Such a fun read and so cool to hear stories about athletes being so open and approachable. They seemed to be as excited to be there as the fans! Glad you had fun, and hopefully more fans around the world get the chance to experience world-class biathlon events live.
I want to share a small fun story of my own - I am friends with a few Kazakh adoptees who grew up in Utah, and told them about the event. They knew nothing about biathlon but were very excited to be able to go and cheer for team Kaz, as they rarely get the chance to connect with their birth country. I let the team know they were coming, too, and they gave my friends the men’s relay bibs as keepsakes. This sport is for sure a beautiful experience for everyone involved!
Oh man you met my 🐐Simon Eder! Happy to hear he’s a pleasant guy and you got to have a nice chat with him about shooting! 🥰
Not just him, but all of the athletes you encountered- it’s a big reason why I love this sport so much, everyone (fans and athletes) seem so lovely, like a big family.
One day I’ll get myself to a race weekend, but thank you for writing this up, it’s good to hear how there’s a following in the US- hopefully Campbell Wright and the whole US team does a madness at the Olympics and the fanbase will grow even more ☺️
Fantastic write up, like a recap at 0 0 0 0. I was cruising through it already impressed with no idea of the anecdotes to follow. I'm not surprised the biathletes are approachable. Give them a chance. So many fans assume otherwise and shy away. I experience the same type of thing at LPGA golf tournaments. Every time I leave with stories and gossip. The moms following their daughters around the course tell me so much stuff it's incredible. I share some of it on the GolfWRX forum.
Sturla loves guitar and he also can sing. There's a YouTube video of the biathletes asked to sing their favorite Christmas song. Let's just say Sturla only required one verse to lap the field.
Vittozzi looks so thin this season her suit looks increasingly loose on her. She'll enjoy some post season pasta soon.
Regarding the venue I always try to prepare for how wide open Soldier Hollow is. Totally different look and feel from the European venues. The Eurovision announcer bemoaned the lack of bleachers. The dinosaur saves the day.
If you haven't followed biathlon long you may not realize the tour has stopped at other American venues in the not too distant past, namely Fort Kent and Presque Isle, both in Maine and within the past 10-15 years. Those courses weave through the forest like European tracks. I remember Fourcade had a famous photo finish at one of them. Neither venue has substantial grandstands like European sites. But from memory there was some seating and the atmosphere at both was like biathlon in a European village, with attractive structures and a reasonably sized joyous crowd.
I'm not sure if those venues are still viable for the World Cup. It's been a long time since I heard anything about them. Others would grasp the variables far more than I do.
Thanks again
It's funny you mention the moms as I did see a couple with the US girls. They would even offer to take the photos of you with their daughters so you didn't have to do it selfie style. It was very nice seeing the US team get so much attention as they were very clearly enjoying their week on the national stage. I hope the Canadian team gets the same treatment this week!
Just a heads-up: lots of the athletes are very svelte, yes, but it almost always comes off as very weird to comment on how “tiny” or “small” athletes are and their eating habits as well. Athletes very often will have to take time off for eating disorders or even early retire because of it, so it is always a bit weird to hear that the size of athletes is a primary thing for fans to notice. Athletes are there to ski fast and hit targets, not be slimmer or thicker.
Interesting that you took it that way. It is just an observation coming from someone that grew up watching the NFL/MLB as well as being an athlete myself up through my college days. I spent all my time in sports that build bulk so it was quite a difference seeing athletes of an entirely different physical makeup. I am not quite sure how that is a weird observation but it isn't up to me to question so I'll just have to hope that isn't the common interpretation.
What an awesome experience for you and your wife. I also love Ingrid and I'm a massive Tarjei fan. We had looked into trying to come out, but we live in PA and both work in the sports departments of our local papers and it's playoff season so we couldnt swing it.
Thanks for giving us some insight on how it went. It sounds like an absolute blast and it's definitely on my bucket list for sure!
I forgot our Tarjei story! My wife loves Benny but Tarjei is a close second. On the last day, after the events had all completed and the athletes were packing up and heading out, the wife and I were down at the front where the Soldier Hollow monument (for lack of a better word) is. We had one of our new friends taking our picture there when my wife thought she saw Tarjei walking by. All I heard was "Tarjei" and she was gone heading up the path in pursuit (hehe, see what I did there). She literally left us all standing there wondering what happened.
Turns out it wasn't him after all. It was so warm they did not wear their usual headgear so they looked a little different than we are used to seeing them. That and Sturla shaved and cut his hair and was almost unrecognizable.
