Ole Einar Bjørndalen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ole Einar Bjørndalen

Bjørndalen in 2007
Personal information
Nickname(s)	King of Biathlon The Cannibal
Born	(1974-01-27) 27 January 1974 (age 51) Drammen, Norway
Height	1.79 m
Spouse(s)	Nathalie Santer ​ ​ (m. 2006; div. 2012)​ Darya Domracheva ​ (m. 2016)​
Website	oleeinarbjorndalen.com
Professional information
Sport	Biathlon Cross-country skiing
Club	Simostranda IL Byåsen IL
Skis	Madshus
Rifle	Anschütz
World Cup debut	18 March 1993 28 November 1998
Olympic Games
Teams	6 (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) 1 (2002)
Medals	13 (8 gold)
World Championships
Teams	23 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) 2 (2005, 2007)
Medals	45 (20 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	26 (1993 – 2018)
Individual races	478 (biathlon) 16 (cross-country skiing)
All races	582 (biathlon) 20 (cross-country skiing)
Individual victories	95 (biathlon) 1 (cross-country skiing)
All victories	136 (biathlon) 1 (cross-country skiing)
Individual podiums	179 (biathlon) 3 (cross-country skiing)
All podiums	252 (biathlon) 5 (cross-country skiing)
Overall titles	6 (1997–98, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09)
Discipline titles	20: 1 Individual (2004–05); 9 Sprint (1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2007–08, 2008–09); 5 Pursuit (1999–00, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09); 5 Mass start (2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 8 4 1 World Championships 20 14 11 Summer World Championships 1 1 1 Junior/Youth World Championships 3 0 1 Total (65 medals) 32 19 14 Olympic Games Gold 1998 Nagano 10 km sprint Gold 2002 Salt Lake City 20 km individual Gold 2002 Salt Lake City 10 km sprint Gold 2002 Salt Lake City 12.5 km pursuit Gold 2002 Salt Lake City 4 × 7.5 km relay Gold 2010 Vancouver 4 × 7.5 km relay Gold 2014 Sochi 10 km sprint Gold 2014 Sochi Mixed relay Silver 1998 Nagano 4 × 7.5 km relay Silver 2006 Turin 20 km individual Silver 2006 Turin 12.5 km pursuit Silver 2010 Vancouver 20 km individual Bronze 2006 Turin 15 km mass start World Championships Gold 1998 Hochfilzen Team event Gold 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk 10 km sprint Gold 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk 15 km mass start Gold 2005 Hochfilzen 10 km sprint Gold 2005 Hochfilzen 12.5 km pursuit Gold 2005 Hochfilzen 15 km mass start Gold 2005 Hochfilzen 4 × 7.5 km relay Gold 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 10 km sprint Gold 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 12.5 km pursuit Gold 2008 Östersund 12.5 km pursuit Gold 2009 Pyeongchang 20 km individual Gold 2009 Pyeongchang 10 km sprint Gold 2009 Pyeongchang 12.5 km pursuit Gold 2009 Pyeongchang 4 × 7.5 km relay Gold 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 4 × 7.5 km relay Gold 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk Mixed relay Gold 2012 Ruhpolding 4 × 7.5 km relay Gold 2012 Ruhpolding Mixed relay Gold 2013 Nové Město 4 × 7.5 km relay Gold 2016 Oslo 4 × 7.5 km relay Silver 1997 Brezno-Osrblie 4 × 7.5 km relay Silver 1998 Pokljuka 12.5 km pursuit Silver 2000 Lahti 4 × 7.5 km relay Silver 2001 Pokljuka 15 km mass start Silver 2004 Oberhof 4 × 7.5 km relay Silver 2006 Pokljuka Mixed relay Silver 2007 Antholz-Anterselva 4 × 7.5 km relay Silver 2008 Östersund 20 km individual Silver 2008 Östersund 15 km mass start Silver 2008 Östersund 4 × 7.5 km relay Silver 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk Mixed relay Silver 2015 Kontiolahti 4 × 7.5 km relay Silver 2016 Oslo 10 km sprint Silver 2016 Oslo 12.5 km pursuit Bronze 1997 Brezno-Osrblie 12.5 km pursuit Bronze 1999 Oslo Holmenkollen 15 km mass start Bronze 1999 Kontiolahti 4 × 7.5 km relay Bronze 2000 Oslo Holmenkollen 15 km mass start Bronze 2001 Pokljuka 4 × 7.5 km relay Bronze 2004 Oberhof 20 km individual Bronze 2004 Oberhof 10 km sprint Bronze 2004 Oberhof 12.5 km pursuit Bronze 2008 Östersund 10 km sprint Bronze 2016 Oslo 15 km mass start Bronze 2017 Hochfilzen 12.5 km pursuit Junior World Championships Bronze 1992 Canmore 4 × 7.5 km relay Gold 1993 Ruhpolding 20 km individual Gold 1993 Ruhpolding 10 km sprint Gold 1993 Ruhpolding 4 × 7.5 km relay

