Madshus biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (NOR) beat Tour de France cyclist Alexander Kristoff and alpine skier Kjetil Jansrud in the contest for the best athlete of 2014 among Norwegian sports reporters.
In February, the 40-year-old was announced the most winning winter Olympian in history after earning two gold medals in biathlon at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Bjoerndalen was also voted the best male athlete of the 2014 Olympics by the international sports community.
Norwegian Sport Journalists’ Association (NSF) has presented the Athlete of the Year annually since 1948, but it has been years since five different athletes received as many votes as this year. In total, 13 athletes and teams were voted for, according to the Norwegian wire service NTB.
Bjoerndalen was awarded the prestigious title for the second time and is the ninth athlete to receive the honor two or more times. He was also announced Athlete of the Year in 2002, after winning four gold medals at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Marathon runner Grete Waitz won the Sports reporters’ award four times, and tops the list.
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen debuted in the Olympics in 1994, on home turf in Lillehammer. Since then, he has won Olympic medals in 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. During the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, he passed Bjoern Daehlie’s Olympic medals count and became the most winning winter Olympian.
The veteran biathlete has competed at the top international level for more than 20 years, and is not stepping down anytime soon. This season, Bjoerndalen is again aiming for the World Championships, and he has announced that he is also looking forward to the 2016 World Championships in Holmenkollen, Norway. Aside from racing, Bjoerndalen was elected to the International Olympic Committee as an athlete representative.
2014 Athlete of the Year Award ranking
1) Ole Einar Bjørndalen (biathlon) 65 points,
2) Alexander Kristoff (cycling) 60,
3) Kjetil Jansrud (alpine skiing) 56,
4) Magnus Carlsen (chess) 42,
5) Marit Bjørgen (cross-country skiing) 40,
6) Mats Zuccarello (ice hockey) 24,
7) Martin Ødegaard (soccer) 12,
8) Cecilia Brækhus (boxing) 5,
9) Jørgen Graabak (Nordic Combined) 3,
10) National team handball women’s team kvinnelandslaget håndball 2,
11) Carl Yngvar Christiansen (power lifting) and Therese Johaug (cross-country skiing) and Molde (soccer) 1.