Norway's Dale-Shevdal: Olympic Gold Still Feels Fantastic

Johannes Dale-Sevdal, a 29-year-old Norwegian biathlete, has looked back on his victory at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, where he became Olympic champion in biathlon in February. The race took place at the Antholz venue and was his last chance to win a medal at the Games.

The athlete said the feeling is still fantastic and that the moment will stay with him forever. He said he was unusually calm on race day, and after the third shooting stage, when he was left alone in the lead, he knew exactly what to do. He won with clean shooting. At the Games he also finished sixth in the sprint and in the pursuit, but he said only medals matter.

The road to the Games

Before that, Dale-Sevdal had been sent down to the IBU Cup, a lower-tier circuit than the World Cup, for the second time in three years. Last November, at the season opener in Geilo, Norway, he earned a place on the World Cup team, and two podium finishes in Le Grand-Bornand opened the way to his first Olympic start. He compared qualifying for the Games to winning the lottery and admitted he could not have imagined it a year earlier. He also had previous experience in Antholz: in 2024 he finished second there in the mass start.

Family and new motivation

The biathlete believes becoming a father has made him a better athlete. Two years ago he felt life needed something more, as everything had become monotonous. New motivation also comes from coaches Patrick Oberegger and Anders Overby and younger teammates Johan-Olav Botn and Martin Uldal.

Dale-Sevdal said he performs best when he is "in the flow" and that trying too hard on the range does not work. Ahead of the new season, he said the Olympics taught him patience and that one should never give up while another chance remains.