Ole Einar Bjørndalen (born 27 January 1974) is a retired Norwegian professional biathlete and coach. Many people call him the "King of Biathlon" because he is so successful.

He has won 13 medals at the Winter Olympic Games. This makes him second on the list of most Winter Olympic medalists. He is also the most successful biathlete ever at the Biathlon World Championships, with 45 medals. Bjørndalen has won 95 World Cup races, which is more than any other biathlete. He won the overall World Cup title six times.

In 1992, he won his first medal at the junior world championships. A year later, in 1993, he won three junior world championship titles. After this, Bjørndalen started competing in the Biathlon World Cup. His big break came in 1994 when he got his first World Cup podium in a sprint race in Austria. Bjørndalen first competed in the Olympics at the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympics in his home country, Norway. He won his first big race on 11 January 1996 in Italy.

In 2014, Bjørndalen was chosen to be on the International Olympic Committee's athlete commission for eight years. However, he decided to leave this role in 2016 to keep competing.

A Champion's Journey

When he was 16, Bjørndalen left home to train at a sports academy in Geilo. He first trained in both cross-country skiing and biathlon. After a year, he decided to focus only on biathlon.

In 1993, at 19, Bjørndalen became famous by winning three out of four possible gold medals at the Junior Biathlon World Championships. This led to him being chosen for the 1994 Olympics. At those Games, his best finish was 28th in the sprint race.

He won the overall World Cup six times: in 1997–98, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, and 2008–09. He also finished second six times and third once. When he won the World Cup in 1998 at age 24, he also won a World Championship gold medal and an Olympic gold medal in the same season.

Bjørndalen has been on the World Cup podium 179 times in individual biathlon events. He has 95 first-place finishes, 53 second places, and 31 third places. In relay races, he has won 37 times. In total, he has 252 World Cup podium finishes in biathlon, including team and relay races. He also has 5 podium finishes in cross-country skiing World Cup events. In February 2009, he won his 87th World Cup race, beating Ingemar Stenmark's record for most World Cup wins by a skier.

Bjørndalen has won the Sprint World Cup nine times. He also won the Pursuit World Cup five times and the Mass Start World Cup five times. He won the Individual distance World Cup once in 2004–05.

He has won the relay World Cup 11 times with the Norwegian biathlon team. He also won the mixed relay World Cup four times. The Norwegian men's biathlon team, with Bjørndalen, won the Nations Cup ten times.

Olympic and World Championship Success

Bjørndalen is the only biathlete to win every biathlon event at a single Winter Olympics. This happened at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. He won the sprint, pursuit, individual, and relay events. This made him the most successful athlete at those Games. He was also the third Winter Olympian to win four gold medals at one Games. He also won four gold medals at the Biathlon World Championships 2005 in Austria. He repeated this amazing feat at the Biathlon World Championships 2009 in South Korea.

At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Bjørndalen won three medals: two silvers and one bronze. At the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, he became the most successful biathlete in Winter Olympic history. He then helped Norway win gold in the 4 × 7.5 km relay. This made him one of only two athletes to win 11 medals at the Winter Olympics.

Bjørndalen in Kontiolahti, Finland, 12 February 2012, where he won the pursuit

At the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics, he won gold in the 10 km sprint. This tied him with fellow Norwegian Bjørn Dæhlie for the most Winter Olympic medals, with 12. He then won his second gold of those Games as part of the Norwegian mixed relay team, breaking Dæhlie's record.

In total, Bjørndalen has won eight Olympic gold medals, four silver, and one bronze. He has also won 20 World Championship gold medals, 14 silver, and 11 bronze. This is more than any other biathlete in history. He also has a record 95 World Cup victories in biathlon and one in cross-country skiing. He finished in the top three of the Overall World Cup rankings for 13 seasons in a row. In Norway, he has won 44 national championship gold medals.

