Biathlon Wraps Up
Olympic Update: February 20th
By Erik Stange

February 20, 2002

A few days ago a sign went up on the door of the Norwegian Biathlon team's wax cabin. It read (in Norwegian): "Seeking three new wax technicians to work for the Norwegian Biathlon Team. Must be willing to work 20 hours a day and have a good outlook on life. The current waxers want to leave for Las Vegas. P.S. You won't need to wax Ole Einar's skis."

The implied joke was that Ole Einar Bj¿rndalen would be capable of winning without their help, but I would be willing to bet Ole Einar was thankful that the crew decided to wait a day or two before leaving town. Today Norway's men's biathlon team of Halvard Hannevold, Frode Andresen, Egil Gjelland and Ole Einar Bj¿rndalen won the men's relay in convincing style. The victory also allowed Bj¿rndalen to accomplish an unbelievable feat: he won his fourth Olympic gold medal of these games-making him the most dominant athlete of these games. This relay concludes the biathlon competition for these Olympics, and the scene in the athlete's compound was a mix of jubilation and business.

Obviously the Norwegian athletes and waxers were in a festive mood; their stereo was blaring everything from Rage Against the Machine to Cher and the alcohol was flowing freely. Other teams used the time to pack everything up for the next stop on the World Cup. As monumental as the Olympics are, these two weeks of races are just another portion of a long season of events just like them. Instead of hanging out in the Olympic village after their events are finished, many European racers will opt to travel home for an opportunity to relax in a familiar setting before joining he circus again a week later. For example, Austria's Christian Hoffman (silver medallist in the men's 30 km race on the opening day) flew home today instead of waiting for the games to conclude. Now Austria may have just one athlete competing in the men's final event, Mikhail Botvinov.