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Ole Einar Bjørndalen (born 27 January 1974) is a Norwegian biathlete and cross-country skier, often referred to by the nickname "The King of Biathlon". He is the most decorated Olympian in the history of the Winter Olympic Games, with 13 medals. He is also the most successful biathlete of all time at the Biathlon World Championships, having won 40 medals, double that of any other biathlete. With 94 World Cup wins, Bjørndalen is ranked first all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour, more than twice that of anyone else. 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, more than any other male biathlete and the same as female record-holder Magdalena Forsberg. In addition to being the most decorated biathlete in history, Bjørndalen is widely considered to be the greatest biathlete of all time.

In 1992, Bjørndalen won his first international medal at the Biathlon Junior World Championships. A year later in 1993, after a winning three Junior World Championship titles, then a record tied with Sergei Tchepikov, Bjørndalen made his Biathlon World Cup debut. The following season, Bjørndalen made his debut at the Olympic Games in the 1994 Winter Olympics, held in his home country of Norway at Lillehammer. His real breakthrough though came in the follwing season when he featured on his first World Cup podium in a 10 km sprint in Bad Gastein, Austria. He obtained his first World Cup victory 11 January 1996 in a 20 km individual 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.

Bjørndalen started biathlon when he was nine years old and won five junior world championship titles from 2004 to 2006. She made her World Cup debut in 2006 and won her first World Cup race in January 2007. One month later, she claimed three gold medals in her first appearance at the Biathlon World Championships. In the 2007–08 season, Neuner won the Overall World Cup and once more claimed three titles at the 2008 World Championships. After a less successful winter in 2008–09, she participated in her first Winter Olympic Games in 2010, winning the gold medal in both the pursuit and the mass start, and silver in the sprint race. Neuner also claimed the 2009–10 Overall World Cup title. At the 2011 World Championships, she won three more gold medals. In her final winter on the World Cup tour, Neuner won two more titles at the 2012 World Championships and claimed the Overall World Cup for a third time.

http://teladoiolamerica.net/storia-biathlon/albo-doro-coppa-del-mondo-biathlon-maschile/ http://www.biathlon-history.com/2-uncategorised/56-competition-calendar-1996-97.html http://www.biathlon-history.com/kubok-svitu/world-cup-standings-1978-1999.html http://www.sportowahistoria.pl/biathlon.html

During her seven World Cup seasons, Neuner won 34 World Cup races and achieved 63 podium finishes. As part of Germany's World Cup team, she won ten relay races and three mixed relay events. During six appearances at Biathlon World Championships, Neuner claimed 17 medals: twelve gold, four silver and one bronze. In addition, she has won seven junior world championship titles. Neuner was known as one of the fastest cross-country skiers in biathlon. She had been noted for her volatile shooting performances in the standing position, particularly in the early years of her career, often at the expense of better results.

Neuner has lived in the Bavarian village of Wallgau since birth. At the age of 16, she joined the German Customs Administration to become a member of the government-funded Customs-Ski-Team. Since winning three world championship gold medals in 2007, Neuner is one of her home country's most popular female athletes. She was named German Sportswoman of the Year in 2007, 2011 and 2012.

Early life
Ole Einar Bjørndalen was born in the Norwegian city of Drammen, the fourth of five children to farmer Hans Bjørndalen and his wife Helga. Bjørndalen has one younger brother, Hans Anton, and three elder siblings – his brother Dag and his sisters Lisbeth and Audhild. His brothers, Hans Anton and Dag Bjørndalen, were also biathletes, with Dag having competed in the World Cup and won both Olympic and World Championship medals.

Bjørndalen grew up on his family's farm, "Kutoppen" ("The Cowtop"), in Simostranda, a small township in Modum, Buskerud. There, he and his family lived in relative poverty as they made their living of 11 cows and circa 25 acres of cultivated land. In his youth, Bjørndalen did many various sports. He did athletics, doing shot put, javelin and hammer throws, long and high jumps, and running. In addition, he played football. As Bjørndalen was a great runner, he was a natural midfielder. Bjørndalen first shot with a rifle when he was eight years old, and not long after he began training biathlon. He became a skilled cross-country skier and followed his older brother Dag into competition in biathlon and cross-country skiing. Bjørndalen was, however, a terrible shot. At age 16, Bjørndalen left home and entered the Norwegian College of Ski Sport (now the Norwegian College of Elite Sport) in Geilo to train in both cross-country and biathlon. There, he was in the same year as Liv Grete Skjelbreid.

Early career and World Cup debut
At 17, Bjørndalen's goal for the season was to be selected for Junior World Championships in cross-country skiing in Reit im Winkl. Then, Bjørndalen became national champion in every competition in his age group in cross-country skiing at the Junior Norwegian Championships in Meråker in February, and Bjørndalen believed he had earned a spot in the team. Bjørndalen was, however, not selected for the team. The reason cited was that he was deemed too young. This angered him greatly and caused him to concentrate fully on biathlon, and he set a long-term goal of becoming a good biathlete and then compete against the cross-country skiers as a senior and beat them. In March, Bjørndalen became national champion for younger juniors in biathlon in the individual event, and won bronze in the sprint, having won the sprint event the year before. Bjørndalen subsequently finished sixth in the relay with the team from Buskerud. Later in March, he travelled to Orkdal to participate in the final races of the Norwegian Biathlon Cup (Norgescupen) for younger juniors. He won the 7.5 km sprint and so won the Norwegian Cup for younger juniors overall with 117 points, ahead of Frode Andresen and Dag Ivar Hovde. After those individual races, which had been held concurrently with the final races of the Norwegian Biathlon Cup (Norgescupen) for seniors, the team events of the 1991 Norwegian Biathlon Championships for seniors were held. The individual races and relays had been held in January in Steinkjer. Bjørndalen raced in the team event and won bronze, despite him incurring two penalty loops, having raced alongside Asle Slettesven and Nils Anders Lien in the Buskerud team.

