Leading up to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the veteran and king of biathlon, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (NOR) knows he’s under scrutiny to make the Olympic team selection. There are no special rules for tenure.
So, in preparation for what is probably his last Olympic season, the 39-year-old Madshus racer wins the summer pursuit at the Norwegian summer biathlon championships this weekend.
“It was a thriller, and it was a tough day at the range and a good fight,” Bjoerndalen said to Norwegian TV station NRK.
After placing seventh in the sprint race on Saturday, Bjoerdalen pulls off the win in the pursuit, explaining that it was all in his head.
“I was mentally more in the zone today. Yesterday my head was tired,” Bjoerndalen said to NRK after the pursuit on Sunday.
On Saturday, Madshus racer Emil Hegle Svendsen won the gold in the sprint event at the Norwegian summer nationals, putting Madshus racers on the top of the podium in the men’s competiton both days. On Saturday, Madshus racer Fanny Welle Strand Horn also took home the gold in the women’s sprint competition.