Norway wins 4 medals in Sarajevo

 

U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Erica J. Knight 

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U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Erica J. Knight 

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Royal Norwegian Embassy, Sarajevo 

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Royal Norwegian Embassy, Sarajevo 

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Royal Norwegian Embassy, Sarajevo 

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Royal Norwegian Embassy, Sarajevo 

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Initially, things did not look too good for the championship, as the Sarajevo region experienced high temperatures and lack of snow in the countdown to the opening ceremony. However, a few days before it was all about to take place the snow started falling and turned the Olympic city into a winter wonderland. Consequently, the table was set for the athletes who were competing at the Olympic sites of Jahorina, Igman and Bjelasnica.

Norway has been a central player in the military championship throughout its history, and this year the Norwegian delegation totalled 9 athletes competing in the cross-country and biathlon events, as well as the patrol race. The quality of the athletes was proven already during the first day of competitions when Frode Andresen, the Olympic biathlete and cross-country skier, raced in to gold at the Igman cross-country stadium. In addition to the gold-medal, there were also several other impressive results, amongst others Hans Martin Gjedrem's  7th place, as well as Jori Mørkve's 8th place in the women's class.

After the competitions on Wednesday the delegation was invited to  Norwegian Ambassador Jan Braathu's residence, and during the reception Ambasasdor Braathu awarded Frode Andresen a personal letter of congratulations from Minister of Defense Grete Faremo.

Notwithstanding the great races the day before, Frode Andresen followed up Thursday morning with a silver medal in the biathlon sprint, and in the women's class Jori Mørkve raced in to a bronze medal. In what was an extremely tight race, Andresen was only 9 seconds behind gold-medalist Friedrich Pinter from Austria. In the women's class much was decided at the shooting range where Teja Gregorin from Slovenia proved to be the strongest, followed by Karoline Horchler from Germany.The Norwegian team also had a great day overall in the biathlon race, with a 9th place to Hans Martin Gjedrem and a 19th place for Sondre F. Eieland in the men's competition. In the women's class Marie Hov followed up on the promising results from earlier in the week with a 18th place. 

In Friday's patrol race Norway was awarded yet another bronze medal after a fantastic cross-country race by Frode Andresen, Remi Kjell Andersen, Hans Martin Gjedrem and Sondre Flaa Eieland. Unfortunately there was nothing to do with Finland and Romania who had a perfect day at the shooting range. This, in addition to a great speed in the cross country tracks finally earned them the two premium spots at the podium, with Finland at the very top. The women's team also ended their competitive week in a great manner with a 5th place, and to finish off an almost perfect Nordic day Sweden left the stadium with the gold medal in this event.

Leader of the Norwegian delegation, Øystein Sæther, also expressed his delight with the stay in Sarajevo: "It has been a great experience coming her to Bosnia Hercegovina, and I would like to express my gratitude to the organizers who have done a great job in making this championship a success. Particularly impressing was the job done with the cross-country tracks which were in excellent condition even due to the heavy snowfall experienced during the week."   

All in all the Norwegian team returned from Sarajevo with 4 medals, and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Sarajevo congratulates the Norwegian team and its participants with their great performances.

The Norwegian Team consisted of the following athletes:

Men:        

Women:  

All the results from the Military Ski Championship can be found here.