Prøve-NM https://e-avis.aftenposten.no/titles/aftenposten/1445/publications/41738/pages/20

NM junior: Sprint:https://e-avis.aftenposten.no/titles/aftenposten/1445/publications/41877/pages/22 Stafett:https://e-avis.aftenposten.no/titles/aftenposten/1445/publications/41879/pages/19

The following year, Bjørndalen competed in the 1992 Junior World Championships in biathlon in Canmore, Canada. The championships started well, with Bjørndalen winning bronze in the team event alongside Stig Kalstad and Dag Ivar Hovde, having been the second racer. His form faltered, however, and he finished 47th in the sprint and 23rd in the individual. In the relay, Bjørndalen finished sixth, alongside Stig Kalstad, Frode Andresen and Dag Ivar Hovde, having taken the third leg. The quartet was never in medal contention as Kalstad received two penalty loops in the standing shoot, and Andresen thus left the first exchange three minutes behind the leaders.

The following season, Bjørndalen raced and trained as a part of the Norwegian national biathlon team as a member of "Team 94", the junior and development part of the Norwegian biathlon team, with a special goal of creating and developing new stars for the home Olympic Games at Lillehammer in 1994. Bjørndalen began that season by racing in the Norwegian Cup, now in the class for older juniors. He won a 12 km individual race in Skrautvål in December, and participated in the 1993 Norwegian Biathlon Championships in January in Brumunddal. Only the 10 km sprint event was held, and Bjørndalen finished 13th. The following day, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the World Cup in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy. However, the next day the news broke that the World Cup races scheduled to be held the following weekend in Oberhof, Germany were cancelled due to a lack of snow and moved to Ridnaun-Val Ridanna in Italy. The Norwegian Biathlon Association and the coaches decided that the Norwegian team would not race in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, and so they let the biathletes selected to race in Oberhof to race in Antholz-Anterselva instead. Therefore, ultimately, Bjørndalen did not race in Antholz-Anterselva and his World Cup debut was postponed. He was, however, selected to go to the Junior World Championships in Ruhpolding, Germany. In the beginning of February, Bjørndalen travelled to Ål to participate in the Norwegian Championships for juniors. There, he dominated the 15 km individual, winning over a minute ahead of Egil Gjelland, with two penalty minutes. Two days later, he also won the 10 km sprint.

After the Junior Norwegian Championships, Bjørndalen travelled to Ruhpolding to participate in the Junior World Championships. The first competition was the team event. The line-up was Frode Andresen, Dag Ivar Hovde and Bjørndalen. Though Andresen earned four penalty loops for the team in the prone shoot, both Hovde and Bjørndalen shot cleanly in their shoots, and that, combined with fast skiing from them all, secured Norway the gold ahead of France and Germany. Two days later, Bjørndalen won the 15 km individual with one penalty minute, almost 40 seconds ahead of Alexei Aidarov in second, and almost 50 seconds ahead of Alexei Morschakin in third. In the 10 km sprint two days later, Bjørndalen missed twice, once in the prone and once in the standing, but won nevertheless 13 seconds ahead of Tomasz Sikora and 38 seconds ahead of Igor Pasterev who both missed once. With this third successive gold Bjørndalen equalled Sergei Tchepikov's record of three gold medals at the same Junior World Championships. At the same time, Bjørndalen earned his first nickname: "Gulldalen" ("Golddalen"). The following day, Bjørndalen raced in the 4 × 7.5 km relay. Egil Gjelland and Frode Andresen took the first and second legs, Bjørndalen took the third, and Dag Ivar Hovde took the anchor leg. After the first two legs, Norway were still in contention, but after a poor prone shoot by Bjørndalen and not enough to make up for it in the rest of the race by him and Hovde, Norway finished eighth, almost six minutes behind the winners, Russia, having done a total of eight penalty loops. In March, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the final round of the 1992–93 World Cup in Kontiolahti. Bjørndalen made his World Cup debut on 18 March in the 20 km individual in Kontiolahti. He incurred three penalty minutes, one in the first prone shoot, and two in the first standing shoot. He came 29th, four minutes and forty-two seconds behind the winner, Ludwig Gredler. Although a very respectable debut, Bjørndalen did not receive any World Cup points as only the top twenty-five finishers received points in those days. Two days later, Bjørndalen raced in the 10 km sprint. This time he was less successful, missing seven times, three in the prone shoot and four in the standing, finishing 92nd. This would be Bjørndalen's worst performance in the World Cup until a meltdown in the 20 km individual in Antholz-Anterselva on 30 November 2000, and is still Bjørndalen's worst sprint finish and second worst finish of all time. Bjørndalen was not a part of the Norwegian relay team the following day. As Bjørndalen had not accumulated any World Cup points, he did not receive any placement in the World Cup, neither overall or in the sprint and individual cups.

