Johannes Thinges Boe’s three golds, one silver and one bronze at the Lenzerheide World Championships in Switzerland cemented his claim to the title of biathlon’s GOAT.
Biathlon is a glorious sport — the only one I really pay close attention to anymore. Boe is a Norwegian, and so is the man whose record he broke, Ole Einar Bjørndalen. The Norwegians excel in biathlon — and it’s no accident. Biathlon has its origins in winter hunting and warfare, and the Norwegians are considered masters of this environment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOVN_IJ5f9c
According to Olympics.com:
Biathlon-type events in Scandinavia are known to have been held as early as the 18th century. The first recorded biathlon-style competition took place in 1767 between border patrol units in Norway and Sweden, and in 1861, Norway established the first official biathlon club, the Trysil Rifle and Ski Club.
Norwegian Jager (hunter) units fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
Art by AD Loch.
The Norwegians’ greatest winter warfare achievement was in destroying a German heavy water plant that offered the Nazis a good chance at developing an atomic bomb. Rick Schwertfeger contributed a guest post on that extraordinary commando mission in 2018.
U.S. troops from Marines to Rangers have trained with the Norwegians as subject-matter experts in winter warfare. Jack Carr dropped a clip from a recent podcast with Navy SEAL veteran Rick Kaiser talking about winter warfare training with Norwegian Jager troops.
As Kaiser notes in his talk with Carr, in winter conditions, the elements are the primary enemy — the combatant adversary is secondary. The knowledge and skill to simply get enough calories to sustain and to sleep without freezing is paramount for any kind of operational effectiveness because if you don’t sleep you’ll break down in a hurry.
The skiing and shooting is the fun part.
Speaking of fun, the Boe brothers, who have both announced their retirement, are having a LOT of fun in their final World Championship events at Lenzerheiede. Check out Johannes Thinges Boe’s salute to the crowd after another blazing fast run on his standing shooting in the Men’s Relay.
JimC says
And… the Norwegians swept the podium on the Men’s Mass start.
SQUIRE RUSTICUS says
In 1984 my father rode the train to the Normandy from Paris, with a bunch of Norwegian veterans of WWII, whom came to celebrate the 40th anniversary. Dad commented that the Norwegians looked about 10 to 15 years younger then their American, French, British, etc… peers.
My Grandfather, father, and uncles celebrated the ceremonies of the 40th Normandy Anniversary, having a wonderful time including the OSS Jed gatherings.
I’ve always regretted I was not able to attend, nor was I asked.