Johannes Thingnes Bø and his older brother Tarjei were still savouring the gold and bronze medals they won in the men’s sprint at the biathlon world championships in Finland over the weekend. Johannes was reduced to tears of joy while being interviewed live on state broadcaster NRK.
“Winning gold is great, but it’s even more emotional when Tarjei wins the bronze,” he said.
The two brother have been skiing, shooting and training together since they were small boys growing up in Stryn, in the mountains of central Norway. “This is what they’ve been dreaming about,” their politically active father Klemet Bø told NRK as he followed the action while attending a weekend meeting of the Christian Democrats party in Balestrand. He had not made the trip to Finland to watch his sons in action, but was cheering from afar.
Tarjei Bø had struggled with illness this season, prompting the legendary Norwegian biathlon star Ole Einar Bjørndalen to claim that his bronze medal was an even greater presentation that Johannes’ gold medal. It was also, however, Johannes’ first championship race at the senior level, so his gold medal made for an impressive debut as well.
Nathan Smith of Canada won the silver medal, but the Bø brothers were getting the most attention. The biathlon world championships began last week and runs through Sunday.
newsinenglish.no staff