Olympic debut (1993–94 World Cup season)
Ahead of the Olympic season, "Team 94" was dissolved as a part of a larger restructuring of the Norwegian Biathlon Association's preparations for the Lillehammer Olympics as the preceding results had been unsatisfactory, with many other national sport federations also restructuring their efforts. Instead of "Team 94", the Norwegian Biathlon Association participated in a joint venture with the Norwegian Ski Federation, creating a joint recruit team called "Postgiro-laget" ("The Postgiro-team") with Odd Lirhus as coach. In April, Bjørndalen was selected to be a part of this team, alongside with Frode Andresen and Dag Ivar Hovde representing the male biathletes, and Trude Harstad and Liv Grete Skjelbreid representing the female. In August, Bjørndalen received a stipend of 10 000 NOK from his county, Buskerud, to aid him in his effort to get selected as a part of the Olympic team. In November, Aftenposten listed Bjørndalen as one of the likely candidates for the Olympic biathlon team. The others that were listed were Jon Åge Tyldum, Geir Einang, Eirik Kvalfoss, Sylfest Glimsdal and Ivar Michal Ulekleiv. Halvard Hanevold and Gisle Fenne were also mentioned as potential challengers for spots on the team.

The season began on 27 November with an international opening 20 km individual race at the Birkebeineren Ski Stadium in Lillehammer where the biathlon and cross-country skiing events at the Olympics would be held. Bjørndalen came tenth, second best of the Norwegians. The following day, a 4 × 8.25 km relay was held, 4 × 8.25 km due to the course having been made too long. Bjørndalen did not participate, apparently, or his team did not place in the top four. Bjørndalen was subsequently selected for a training session in Obertauern, Austria lasting from 29 November to 6 December, and the following World Cup rounds in Bad Gastein, Austria and Pokljuka, Slovenia.

Bjørndalen did, for some reason, not race in Bad Gastein and thus began his World Cup season in Pokljuka. There, Bjørndalen raced his first 20 km individual for the World Cup season. He received four penalties and finished 52nd, five minutes and 13.5 seconds behind the clean-shooting winner, Patrice Bailly-Salins. He then finished the 10 km sprint one minute and 46.6 seconds behind the winner Viktor Maigourov, finishing 30th joint with Sylfest Glimsdal, having missed one shot. The next day, Bjørndalen was for the first time added to the Norwegian World Cup relay team. He took the first leg and changed in the lead at the first exchange, but mistakes by his teammates, Andresen, Glimsdal and Tyldum, meant they finished 9th. During the Christmas break, Bjørndalen participated in two sprint races in Brumunddal alongside the Norwegian biathlon elites. In the first, Bjørndalen missed thrice and finished seventh, just over a minute behind the clean-shooting winner, Kjell Ove Oftedal. In the second, Bjørndalen again missed three times and finished eighth, joint with Ivar Michal Ulekleiv, one minute and 21 seconds behind Halvard Hanevold, the winner. On 8 January, Bjørndalen raced in the Norwegian Biathlon Cup (Norgescupen) at Dovre alongside the rest of the elite. On 8 January, he finished 6th in the 20 km individual despite having incurred six penalty minutes, two minutes and 59 seconds behind the winner, who missed three times, Sylfest Glimsdal. The following day, Bjørndalen finished eleventh in the 10 km sprint race. He missed four times, and finished just less than a minute behind the winner, Eirik Kvalfoss, who missed twice. Bjørndalen was then selected to race in the World Cup rounds in Ruhpolding and Antholz-Anterselva as well. He was also selected to go to the Junior World Championships in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia, in early February. Though if he were to be selected for the Olympics, Bjørndalen would not participate in the championships.

After the Christmas break, the World Cup continued in Ruhpolding. Bjørndalen did not race in the individual event, but finished 17th in the sprint, which at the time was a new career best. If not for his one miss, Bjørndalen could have placed on the podium, assuming Bjørndalen spent 25 seconds in the penalty loop, the first time he showed the speed necessary for such a feat in a World Cup race. He also once again raced in the relay and this time Norway finished eighth, a slight improvement from the previous relay, and Bjørndalen again had the best time in his leg of the relay. The following weekend, the last World Cup before the Olympic Games was held in Antholz-Anterselva. Bjørndalen once again skipped the individual, but he matched the previous weekend's sprint result by missing once and finishing 19th. He was best among the Norwegians, a first in his World Cup career. In the relay, however, the Norwegians finished a disappointing 12th, the worst relay finish Bjørndalen has ever endured in his 23 World Cup seasons. The following day, Aftenposten named him as one of the biathletes with a chance of being selected for the Olympics later that day. This despite of Bjørndalen not having met the selection criteria of the Norwegian Olympic Committee of two placements among the top twelve in World Cup races. However, this would not be an inhibitor on its own as only Sylfest Glimsdal of the Norwegian men had met the criteria. Late that night, the news broke that Sylfest Glimsdal, Halvard Hanevold, Jon Åge Tyldum and Ivar Michal Ulekleiv had been selected for the Olympic team, with Bjørndalen joining as a reserve. His place was not entirely set though; Eirik Kvalfoss was given one final chance to qualify for the Olympics, an international 20 km individual race on 4 February in Antholz-Anterselva. However, Kvalfoss came fifth in the race having been beaten on the course and on the range by Bjørndalen who finished fourth. Thus, Bjørndalen was ready for his first Olympics, albeit as a reserve, though he was seen as a likely starter in the Olympic relay. This selection has been described as one of the most controversial in Norwegian history. After Bjørge Stensbøl, the leader of Olympiatoppen and the selection committee of the Norwegian Olympic Committee, approved the selection of Bjørndalen by the Norwegian biathlon team's leadership at the expense of the biathlon great Kvalfoss, Kjell Kristian Rike, commentator on biathlon events for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation from 1977, called Stensbøl and told him to show up to the sporting news program Sportsrevyen to defend the selection. Rike asked the Norwegian public to call in and say whether the selection was right. At the end of the program, it was revealed that over 90 percent of the callers believed that Kvalfoss should have been selected rather than Bjørndalen. However, the selection was final. In addition, some supported the selection. Magnar Solberg, the Olympic champion in biathlon from 1968 and 1972, told Stensbøl that he was right to bet on the youth, as he would reap the benefits in the next Olympics.