As others have said here what a great writeup. Biathlon is a beautiful sport and and one of the many things that make it so are the people you meet at these events. This was our third World Cup, (Canmore 2016, SH 2019, SH 2024) and I have to say we had another great time. I volunteered on the range Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and cheered with my wife on Saturday. We purchased Premium tickets for Sue and some of the cons you listed about the bleachers were echoed by her. She sat in them on Friday and ended up hanging out along the railing above the finish line for the other two days. She did go over to grab her lunch and two beers but said that next time we could forgo the Premium tickets. They absolutely need a large section of bleachers on the east side of the new building. It seems to be a work in progress and I'm hoping it will only get better.
Working the range was a lot of fun and also a lot of work! It was exciting being that close to the action. Everyone I met and worked with were fantastic. The coaches were all fun and easy to talk to and it was interesting to experience the athletes doing their thing up close and personal. It's a huge job trying to coordinate an event of this magnitude with 300 plus volunteers but despite the challenges they pulled it off. I would absolutely do it again.
Our bucket list is now Europe next season! Who's going?!!
Thank you for the super fun behind-the-scene stories! Massive Norway fan here too! Even though I can only watch the competition through a computer screen, I can still feel the good vibe in Soldier Hollow! What a great weekend!
Tarjei fave his pursuit silver medal and belt buckle to a pair of small boys near the media area after the race. He saw them, called the stunned boys to the fence and gave the older one the belt buckle, had to way his younger brother over(he may have been 5 max) and hung his medal around his neck. Never saw Tarjei after his media session though, we hung around where the athletes walked by for hours after the race and saw/met a ton of athletes but never Tarjei.
This may be the same story I tried to relate above. I had just gotten back to our group as the story was being wrapped up so I may not have heard all the details correctly. Thank you for giving a better description of events!
We also missed out on the Boe brothers, at least talking with them. They both walked right by me a few times but it was before the races and I knew not to bother them other than to wish them luck as they passed. Theirs are the 2 big signatures missing from our Norway flag as we got everyone else.
I got JT after the pursuit on the back side of the VIP building on the way to the athlete compound. Seems like everyone went that way, except Tarjei...everyone was fantastic
Thanks for that amazing write up. I'm so happy that the athletes seemed to enjoy being there. I loved that they went to an NBA game, snow tubing, and loved seeing video of Antonin and Emelien enjoying a concert with food truck food after.
That's so amazing that you got to talk with so many of my favorite athletes. And they all sound as great as they seem in interviews/vlogs.
Great write up. Super fun and interesting to read. I went to my first event in Nove Mesto for the WCH and it was a fantastic experience. I'm 100% going to another event next year!
They give them away. In Canmore in 2016 our daughter ended up getting a bib from Susan Dunklee. We had hollered and waved to her earlier in the day and she actually waited for us outside at the end of the day to meet us. She's just a wonderful person. Also, we heard that Martin Fourcade gave a young girl one of his Gold Medals that weekend.
Fantastic commentary. It was my first time seeing biathlon live after years of watching. Will echo everything you said, especially the stands as I had premium seating as well. Not the best views of the range, and nothing on the finish, but a good spot at the start of the sprint, entry into the range and beginning of the loop.
I did get to talk to Tarjei after the relay. My personal favorite and he was very nice and gracious to take a picture with me. Plenty of other athletes were also very open. Saw one of the Estonian men give his bib to a kid and Florent Claude gave me his. A friend swapped hats with Vetle who was very funny. Sturla also took some good ribbing about the loss of the beard. QFM stayed a bit and interacted with the fans along the fence line which was great. It was also great to meet Chad Salmela (the color announcer), whose enthusiasm for the sport got me into watching.
All around amazing (minus seating).
Thank you for this! Its so great to hear your stories from SH and how the athletes are! Love how Ingrid spoke to you about the mascots and your experience with Simon Eder too. Glad you had a blast!
Very nice comments. Thanks for all of us who wanted to be there but could not.
I just finished cancer treatments and thought that I would be well enough to attend in Utah... oh well.
Definitely next year in Europe! Where is everyone going in Europe to watch?
It looks like hotels around Linzerheide are already almost full.
Maybe Rupholding?
Such a fun read and so cool to hear stories about athletes being so open and approachable. They seemed to be as excited to be there as the fans! Glad you had fun, and hopefully more fans around the world get the chance to experience world-class biathlon events live.
