Ole Einar Bjoerndalen Biography - Liked Target Shooting, Power Of Positive Thinking, Supreme At Soldier Hollow, Elevates Biathlon Status
eric heiden gold winter medals united
1974-
Norwegian biathlete
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen listened to a vacuum cleaner salesman, then cleaned up at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City. Bjoerndalen, from Norway, won four gold medals in the biathlon, an event that combines cross-country skiing with target shooting. Amid an Olympiad that featured the stunning success of American figure skater Sarah Hughes, an enthralling gold-medal hockey game and a judging scandal in ice dancing, Bjoerndalen drew attention to an event many consider on the far fringe of sport.
Bjoerndalen took the gold in the 10-kilometer sprint, 20-kilometer individual, 12.5 km pursuit, and the 4×7.5 km relay. He became only the third person to win at least four gold medals in one winter Olympiad; speed skaters Eric Heiden of the United States and Lydia Skoblikova of Russia won five and four in 1980 and 1964, respectively. He credits Oyvind Hammer, a Dick Vitale style pitchman for Filter Queen vacuums and motivational speaker on the side, for elevating his confidence and consistency.
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Bjoerndalen was adept at cross-country skiing while growing up in the small Norwegian town of Simostranda, but opted for biathlon because he enjoyed target shooting. "Often ridiculed in the United States as a freak sport, the biathlon has its roots in Nordic warfare," Charlie Leduff wrote in the New York Times. The event surfaced in the Olympics in 1928 as a demonstration sport, call…
To prepare for the thin air of Salt Lake City, home of the 2002 Olympics, Bjoerndalen trained in other high-altitude regions. The Soldier Hollow course, the biathlon site in Salt Lake, was 6,000 feet above sea level. Soldier Hollow, according to Baum, posed a special challenge. "It is a hillier course at a higher elevation than all others, which puts an enormous cardiovascular strain on com…
Bjoerndalen's success has brought international media attention to a sport many consider more appropriate for the ESPN Xtreme Games. And, of course, he is a hero in Norway, which takes its winter sports seriously. Bjoerndalen's performance, Leduff wrote, "has elevated him to rock-star status in his home country, where the combined art of skiing and shooting ranks second only t…
"Bjoerndalen Wins 4th Gold; U.S. vs. Canada for Bronze in Women's Curling." Chicago Tribune (February 21, 2002): 8. Leduff, Charlie. "Fourth Gold Medal for a Positive Thinker." New York Times (February 21, 2002): D1. Baum, Greg. "Bjoerndalen a Hot Shot in the Snow." Sydney Morning Herald, http:/old.smh.com.au/news/0202/15/sport/sport14/html, (Februa…
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