On 12 February, Bjørndalen took part in the opening ceremony at Lysgårdsbakken as a part of the Norwegian delegation in the Parade of Nations. The biathletes were originally to travel to Savalen to do their final preparations for the Olympics, but the snow conditions at their respective residencies were optimal. Bjørndalen and the rest of the male Norwegian biathletes moved in to the Olympic Village on 14 February, with the female having moved in on 11 February. On 16 February, the Norwegian team held a test race in order to select the team for the 20 km individual four days later. Bjørndalen finished third, behind Tyldum and Glimsdal and in front of Hanevold and Ulekleiv. Based on this, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the 20 km individual alongside Tyldum, Glimsdal and Hanevold, with Ulekleiv as a reserve.

On 20 February, Bjørndalen received his Olympic debut starting as number 17. He missed once in each round of shooting, finishing 36th, second best of the Norwegians, four minutes and 25.7 seconds behind the winner Sergei Tarasov, who missed thrice. This meant that Bjørndalen had lost almost a minute on the course versus Tarasov since the individual in Pokljuka, indicating a bad training regime on the part of the Norwegian team as even Glimsdal, who placed ninth, had lost two minutes on the course to Tarasov, a minute more than in Pokljuka. Tyldum and Hanevold had also raced slower than Tarasov, losing three minutes and four and a half minutes, respectively.

Based on his comparatively good performance in the 20 km individual, Bjørndalen was selected for the 10 km sprint as well, alongside Glimsdal, Tyldum and Ulekleiv. Starting second in the race, Bjørndalen missed once in the prone shooting, was clean in the standing, but his speed on the course was again far below par and Bjørndalen finished 28th, more than two and a half minutes behind the winner, Sergei Tchepikov. Bjørndalen was third best among the Norwegians, Ulekleiv and Tyldum finishing 14th and 25th respectively, with Glimsdal finishing far behind at 53rd, having been slightly ill. After the race, the coaches announced the relay teams. Bjørndalen was to take the first leg, followed by Ulekleiv, Glimsdal and Tyldum, with Hanevold as a reserve to take Glimsdal's place if his condition did not improve. Bjørndalen started with bib number 12, and did not incur any penalty loops, but used spare rounds in both shoots. This, accompanied by the slow skiing that had characterized the Norwegian biathletes during the entire Olympics, Bjørndalen was down in tenth when he changed with Ulekleiv at the first exchange. They were about one minute and 20 seconds behind the reigning champions, Germany, but less than 40 seconds away from the podium. However, the rest of the team did not do much better; by the end, the gap to Germany had grown to more than three minutes, though it was just over a minute up to the podium. The Norwegians finished seventh, their worst finish ever in the Olympics.

After the Olympics, Bjørndalen travelled to Orkdal to participate in the Norwegian Championships. He did not race in the team event, but did participate in the 20 km individual on 3 March. He missed thrice and finished less than 40 seconds behind the winner Halvard Hanevold who missed once. This won Bjørndalen his first individual medal as a senior in the Norwegian Championships, a silver won joint with Gisle Fenne who missed once. He then travelled to Trondheim where the sprint and relay would be held. In the sprint, Bjørndalen missed twice in the prone and four times in the standing, finishing eighth, one minute and 40 seconds behind the clean-shooting winner, Sylfest Glimsdal. In the relay, Bjørndalen raced for Buskerud alongside his brother Dag, Knut Tore Berland and Frode Andresen. Bjørndalen took the first leg, incurred two penalty loops in the standing, but thanks to great speed on the course still changed in the lead. Even though the rest of the team kept out of the penalty loop, Berland lost a lot of time to Hordaland's Eirik Kvalfoss, and Andresen was unable to close the gap, and so Buskerud won silver, six seconds behind Hordaland.

The following day, Bjørndalen was selected for the races in Hinton. Setting a new personal best, he finished 23rd in the individual, having missed three times, four minutes and nine seconds behind the clean-shooting winner, Wilfried Pallhuber. Bjørndalen improved further in the sprint by missing only once, finishing twelfth, one minute and 24 seconds behind the winner, Sven Fischer, who shot clean. Bjørndalen did not race in the relay. Bjørndalen then raced in the team event in Canmore, alongside Glimsdal, Hanevold and Tyldum. The team event was a World Championship race which was arranged due to the team event not being an Olympic event. They finished a distant fourth, more than a minute behind third place. Bjørndalen then continued his good run of races in the individual where he finished eleventh, another improvement on his personal best. He missed thrice and finished two minutes and 16 seconds behind the winner, Hubert Leitgeb, who had missed twice. In the sprint, he raced another good race, missing once and finishing 17th, one minute and 28 seconds behind the clean-shooting winner, Sylfest Glimsdal. Bjørndalen then raced in the relay alongside Glimsdal, Hanevold and Tyldum, taking the first leg. With the team incurring three penalty loops, they finished fifth. Bjørndalen had accumulated 57 points in the World Cup, finishing 28th overall. In the individual cup, he came 38th with 18 points, and he came 23rd with 39 points in the sprint cup. Bjørndalen finished the season in Sirdal with the final of the Norwegian Cup. In the 10 km sprint, he missed four times, but still finished fifth, 41 seconds behind his brother, who won with two misses.