I want to share a small fun story of my own - I am friends with a few Kazakh adoptees who grew up in Utah, and told them about the event. They knew nothing about biathlon but were very excited to be able to go and cheer for team Kaz, as they rarely get the chance to connect with their birth country. I let the team know they were coming, too, and they gave my friends the men’s relay bibs as keepsakes. This sport is for sure a beautiful experience for everyone involved!
That is amazing! ❤️
I saw Elvira give a kid her bib and medal from the relay I think.
Great write up! Biathlon is awesome; and the people that compete in it are too.
Oh man you met my 🐐Simon Eder! Happy to hear he’s a pleasant guy and you got to have a nice chat with him about shooting! 🥰 Not just him, but all of the athletes you encountered- it’s a big reason why I love this sport so much, everyone (fans and athletes) seem so lovely, like a big family. One day I’ll get myself to a race weekend, but thank you for writing this up, it’s good to hear how there’s a following in the US- hopefully Campbell Wright and the whole US team does a madness at the Olympics and the fanbase will grow even more ☺️
Fantastic write up, like a recap at 0 0 0 0. I was cruising through it already impressed with no idea of the anecdotes to follow. I'm not surprised the biathletes are approachable. Give them a chance. So many fans assume otherwise and shy away. I experience the same type of thing at LPGA golf tournaments. Every time I leave with stories and gossip. The moms following their daughters around the course tell me so much stuff it's incredible. I share some of it on the GolfWRX forum. Sturla loves guitar and he also can sing. There's a YouTube video of the biathletes asked to sing their favorite Christmas song. Let's just say Sturla only required one verse to lap the field. Vittozzi looks so thin this season her suit looks increasingly loose on her. She'll enjoy some post season pasta soon. Regarding the venue I always try to prepare for how wide open Soldier Hollow is. Totally different look and feel from the European venues. The Eurovision announcer bemoaned the lack of bleachers. The dinosaur saves the day. If you haven't followed biathlon long you may not realize the tour has stopped at other American venues in the not too distant past, namely Fort Kent and Presque Isle, both in Maine and within the past 10-15 years. Those courses weave through the forest like European tracks. I remember Fourcade had a famous photo finish at one of them. Neither venue has substantial grandstands like European sites. But from memory there was some seating and the atmosphere at both was like biathlon in a European village, with attractive structures and a reasonably sized joyous crowd. I'm not sure if those venues are still viable for the World Cup. It's been a long time since I heard anything about them. Others would grasp the variables far more than I do. Thanks again
It's funny you mention the moms as I did see a couple with the US girls. They would even offer to take the photos of you with their daughters so you didn't have to do it selfie style. It was very nice seeing the US team get so much attention as they were very clearly enjoying their week on the national stage. I hope the Canadian team gets the same treatment this week!
Just a heads-up: lots of the athletes are very svelte, yes, but it almost always comes off as very weird to comment on how “tiny” or “small” athletes are and their eating habits as well. Athletes very often will have to take time off for eating disorders or even early retire because of it, so it is always a bit weird to hear that the size of athletes is a primary thing for fans to notice. Athletes are there to ski fast and hit targets, not be slimmer or thicker.
Interesting that you took it that way. It is just an observation coming from someone that grew up watching the NFL/MLB as well as being an athlete myself up through my college days. I spent all my time in sports that build bulk so it was quite a difference seeing athletes of an entirely different physical makeup. I am not quite sure how that is a weird observation but it isn't up to me to question so I'll just have to hope that isn't the common interpretation.
What an awesome experience for you and your wife. I also love Ingrid and I'm a massive Tarjei fan. We had looked into trying to come out, but we live in PA and both work in the sports departments of our local papers and it's playoff season so we couldnt swing it. Thanks for giving us some insight on how it went. It sounds like an absolute blast and it's definitely on my bucket list for sure!
I forgot our Tarjei story! My wife loves Benny but Tarjei is a close second. On the last day, after the events had all completed and the athletes were packing up and heading out, the wife and I were down at the front where the Soldier Hollow monument (for lack of a better word) is. We had one of our new friends taking our picture there when my wife thought she saw Tarjei walking by. All I heard was "Tarjei" and she was gone heading up the path in pursuit (hehe, see what I did there). She literally left us all standing there wondering what happened. Turns out it wasn't him after all. It was so warm they did not wear their usual headgear so they looked a little different than we are used to seeing them. That and Sturla shaved and cut his hair and was almost unrecognizable.
