Norway

I have always considered it an omen that my biathlon career started while I was on a foreign exchange in Norway as the Norwegians were preparing to host the 1994 Olympics. That year I stayed with my host parents, Kari and Bjorn Ostengen in Vingrom, which is a small town about 10 kilometers away from Lillehammer, so I got the full Olympic experience.

My stay in Norway made a very deep impression on me. My host parents were so kind and supportive, along with the enthusiasm around the Olympics, and the amazing skiing culture gave me unending motivation to be an athlete. I will always remember skiing in the mountains over Easter, competing in the Birkenbeiner, but my favorite memory was coming back from hard training smelling fresh baked bread my host mother had just pulled out of the oven, and getting a warm slice with butter, a reward better than a medal.

I have been fortunate to train and compete all around the world, but I have to place my experiences in Norway as the most influential on my biathlon career. Hilse til Kari, Bjorn, Anders, Oyvind, og Kjersti