First podiums (1994–95 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was for the first time added to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, Sylfest Glimsdal, Halvard Hanevold, Jon Åge Tyldum and Ivar Michal Ulekleiv. Roar Nilsen was head coach with main responsibility for shooting practice. Per Alsgaard had the main responsibility for cross-country skiing, whilst Eilef Mikkelsplass was assistant coach with main responsibility for ski preparation. Bjørndalen did not increase the amount of training during the off-season, but increased the intensity. In November, Bjørndalen participated in the season opening races at the Birkebeineren Ski Stadium in Lillehammer. In the races, the Norwegians were joined by biathletes from Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. On 19 November, Bjørndalen won the sprint, 9 seconds ahead of Hanevold, both missing once. Third place was joint between Andresen and Ulekleiv, who missed thrice and once, respectively, and finished 25 seconds behind. The following day, Bjørndalen also won a pursuit, a 10 km race with four rounds of shooting. He missed only twice, and finished more than a minute ahead of Tyldum in second place, and a minute and a half ahead of Pieralberto Carrara. Bjørndalen then travelled to Skrautvål to ski in two Norwegian Cup races the following weekend. In the first race, a sprint, Bjørndalen missed three times and finished fifth, one minute and 24 seconds behind the winner, Jon Åge Tyldum. In the pursuit the following day, Bjørndalen finished outside the top twelve, or did not compete. Bjørndalen was around this time selected to race in the World Cup rounds in Bad Gastein and Pokljuka.

Bjørndalen set a new personal best in the opening 20 km individual, finishing 10th, his first top ten finish, individually, in a World Cup race. He missed three times, but was just one minute and 42 seconds behind the winner, Vladimir Drachev, who missed once. Thus, he was one miss away from the podium, and two away from the victory, showing a good improvement in ski speed. In the sprint, Bjørndalen had his real breakthrough in the World Cup by finishing on the podium for the first time. He missed twice, but skied very fast, so as to place second, just fourteen seconds behind the clean-shooting winner, Jon Åge Tyldum. At the same time, he climbed to third place in the overall standings of the World Cup, from the tenth place after the first race, also a new personal record. Bjørndalen did not race in the relay. It was subsequently announced that the races in Pokljuka were cancelled and moved to Bad Gastein. In the individual, Bjørndalen matched the previous 20 km by placing tenth again, having missed four times, 2 minutes and four seconds behind the winner, Patrick Favre, who missed twice. This, alongside Drachev's 34th-place finish, resulted in Bjørndalen climbing past Drachev in the overall rankings to second place, only behind the World Cup leader, Tyldum. In the sprint, Bjørndalen faltered somewhat, missing twice and finishing 21st, one minute and three seconds behind Sylfest Glimsdal, who shot clean and won the race. Bjørndalen did, however, retain his position overall, and with that being the last individual race, entered the Christmas break in second place. The last race left before that break was the relay, in which Bjørndalen raced alongside Hanevold, Glimsdal and Tyldum, with Bjørndalen taking the first leg. Bjørndalen led the field at the first exchange, 14 seconds ahead of Pavel Muslimov. The rest of the team fared a bit worse, with Hanevold getting a penalty loop in the second leg, but the Norwegians still placed second, more than one minute and thirty seconds behind Russia. That second-place finish was the best finish by the Norwegian men in a World Cup relay since the relay in Antholz-Anterselva in the 1992–93 season, when the Norwegians also placed second.

Norway finished 8th in the relay in Ruhpolding with Bjørndalen having taken the second leg.

Norway finished 8th in the relay in Lahti with Bjørndalen having taken the first leg.

First World Cup victory (1995–96 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, Sylfest Glimsdal, Halvard Hanevold, newcomer Kjell Ove Oftedal and Jon Åge Tyldum.

The World Cup season did not begin brilliantly for Bjørndalen when he in the first race of the season, the 20 km individual in Östersund, managed to get lost and was subsequently disqualified. After two tiring races, Bjørndalen passed on the relay.

First World Championship medals (1996–97 World Cup season)
Ahead of this season, Bjørndalen was again selected to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, newcomers Dag Bjørndalen and Egil Gjelland, Sylfest Glimsdal, Halvard Hanevold and Jon Åge Tyldum.

On 13 February, the first part of the Norwegian Championships began in Snåsa. The opening distance was the 20 km individual. Bjørndalen received six penalty minutes in the race, just missing the podium, finishing fourth, a minute and a half behind the winner, Jon Åge Tyldum, who had received only three. Two days later, however, Bjørndalen made up for it by winning the 10 km sprint, missing two shots and leaving the closest competitor, Sylfest Glimsdal, 50 seconds behind. The following day, Bjørndalen raced alongside Frode Andresen, Dag Bjørndalen and Pål Gunnar Mikkelsplass, winning the relay.

Bjørndalen finished 11th in the 10 km mass start.