In January 2018, Bjørndalen was not chosen for the 2018 Winter Olympics. This was because he did not meet the qualifying standard. However, he went to the Games as a coach for the Belarusian team to support his wife, Darya Domracheva. On 3 April 2018, Bjørndalen announced he was retiring from competing. He explained that heart problems had affected his performance.

In September 2019, Bjørndalen and Domracheva became coaches for the Chinese biathlon team.

Personal Life

Bjørndalen grew up on a farm in Simostranda, Norway. He is the fourth of five children. His brother, Dag Bjørndalen, is also a biathlete. Both brothers were part of the Norwegian team that won a silver medal in the men's relay at the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Bjørndalen lives in Obertilliach, Austria. He was married to Italian-Belgian biathlete Nathalie Santer from 2006 to 2012.

In April 2016, Bjørndalen announced he was in a relationship with Belarusian biathlete Darya Domracheva. He also said she was expecting their first child. They married on 7 July 2016, in Sjusjøen, Norway. Their daughter, Xenia, was born on 1 October 2016.

Awards and Honors

Ole Einar Bjørndalen has received many awards for his amazing career.

• He won the Aftenposten Gold Medal in 1998.
• He was named the Norwegian Sportsperson of the Year in 2002 and 2014.
• For his achievements in biathlon and cross-country skiing, he received the Egebergs Ærespris in 2002.
• He was also given the Fearnleys olympic honorary award in 2002.
• The International Sports Press Association voted him Best Male Athlete of 2002.
• He was nominated for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year in 2003.
• In 2008, a bronze statue of Bjørndalen was put up in his hometown of Simostranda, Norway.
• He won the Fair Play Mecenante Award in Italy in 2009.
• He was voted Biathlon Athlete of the Year by AIPS Nordic Ski and Biathlon Commission in 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2009.
• In March 2011, he received the Holmenkollen Medal, a very special award in skiing.
• In February 2014, he was voted Best Male Athlete of the 2014 Winter Olympics by the International Sports Press Association.
• In November 2014, he was also awarded Best Male Athlete of the 2014 Winter Olympics by the Association des Comités Nationaux Olympiques.

Cross-Country Skiing Achievements

Bjørndalen also competed in cross-country skiing. He first raced in the FIS Cross-Country World Cup in Finland in November 1998. His first podium finish in cross-country skiing was in November 2001, where he came in 2nd place.

On 18 November 2006, Bjørndalen made history. He became the first male biathlete to win a FIS Cross-Country World Cup event in Sweden. He won the 15 km freestyle event. He has been on the podium five times in the Cross-Country World Cup.

He also won two FIS cross-country events. In 2002, he hoped to win Olympic medals in both biathlon and cross-country skiing. He finished 5th in the 30 km freestyle cross-country race at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics.

Other Victories

Ole Einar Bjørndalen has won other events too.

• He won the Beach Volleyball Championship at Laguna Beach in 2001.
• He won the World Team Challenge biathlon exhibition event in Gelsenkirchen four times (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006). He also won a bronze medal there with his wife, Darya Domracheva, in 2018.
• In 2003, he finished second in the Dobbiaco-Cortina, a long-distance cross-country skiing event in Italy.
• In 2008, Bjørndalen won a biathlon exhibition event in Germany with Kati Wilhelm. He also got second place in 2011 with Magdalena Neuner.
• He won the Blink Festival in Norway in 2008.
• In April 2016, Bjørndalen and Karin Oberhofer won the Champions Race in Russia.

Biathlon Results Overview

Bjørndalen in Trondheim, March 2009

Here are some of Ole Einar Bjørndalen's top results in biathlon.

Olympic Winter Games Medals

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

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

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

World Championships Medals

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

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

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

Shooting Skills

Bjørndalen is a good shooter, which is important in biathlon. He usually hits around 84-85% of his targets. This means he's a solid shooter, but not always the very best.

For example, in the 2005–06 season, he hit 84% of his targets. His scores for shooting while lying down (prone) and standing up were almost the same. In individual races, 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, he was the 16th best shooter with an 85% success rate. He hit 331 out of 364 targets. His prone shooting was better than his standing shooting that year.

Shooting Statistics

Equipment

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

In 2006, he tested a new ski boot with a high heel. This was to help skiers lean forward more for a better position.

Images for kids

• 

  Bjørndalen in 2007

• 

  Olympic Rings

• 

  Bjørndalen in Kontiolahti, Finland, 12 February 2012, where he won the pursuit

• 

  Bjørndalen in Trondheim, March 2009

See also

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