Almost exactly a year ago, Norway’s biathlon icon Tiril Eckhoff made the headlines for an unusual reason. At that time she confirmed the end of her long-term relationship with former cross-country skier Ånund Lid Byggland. Looking back, she says now, it was the best thing that could have happened to her.
One year later, Norway’s biathlon legend Tiril Eckhoff is happy that her relationship with former professional cross-country skier Ånund Lid Byggland broke up in the spring of 2025. The now 35-year-old revealed this in the “Ida med hjerte i hånden” podcast.
At first it all hit her hard. Eckhoff reported that both of them were doing well in the relationship, even if it wasn’t a dream relationship. “And then suddenly he comes and says: ‘You know, Tiril, maybe it’s time to break up.'”
“It hurt. I wasn’t mad, but I thought: Do you really think we’re going to end it now? In the middle of my bachelor’s thesis and a lot of other things?” She cried afterwards and was sad. “But looking back, I’m glad he did it, because otherwise I would have stayed in this relationship for a very long time without realizing that it wasn’t good,” Eckhoff explained.
Biathlon icon has long since been given away
After her boyfriend of 13 years broke up, the ex-biathlete kicked him out of the apartment. “It was wonderful to throw him out. I even hired a cleaner to clean the whole apartment afterwards,” she said with a smile.
A few months later, Eckhoff appeared in public with her new boyfriend for the first time. She is still together with him today and is happy too. The couple is thinking about buying a house together. The Olympic champion has long since left the problems and worries of back then behind her.
Eckhoff continues to be active on the biathlon stage
To this day, Eckhoff is one of the most successful biathletes of all time. Over the course of her career, she won, among other things, two Olympic gold and three silver medals as well as ten world championship titles. The Norwegian won the overall World Cup in the 2020/21 season.
Eckhoff ended her biathlon career after the 2022/23 season. But the Norwegian didn’t disappear from the scene after that. Eckhoff has been working as a TV expert for “TV2” for years. She has also had other appearances in recent years. For example, she presented herself in the Norwegian version of the dance show “Let’s Dance”.
