The Norwegian biathlon superstar Ole Einar Björndalen misses his seventh Olympic Winter Games. As Norway’s Olympic Committee (Norges idrettsforbund/NIF) announced on Monday, the 43-year-old will not receive a ticket to Pyeongchang (9th place). till 25. February).
“The results achieved by Ole Einar Björndalen during the current World Cup season are not good enough. Unfortunately, he did not meet the selection criteria,”said NIF sports chief Tore Övrebö.
With 42nd place in the individual race at the World Cup in Ruhpolding, the eight-time Olympic champion had not fulfilled the sporting criteria for Pyeongchang in his last attempt. Only an act of mercy could have brought the most successful athlete in the history of winter games to South Korea.
For Pyeongchang the brothers Johannes Thingnes and Tarjei Bö, Emil Hegle Svendsen, Lars Helge Birkeland, Henrik L’ Abee-Lund and Erlend Bjoentegaard were chosen as representatives of Norway.
Björndalen had already celebrated his Olympic debut in 1994 at the home game in Lillehammer. 94 victories in 575 World Cup races, 45 World Cup and 13 Olympic medals (8 gold/4 silver/1 bronze) adorn the impressive record of the “cannibal”. In the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, Björndalen won gold in all four starts.