championships.

Career
Maren Kirkeeide participated in her initial international biathlon competitions during the junior competitions of the Biathlon Junior World Championships 2022 in Soldier Hollow. She secured victory in the sprint race and subsequently participated in the junior women's relay, finishing fourth with a notable gap of over three minutes behind the winning Italian team. Kirkeeide drew attention during the preparatory races in Sjusjøen in mid-November 2022. Despite the absence of top Norwegian biathletes, she failed to achieve a podium finish but recorded the fastest time in the second sprint and secured a fourth-place finish despite two shooting misses.

Following this, at the age of 19, Kirkeeide made her debut in the IBU Cup in Idre, immediately clinching the second position in the individual competition. Two weeks later, she achieved her inaugural victory at the pursuit in Ridnaun, surpassing Federica Sanfilippo in a final sprint. She also achieved success in Osrblie by winning the supersprint and triumphing with the mixed relay. Subsequently, Kirkeeide had the opportunity to compete in an individual World Cup race in Ruhpolding, finishing 50th after three misses at the end of January 2023.

She participated in her first IBU Open European Championships in late January 2023, where, despite not securing a top-10 placement in individual races, she won the gold medal in the mixed relay alongside Karoline Erdal, Erlend Bjøntegaard, and Vebjørn Sørum. In the final competitions in Canmore, Kirkeeide secured two more victories in the sprint and mixed relay, earning her a spot at the World Cup Final in Oslo. She finished 25th in the sprint with one shooting miss. In the 2022–23 Biathlon IBU Cup overall standings, she claimed fourth place and won the supersprint classification.

Personal life
Kirkeeide is the niece of former cross-country skier Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset.

Biathlon results
All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Youth and Junior World Championships
1 medal (1 gold)