The controversial Olympic mission of two biathlon legends

This is what happened during the three-week corona quarantine of the best biathlete in history in China in spring 2021. The Norwegian and his wife Darya Domracheva came for a training camp to make progress on their delicate Olympic mission. Like everyone entering the country, they also had to isolate themselves for a long time before they could continue their controversial development work as a coaching team. A special challenge for exercise junkies at ten by ten meters. “Our goal is above all to develop the athletes as much as possible. If everything goes well, if we can get medals, that would be great,” said Björndalen in an interview on the Olympic homepage. Precious metal is likely to remain a dream for the Chinese at the home games in Beijing (February 4th to 20th). They are far from the top and are probably only good for a small supporting role in the competitions in Zhangjiakou. 3 years of development work in China When Bjørndalen (48) and the Belarusian Domracheva (35) took over responsibility for the Chinese in autumn 2019, there was great amazement in the scene. “You have entered a shark tank. “They could have been of more use to other teams,” said ARD expert Kati Wilhelm recently. But the most famous biathlon couple decided on the strenuous project in Asia, not least because of the supposedly princely reward. Björndalen and Domracheva, who are parents to daughter Xenia, have an impressive ten Olympic victories, 22 World Cup titles and seven overall World Cup successes. Hardly anyone knows better how to prepare for a climax, how to work hard and subordinate everything to success. Bjørndalen was called the “cannibal” before his retirement in spring 2018 because he always wanted to win, was never satisfied and wore down his opponents so much. No success so far But conveying all this to her protégés is a difficult task, as head coach Bjørndalen and Domracheva, who is responsible for the women's team, discovered. Communication with the athletes is only possible with several interpreters. In recent years, training has taken place not only in China, but also in Bjørndalen's Norwegian homeland and the Alps. With moderate success. If you look through the overall World Cup list, you will find 22-year-old Yuanmeng Chu as the best woman in 60th place and Fangming Cheng in 64th place among men. He achieved the best result of the Olympic season by coming twelfth in the Oberhof sprint. “We both believe it is possible to achieve good results.” Darya Domracheva, coach of the Chinese women's team “Biathlon is a very unpredictable sport. You need a high level of confidence in the moment, but we both believe that it is possible to achieve good results,” said Domracheva, who, like her husband, resigned in 2018. She became the Olympic relay champion in Pyeongchang. Bjørndalen was part of the coaching team in Belarus at the time because he was no longer able to qualify for the strong Norwegian team. The 20-time world champion is now taking part in the Olympics for the eighth time in a row. However, in a role that is viewed critically in his Scandinavian homeland. Bjørndalen receives criticism from his homeland “If you take on an important position in a totalitarian state, you must be conscious of your decision. Our job is to tell how bad the human rights situation is in China,” John Peder Egenæs, the head of Amnesty International Norway, told the newspaper Verdens Gang. According to Amnesty, the former exceptional athlete is only being used for China's purposes. Bjørndalen rejects these accusations: “I concentrate on the athletes and do not engage in discussions about propaganda with any leader.” “I don’t engage in conversations about propaganda with any leader.” Ole Einar Bjørndalen defends himself against the criticism The human rights organization still sees Bjørndalen primarily as a kind of puppet. “It may not be the biggest sport, but getting him into the team means prestige that brings a lot of prestige,” Egenæs said. The record Olympic champion doesn't accept this and prefers to explain his commitment in a very friendly way: "Of course we're happy to take advantage of the opportunity and help our favorite sport to develop worldwide, in countries where biathlon and all winter sports have enormous potential."

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The controversial Olympic mission of two biathlon legends

If necessary, Ole Einar Bjørndalen will also run a half marathon in his hotel room.

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