At the end of the season, Bjørndalen travelled to Savalen to compete in the second part of the Norwegian Championships. There, Bjørndalen first raced in the team race. With Audun Foss Knudsen, Dag Bjørndalen and Frode Andresen, Bjørndalen raced for Buskerud, winning the race 25 seconds ahead of the next team. The following day, Bjørndalen raced in the pursuit race. With challenging wind conditions, Bjørndalen missed four targets, but still won over a minute ahead of Andresen.

Olympic and World champion (1997–98 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, Dag Bjørndalen, newcomer Egil Gjelland and Halvard Hanevold.

Beginning of Poirée rivalry (1998–99 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, Dag Bjørndalen, Halvard Hanevold, Egil Gjelland and the returning Sylfest Glimsdal.

Bjørndalen did not enter the relay in Oberhof. Bjørndalen did not enter the relay in Ruhpolding.

Home World Championships (1999–2000 World Cup season)
Ahead of the season, Bjørndalen was again selected to the elite team, being reselected along with the rest of the men: Frode Andresen, Dag Bjørndalen, Egil Gjelland, Sylfest Glimsdal and Halvard Hanevold.

Bjørndalen showed good form in Östersund initially with a third in the sprint, but he was disqualified from the pursuit. His magazine fell out of his rifle when on the penalty loop after the third shooting, Bjørndalen discovered this in the final shooting. He then called for a new magazine, but before receiving it he used two spare rounds that were attached to the rifle. He then received his new magazine and shot three shots, and then went for the last loop. Bjørndalen was disqualified on two counts: Using spare rounds and finishing with live ammunition in his rifle. This disqualification also lost him the lead in the World Cup to Poirée.

World Cup victory record (2000–01 World Cup season)
Ahead of the season, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, Dag Bjørndalen, newcomer Stian Eckhoff, Egil Gjelland and Halvard Hanevold.

The 2000–2001 season began horribly for Bjørndalen who in the first race of the season, a 20 km individual in Antholz-Anterselva, missed 12 targets and ended up 95th, the worst performance of his entire career. He then showed great strength, however, by shooting cleanly and winning the 10 km sprint the following day ahead of Raphaël Poirée and Sven Fischer, thus claiming his 15th World Cup victory.

Olympic sweep (2001–02 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, Dag Bjørndalen, Stian Eckhoff, Egil Gjelland and Halvard Hanevold.

Individual World champion (2002–03 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, newcomer Lars Berger, Stian Eckhoff, Egil Gjelland and Halvard Hanevold.

The Bronze Age (2003–04 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being reselected alongside Frode Andresen, Lars Berger, Egil Gjelland, Halvard Hanevold and Stian Eckhoff.

Quadruple World Champion (2004–05 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being reselected alongside the rest of the male elite team, composed of Frode Andresen, Lars Berger, Stian Eckhoff, Egil Gjelland and Halvard Hanevold, in addition to Bjørndalen himself.

Disappointment in Turin (2005–06 World Cup season)
On 19 April, Bjørndalen was once again selected to the elite team, alongside Frode Andresen, Lars Berger, Stian Eckhoff, Egil Gjelland, Halvard Hanevold and newcomer Alexander Os.

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).

Cross-country World Cup victory (2006–07 World Cup season)
On 28 April, Bjørndalen was once again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, Lars Berger, Stian Eckhoff, Halvard Hanevold, newcomer Emil Hegle Svendsen and Alexander Os.

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 team-mates 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.

Record Overall World Cup victory (2007–08 World Cup season)
Ahead of the 2007–08 season, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Frode Andresen, Lars Berger, Stian Eckhoff, newcomer Hans Martin Gjedrem, Halvard Hanevold, Alexander Os, newcomer Magne Thorleiv Rønning and Emil Hegle Svendsen.

Record World Championship title (2008–09 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside newcomer Rune Brattsveen, Halvard Hanevold, Alexander Os and Emil Hegle Svendsen.

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.

Second Olympic disappointment (2009–10 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was once again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Rune Brattsveen, newcomer Tarjei Bø, Halvard Hanevold, Alexander Os and Emil Hegle Svendsen.

End of an era (2010–11 World Cup season)
Ahead of this season, Bjørndalen was reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside the returning Lars Berger, Tarjei Bø, newcomer Ronny Hafsås, Alexander Os, and Emil Hegle Svendsen.

Stepping in for a sick Emil Hegle Svendsen, Bjørndalen participated in the City-Biathlon in Püttlingen. There, he finished 3rd behind Christoph Sumann and Arnd Peiffer. Having had a decent start to the season, Bjørndalen trained over the Christmas break at a high altitude. There, Bjørndalen made what he has described as the greatest mistake of his career: He trained too hard. This led to a great dip in capasity and ski speed.

At the end of the season, Bjørndalen became the first biathlete ever to receive the prestigous Holmenkollen medal, alongside Andrea Henkel and Michael Greis.

Oldest World Cup winner (2011–12 World Cup season)
In April, Bjørndalen was again reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Lars Berger, Tarjei Bø, Ronny Hafsås, Alexander Os, and Emil Hegle Svendsen.

Hitting rock bottom (2012–13 World Cup season)
On 24 April, Bjørndalen was once again selected to the elite team, alongside Lars Berger, the returning Rune Brattsveen, newcomer Johannes Thingnes Bø, Tarjei Bø, Alexander Os and Emil Hegle Svendsen.

King of the Winter Olympics (2013–14 World Cup season)
On 3 April, Bjørndalen was reselected to the elite team, being selected alongside Johannes Thingnes Bø, Tarjei Bø, newcomers Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen and Henrik L'Abée-Lund, and Emil Hegle Svendsen.

