While the undisputed King of Biathlon, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (NOR) has indicated that he considers retiring from professional biathlon after the 2014 Sotchi Olympics, the Madshus racer wants to stay involved.
Bjoerndalen is aiming for a spot in the IOC Athlete Committee, and if elected, he knows exactly what he wants to work for: Fair Play and a clean sport.
“I want to fight for the athletes’ needs, and what we want is a doing free sport. To get there, we need more testing,” Bjoerndalen says to the Norwegian TV station NRK.
The election for the IOC Athlete Committee takes place in conjunction with the 2014 Sotchi Olympics in Russia.
In order to become one of the 10 candidates, the Norwegian Olympic Committee (NOK) has to move to adjust their bylaws. But everyone in NOK supports Bjoerndalen’s bid for the Athlete Committee and is calling an extraordinary general assembly with all the 300 national representatives. The bylaws have to be amended by October 14, 2013, but the chair of the NOK, Boerre Rognlien, is willing to do that, regardless of cost and effort to the NOK.
“We know what Ole Einar Bjoerndalen stands for. We know his values, and what he can do when he is motivated. When we have an opportunity to get him on the IOC Athlete Committee, we will do all that we can to help him get there,” Rognlien says to NRK.