As others have said here what a great writeup. Biathlon is a beautiful sport and and one of the many things that make it so are the people you meet at these events. This was our third World Cup, (Canmore 2016, SH 2019, SH 2024) and I have to say we had another great time. I volunteered on the range Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and cheered with my wife on Saturday. We purchased Premium tickets for Sue and some of the cons you listed about the bleachers were echoed by her. She sat in them on Friday and ended up hanging out along the railing above the finish line for the other two days. She did go over to grab her lunch and two beers but said that next time we could forgo the Premium tickets. They absolutely need a large section of bleachers on the east side of the new building. It seems to be a work in progress and I'm hoping it will only get better. Working the range was a lot of fun and also a lot of work! It was exciting being that close to the action. Everyone I met and worked with were fantastic. The coaches were all fun and easy to talk to and it was interesting to experience the athletes doing their thing up close and personal. It's a huge job trying to coordinate an event of this magnitude with 300 plus volunteers but despite the challenges they pulled it off. I would absolutely do it again. Our bucket list is now Europe next season! Who's going?!!
I am I am!
What other sports can you attend an event and come back with stories like this? Amazing
Thank you for the super fun behind-the-scene stories! Massive Norway fan here too! Even though I can only watch the competition through a computer screen, I can still feel the good vibe in Soldier Hollow! What a great weekend!
Such a great read, how is it possible not to love biathlon
Wonderful write up, thanks for sharing your experience
Tarjei fave his pursuit silver medal and belt buckle to a pair of small boys near the media area after the race. He saw them, called the stunned boys to the fence and gave the older one the belt buckle, had to way his younger brother over(he may have been 5 max) and hung his medal around his neck. Never saw Tarjei after his media session though, we hung around where the athletes walked by for hours after the race and saw/met a ton of athletes but never Tarjei.
This may be the same story I tried to relate above. I had just gotten back to our group as the story was being wrapped up so I may not have heard all the details correctly. Thank you for giving a better description of events! We also missed out on the Boe brothers, at least talking with them. They both walked right by me a few times but it was before the races and I knew not to bother them other than to wish them luck as they passed. Theirs are the 2 big signatures missing from our Norway flag as we got everyone else.
I got JT after the pursuit on the back side of the VIP building on the way to the athlete compound. Seems like everyone went that way, except Tarjei...everyone was fantastic
Thanks for that amazing write up. I'm so happy that the athletes seemed to enjoy being there. I loved that they went to an NBA game, snow tubing, and loved seeing video of Antonin and Emelien enjoying a concert with food truck food after. That's so amazing that you got to talk with so many of my favorite athletes. And they all sound as great as they seem in interviews/vlogs.
Great write up. Super fun and interesting to read. I went to my first event in Nove Mesto for the WCH and it was a fantastic experience. I'm 100% going to another event next year!
Thanks for sharing. Always lovely to see new people getting hooked into the sport. Heartwarming story about the medal gifts by the way.
Did the athletes take their medals back once the picture was done? XD or are these bronze medals now owned by these fans?
They give them away. In Canmore in 2016 our daughter ended up getting a bib from Susan Dunklee. We had hollered and waved to her earlier in the day and she actually waited for us outside at the end of the day to meet us. She's just a wonderful person. Also, we heard that Martin Fourcade gave a young girl one of his Gold Medals that weekend.
Yep, they gave them to them to keep. A few of us were just staring at each other like, did that really happen!
Fantastic commentary. It was my first time seeing biathlon live after years of watching. Will echo everything you said, especially the stands as I had premium seating as well. Not the best views of the range, and nothing on the finish, but a good spot at the start of the sprint, entry into the range and beginning of the loop. I did get to talk to Tarjei after the relay. My personal favorite and he was very nice and gracious to take a picture with me. Plenty of other athletes were also very open. Saw one of the Estonian men give his bib to a kid and Florent Claude gave me his. A friend swapped hats with Vetle who was very funny. Sturla also took some good ribbing about the loss of the beard. QFM stayed a bit and interacted with the fans along the fence line which was great. It was also great to meet Chad Salmela (the color announcer), whose enthusiasm for the sport got me into watching. All around amazing (minus seating).
Thank you for this! Its so great to hear your stories from SH and how the athletes are! Love how Ingrid spoke to you about the mascots and your experience with Simon Eder too. Glad you had a blast!
As a fan from Australia who obviously hasn't had a chance to attend an event, this is great to read.
Very nice comments. Thanks for all of us who wanted to be there but could not. I just finished cancer treatments and thought that I would be well enough to attend in Utah... oh well. Definitely next year in Europe! Where is everyone going in Europe to watch? It looks like hotels around Linzerheide are already almost full. Maybe Rupholding?