Snow storm
Competing in his second Olympic Winter Games in Nagano in 1998, biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen appeared to be heading to victory in the 10km event when the race was halted due to bad weather. Undaunted, Bjoerndalen returned the next day to win the rescheduled contest by more than a minute.
Light practice
At the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games, Bjoerndalen was determined to be in his best shape for the biathlon. Seeking out meaningful practice, he entered the 30km cross-country skiing race and came close to a medal, finishing sixth.
Solid gold
Bjoerndalen won gold medals in every biathlon race at Salt Lake City, four in all. Prior to 2002, no biathlete had ever earned more than two gold medals at a single Olympic Winter Games.
Further success
Bjoerndalen went on to prove his greatness by showing Salt Lake City was no one-off. In 2006 at his fourth Winter Games in Turin, he won three more medals to take his career total to nine.
And two make 11
At his fifth Olympic Games, the Norwegian biathlete was still hungry for victory. His first two races resulted in a 17th then a 7th place. In the 20 km, Ole Einar Bjørndalen lived up to his billing as the best biathlete in history by placing second. This silver medal was his 10th Olympic one. After a 27th place in the following event, Ole Einar had five days to recover and prepare for his last race, the relay. With his Norwegian team partners, they gave their opponents no chance, winning by more than 38 seconds. In the final straight of the relay, Bjørndalen could savour his 11th Olympic medal: his sixth gold!