Olympia 2018: Björndalen participates as coach for Belarus

The Norwegian biathlon superstar Ole Einar Björndalen will travel to Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics as a member of Belarus’ coaching team. This was confirmed by the Belarusian Federation on Tuesday to AFP news agency. Accordingly, the IOC has accepted the corresponding accreditation application.

The 44-year-old is married to the Belarusian biathlete Darja Domratschewa (31) and is to support her in South Korea.

“We want Darja to feel comfortable in Pyeongchang,” said Secretary General Anatoly Stromsky of the National Biathlon Federation:”But Björndalen’s immense experience and advice can be very valuable to our entire team.

The eight-time Olympic gold medallist had failed to meet the sporting criteria for his seventh games and therefore did not receive a ticket to South Korea from Norway’s Olympic Committee (Norges Idrettsforbund/NIF).