Tarjei Bø

Born on 29 July 1988 in Lillehammer, Norway, Tarjei Bø is a professional biathlete. He is one of the brightest, fastest rising stars, an invaluable member of the Norwegian biathlon team. Tarjei is an older brother and teammate of Johannes Thingnes Bø. Well known for his rapid and precise shooting, combined with a fast ski style, the older brother Bø made his World Cup debut on 26 March 2009. He made quite an impression during 3 Junior World Championships in 2006 in Presque Isle, 2007 in Martell and 2009 in Canmore, all from which he scored medals. At the 2006 Junior Championships, Tarjei won 2 medals - a gold in the Individual and a silver in the pursuit. He came 4th in the sprint and the relay. One year later, in 2007 in Martell, Bø won 2 silver medals in the pursuit and with the relay team. He finished 4th in the Individual and 5th in the sprint. To complete the collection, he won 2 bronze medals in the sprint and the following pursuit at his last appearance at Junior World Championships in 2009 in Canmore. During the 2009 European Championships in Ufa, Russia, Bø was the most successful biathlete. He claimed the gold medal in all four races - the Individual, sprint, pursuit and relay. In the 2009-2010 season, Tarjei continued his progress. He participated in His first ever Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He placed 21st in the 20 km Individual event. But the greatest success was winning the gold medal in the relay event alongside his teammates Halvard Hanevold, Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Emil Hegle Svendsen before the Austrian and Russian teams. The most sensational season in his career so far is the 2010-2011 season. It began with a fourth place in the Individual in Östersund, followed by a fifth and fourth place in the sprint and pursuit disciplines, respectively. The next World Cup races were in Hochfilzen, Austria. On 10 December 2010 Tarjei Bø won the 10 km sprint and on the next day, the 12.5 km pursuit. These victories led to receiving the yellow bib of the Overall World Cup leader. In Oberhof, he achieved his third and fourth World Cup victories in the 10 km sprint and the 15 km mass start. During the races in Presque Isle, Bø placed 4th in the sprint but one week later in Fort Kent, he came 3rd in the sprint, pursuit and mass start. At the 2011 World Championships in Khanty-Mansyisk, Tarjei won 5 medals from each discipline without the mass start where he placed 4th. However he claimed 3 gold (in the Individual, the relay and mixed relay) and 2 bronze medals (in the sprint and pursuit). Despite the bad finish on 44th place in the sprint with 5 shooting errors at the finals in Holmenkollen, Tarjei finished 0.6 seconds behind his friend and compatriot Emil Hegle Svendsen in the following pursuit. And this achievement won him the Overall for the first time in his career. During the 2012-2013 season he won 3 gold medals from the World Championships in Nove Mesto, in the mass start, the relay and mixed relay. A sudden drop and instability in his shooting occurred during the 2013-2014 season. Being part of the Norwegian team at his second Olympics in 2014 in Sochi, he competed in all events. Unfortunately without winning any medals. His best result was with the relay placing 4th. However, Bø made a remarkable comeback for the 2015 World Championships in Kontiolahti. He won 5 medals from all events except the Individual, where he came 25th. An impressive collection of 4 bronze for the sprint, pursuit, mass start and mixed relay disciplines and one silver with the relay. The 2015-2016 season, Tarjei showed a better shooting and much faster skiing. At the 2016 World Championships in Holmenkollen he won 2 medals - a gold with the relay and a bronze with the mixed relay. Tarjei Bø has an outstanding career record. He participated in 163 races with 8 individual victories and 28 individual podiums. He has one Overall title for the 2010-2011 season, as well as 2 discipline titles for the sprint and pursuit. Bø is still at the dawn of his career and there's much more challenges and victories ahead of him.