First bonus season (2014–15 World Cup season)
On 14 April, Bjørndalen was selected to the elite team, the whole men's elite team being reselected. Thus, the team was composed of Johannes Thingnes Bø, Tarjei Bø, Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen, Henrik L'Abée-Lund and Emil Hegle Svendsen, in addition to Bjørndalen himself. The preparations for Bjørndalen's 23rd World Cup season went along without injuries or periods of sickness, with the exception of a couple of days in late July and early August which caused him to skip the Blink festival in Sandnes August 5. In September, Bjørndalen once again participated in the Norwegian Championships in summer biathlon. On 8 November, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the first three rounds of the World Cup in Östersund, Hochfilzen and Pokljuka. In the 20 km individual, Bjørndalen received three penalty minutes, but had the second fastest time on the course and so finished 6th. That was the best finish by Bjørndalen in a 20 km individual since the 2011 World Championships. In the sprint, Bjørndalen missed once in the prone and once in the standing, but once again had the second fastest ski time, and so finished 8th, 56.6 seconds behind Martin Fourcade who shot cleanly. The following day, Bjørndalen raced in the pursuit and shot cleanly in the two prone shoots and advanced to second place, but then missed two targets in the first standing shoot and missed another target in the final shoot. He thus finished 10th. The following weekend in Hochfilzen, Bjørndalen missed three targets in the opening sprint event, two in the prone and one in the standing, finishing 40th. He decided not to start in the pursuit the following day.

On 23 December, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the fourth and fifth rounds of the World Cup in Oberhof and Ruhpolding.

After the Christmas break, Bjørndalen raced in the relay in Oberhof. He took the anchor leg and finished second, losing in a sprint finish to Anton Shipulin.

On 19 January, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the sixth round of the World Cup in Antholz-Anterselva.

On 28 January, Bjørndalen was selected to race in Nové Město.

After Svendsen refused the anchor leg in the opening distance at the World Championships, the mixed relay, Bjørndalen was offered the spot, but he refused it, having designed his training to be optimized towards first racing in the 10 km sprint. Tarjei Bø then received the offer and raced in the mixed relay.

Towards the end of the season, Bjørndalen was scheduled to race in the Norwegian Championships in Sirdal, but he was unable to participate due to the cold he picked up in Khanty-Mansiysk.

A week and a half later, though, the cold had passed and Bjørndalen participated in the Race of Champions in Tyumen. On 4 April, Bjørndalen and the other competitors first participated in a 20 km mega-mass start with eight bouts of shooting, which was a part of the Russian Cup. Bjørndalen finished sixth, a minute behind the winner, Anton Shipulin. The Race of Champions began the following day with three competitions. The first was a shooting competition which also would determine the starting positions in the 15 km regular mass start which followed. The day would then end with a single mixed relay. Bjørndalen won the shooting competition, which one had to hit 20 targets, five prone, then five standing and so on. He then raced in the mass start where he missed three targets and finished third, six seconds behind Shipulin who missed only once. Finishing the competition and the season, Bjørndalen raced in the single mixed relay alongside Darya Domracheva. They missed seven times in total and finished fourth, 22 seconds behind the winners Ekaterina Yurlova and Anton Shipulin, who missed four times.

The Renaissance (2015–16 World Cup season)
On 21 April, Bjørndalen was once again selected to the elite team, alongside Emil Hegle Svendsen, Tarjei Bø, Johannes Thingnes Bø, Henrik L'Abée-Lund and newcomer Lars Helge Birkeland. After beginning training for what he has announced will be his last season, Bjørndalen spent much of June and July with a respiratory tract infection, losing one and a half months of full training. This caused him to once again skip the Blink festival in order to catch up with training. Bjørndalen spent a lot of time catching up; even in late August, Bjørndalen had received an acceptable amount of training, but could still only do the toughest excersises at about 80 % of his maximum as a precaution. This led him to skip the Norwegian Summer Championships in Os. He was then forced to skip the first session of altitude training with the national team in Italy, as he deemed his body not yet ready. During this period, Bjørndalen went to Olympiatoppen every other week to test if his body tolerated the training. He also publicly annonced that everything from then on would have to go well if he were to have a chance to fight in the top at the World Championships in Holmenkollen. He expressed confidence that he could then perhaps be in top form during the World Championships, though he also expressed doubts that he would be able to be in good enough form to qualify for the championships in the first place. However, on 28 September, Bjørndalen came third in a test race in Holmenkollen against his teammates.

On 23 November, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the first round of the World Cup in Östersund.

On 7 December, Bjørndalen was selected to race in Hochfilzen.

On 14 December, Bjørndalen was selected to race in Pokljuka.

On 22 December, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the fourth round of the World Cup. However, due to illness during the Christmas break, Bjørndalen skipped the first two races.

On 11 January, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the fifth round of the World Cup.

On 18 January, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the sixth round of the World Cup.

Return to Hochfilzen (2016–17 World Cup season)
On 19 April, Bjørndalen was once again reselected to the elite team, alongside Emil Hegle Svendsen, Tarjei Bø, Johannes Thingnes Bø, Henrik L'Abée-Lund, Lars Helge Birkeland and newcomer Erlend Bjøntegaard.

In November, Bjørndalen participated in the Norwegian season opener at Sjusjøen. On 12 November, he finished ninth in the sprint, having shot cleanly, but lacking somewhat in ski speed. The following day, he finished tenth in the mass start, having missed four targets.

