According to Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norway is currently too superior in biathlon. He fears that the sport will lead to cross-country skiing. Bjørndalen is also surprised by Tero Seppälä.
Roope Visuri,
SpongeBob Forsberg,
Joel Holm
The Biathlon World Championships have seen quite a bit of Norwegian and French dominance on the men’s side. In the sprint race, the Norwegian men took a triple victory. In the pursuit, on the other hand, there was a fifth victory.
In the World Cup, the Norwegian men have a strong lead Johannes Thingnes Bön under.
France in the Women’s World Cup Lou Jeanmonnot, Justine Braisaz-Bouchet and Julia Simon have grabbed ten of the possible 17 personal first places.
In the ongoing World Championships, the men of Norway and the women of France have grabbed 16 of the 21 medals that were distributed.
Norwegian legend Be Einar Björndalen tells Urheilu that he is worried about the direction biathlon is going.
– Especially after the fluoride ban, the differences have grown bigger. I don’t like it. We have to do something. We have to take the situation seriously. Otherwise, after two or three years we will be in the same situation as cross-country skiing, describes Bjørndalen, who currently works as a commentator for Norway’s TV2.
In cross-country skiing, it has been talked about for a long time how Norway’s dominance reduces the interest of the sport. According to Björndalen, in his peak years, biathlon had many more countries fighting for championship medals and World Cup victories. Now, according to him, Norway dominates biathlon even too much.
Björndalen won 20 MM gold medals in his time. Johannes Thingnes Böll, who has dominated the sport in recent years, has 19 MM gold medals. Björndalen believes that Bö will break his record either at the current World Championships in Nove Mesto or next year in Lenzerheide.
– Johannes will surely break my record. He is a fantastic athlete. It’s nice to watch him up close, Bjørndalen praises.
The blacksmith’s situation is surprising
For the Finns, the Biathlon World Championships have so far been minor victories. With the number one name of the last seasons Tero Seppäälä it has been a difficult season. However, flashes of light have also been seen earlier this season, such as even setting the goal of a World Cup medal Otto Invenius.
Bjørndalen sees Invenius on his way up, but Seppälä stomping in place.
– I’m really surprised by Seppää. He has gifts, he has “engine†that is, he has endurance. It is not that difficult to develop him into an athlete who would reach the top ten. Seppää should also be a podium athlete at some point, Bjørndalen wonders.
The Norwegian legend has clear teachings on what Seppälä should do.
– If he wants to be on the podium, he needs to be in a good environment. He shouldn’t be far from the peaks all summer. Then he would get optimal preparation, Björndalen says.
According to Norwegian legend, the sport changes and develops every year. Therefore, changes must be made in training as well.
– You can’t change everything every year, but ten percent can. I don’t think everyone does that, says Björndalen.
The biathlon boss isn’t worried
Chairman of the International Biathlon Union Olle Dahlin granted to VG, that the fluoride ban has affected the power balance of the sport. According to him, however, the situation will level out in the future.
– Technical knowledge is transferred quite quickly. Lubricant manufacturers are involved in this and the countries’ lubrication teams exchange information with each other.
Dahlin agrees with Björndalen that the control of Norway and France is worrying.
– The struggle of several countries for podium positions has been one of our greatest strengths. The exciting sport creates value for marketing and TV rights.
Dahlin says that the Biathlon Union aims to reduce the differences between the countries with a development program that offers the countries a mentoring program.
As an encouraging example, he mentions Sweden, where the number of hobbyists has risen dramatically in recent years.
shows the Biathlon World Championships on its channels and follows the competitions in this article.