On 14 November, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the first round of the World Cup in Östersund.

In the first race of the World Cup, the Östersund mixed relay, Bjørndalen was selected to take the third leg. He hit all targets, without the need of spare rounds, with his shooting being the fastest of the day. He lost some time on the track, but still left off at 4.9 seconds behind the lead and finished his leg more than 17 seconds ahead. This, along with good legs by his teammates Marte Olsbu, Fanny Horn Birkeland and Johannes Thingnes Bø, led the Norwegians to victory.

On 5 December, Bjørndalen was selected to race in Pokljuka.

On 12 December, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the third round of the World Cup.

On 21 December, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the fourth round of the World Cup.

On 9 January, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the fifth round of the World Cup in Ruhpolding.

On 16 January, Bjørndalen was selected to race in the sixth round of the World Cup in Antholz-Anterselva. On the same day, he was selected to represent Norway at the World Championships in Hochfilzen.

Final season (2017–18 World Cup season)
On 27 April, Bjørndalen was reselected to the elite team, alongside Emil Hegle Svendsen, Tarjei Bø, Johannes Thingnes Bø, Henrik L'Abée-Lund, Lars Helge Birkeland and Erlend Bjøntegaard.

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.
 * *Figures are rounded to the nearest integer.
 * **From the 1993–94 season through the 1995–95 season, the team statistics are omitted due to missing data from the IBU.
 * ***The data for the 1996–97 season lacks the data from the Östersund relay.

Equipment
In the 2015–16 season, Bjørndalen uses Madshus skis and boots. His rifle is an Anschütz rifle, and his ammunition is made by Lapua. His ski poles are curved poles from Exel, the "Exel X-Curve", and he uses bindings from Rottefella. His glasses are from Casco. This has changed a lot over the years as Bjørndalen has not just used physical and mental training to get an edge on his competitors, he has also changed and developed his equipment in order to further develop his ski speed, his ski technique and his shooting technique.

From the beginning of his World Cup career through the 1995–96 season, Bjørndalen used skis from the Austrian manufacturer Atomic. Then, from the 1996–97 season through the 2003–04 season, Bjørndalen used skis from the French manufacturer Rossignol. Bjørndalen then changed to the Norwegian manufacturer Madshus after having tested skis from several manufacturers in the 2004 off-season.

In 2005, Bjørndalen started using a new ski binding he had helped develop called the NIS (Nordic Integrated System), which was based on the NNN (New Nordic Norm). This binding did not have to be screwed onto the ski, meaning increased flexibility and strength of the ski, and it could be adjusted whenever necessary.

During the off-season in 2006, Bjørndalen tested a new ski boot with a high heel in the Torsby ski tunnel with boot manufacturers Madshus. The theory was that it would force the knee forward for better positioning and thus incorporate the large gluteal muscles in the skating of the skis.

Ahead of, and during, the 2007–08 season, Bjørndalen developed new gloves with Odlo that would be warm enough to cope with the potential cold during that season's World Championships in Östersund, and yet not so bulky as to hamper the shooting. He also developed new socks, in cooperation with Bridgedale, which would keep the sweat from the feet from creating a thin film between the feet and the socks which then would cool the feet down.

Most recently, ahead of the 2014–15 season, Bjørndalen took to using the "Exel X-Curve". According to Exel, the poles delivers 17% more propulsion power with each push compared with a regular, straight pole. This would allow Bjørndalen to reach high speed faster and to remain at those speeds longer. Bjørndalen hoped that this would save him possibly as much as 8-10 seconds over a 10 km sprint. Following Bjørndalen's lead, Fredrik Lindström, and later Darya Domracheva, also started using those poles.

Personal life
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 on mutual agreement.

Bjørndalen announced at a special press conference on 5 April 2016 that he and Darya Domracheva had entered a relationship, and that they were expecting a child in early October. On 7 July, Bjørndalen and Domracheva married at Sjusjøen fjellkirke. On 1 October, their daughter was born in Minsk, Belarus.

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

Olympic Games
13 medals (8 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze)
 * *Pursuit was added as an event in 2002, with mass start being added in 2006 and the mixed relay in 2014.

World Championships
45 medals (20 gold, 14 silver, 11 bronze)
 * *During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
 * **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 UIPMB and IBU World Cup races (includes the 1994 and 2014 Olympics). 

Junior World Championships
4 medals (3 gold, 1 bronze)

World Cup

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

World Cup victories

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

Cross-country skiing results
All results are sourced from the International Ski Federation.

Olympic Games

 * *The 10 km was removed as an event in 1998 and the team sprint was first added in 2006. The skiathlon was called double pursuit prior to the 2006 Olympics.

World Championships

 * *The 10 km was removed in 1999 and the 30 km was removed in 2003.

Overall record

 * *Results in all FIS World Cup races and the 2002 Olympics and the 2005 and 2007 World Championships. 

World Cup

 * *The Long Distance World Cup was removed after the 1999–00 season and was reinstated after the 2002–03 season as the Distance World Cup.

World Cup victories
1 victory 

Awards and honors
For his accomplishments in biathlon and cross-country skiing, Bjørndalen received the Egebergs Ærespris in 2002. In 2008, a nearly three meter tall bronze statue of Bjørndalen, created by sculptor Kirsten Kokkin, was erected in his hometown of Simostranda, Norway. In March 2011, he was awarded the Holmenkollen Medal, becoming the first biathlete to receive the medal, alongside Andrea Henkel and Michael Greis.