Quite a few suspected that Johannes Thingnes Bö would hang up in Milan and weapon in Milan and weapon after the 2026 Winter Olympics, especially since the biathlon dominator from Norway always emphasized that he did not want to make his round forever. The 31-year-old heralded the end of his formidable career in January 2025. Not on the Olympic stage in Italy, but in front of a domestic backdrop on the legendary wooden hood in Oslo, Bö will give his last hurray this weekend (from March 21).
It is also clear that the eternal record of 94 was sitting that Ole Einar Björndalen set up the biathlon light shape. That raises a question: Is Johannes Thingnes Bö still the greatest ski hunter ever? In the sport.de-Taction there are different opinions.
Marc Affeldt: Johannes Thingnes Bö is the Goat
A look at the pure numbers underpins a head-to-head race: Johannes Thingnes Bö won 43 World Cup (23 gold, 14 silver, 6 bronze) and eight Olympic medals (5 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze), five times the overall World Cup (number six could still follow) and 117 races (79 individual races) as part of the World Cup. Ole Einar Björndalens Vita has 45 World Cup (20 gold, 14 silver, 11 bronze), 13 Olympic medals (8 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze) as well as six times the win of the overall World Cup and the record of 135 World Cup victories (94 individual victories).
All in all, the “cannibale”, which was up to mischief from 1992 to 2018, the nose slightly at the front, but there is a fat one: Bö ends his career after only twelve years, only took part in two Olympic games and can still offer Björndalens as unreachable successes.
In addition, a change of rule to the unstable bad should not actually be neglected. Since the winter of 2021/22, World Cup and Olympic victories have no longer counted as success in the World Cup – without a change, Bö would even be in 85 individual wins and would move closer to Björndals.
If you break down the successes to the time they have been reached, there can only be one answer: Johannes Thingnes Bö is the Goat
Ultimately, however, only the words of someone who simply needs to know: “He is actually the best biathlete of all time. He is a fantastic athlete. If he is in the flow, nobody can stop him,” Björndalen Bö in December 2024 at the Norwegian TV broadcaster “TV2” – Who wants to contradict?
Mats-Yannick Roth: Björndals is the biathlon pioneer
The contradiction comes here! First of all, Ole Einar Björndalen honors, who won Olympic gold in the sprint and mixed relay race with a fabulous 40 years, to put his own light in this way under the much-cited bushel.
To describe himself as the greatest of all time does not match the character of the 51-year-old today, who was called cannibal in the biathlon stadium, but had always publicly behaved as a modest sports man.
In its absolute high phase in the 2000s, Björndals had a much greater importance for biathlon sports than just being the sporting number one. The Norwegian was one of the most popular winter sports enthusiasts not only in his home country, but also in many other countries, and in this country, too, was representative of a whole sport for many.
Björndals was extremely in the focus of public interest for the situation at that time, the first real superstar was among the ski hunters. He did pioneering work, from which the following top athletes such as Emil Hegle Svendsen, Martin Fourcade and even Johannes Thingnes Bö could only benefit.
The unmatched obsession of the Ole Einar Björndalen was also unique. At the age of 44 he was still in the Biathlon World Cup, stimulating his own resilience until the last World Cup race as a mid-forties to the utmost. Never before and after that, a world-class biathlete has performed at a top level for so long.
The seven-time overall World Cup winner Martin Fourcade had enough of cross-country trails and shooting booth at the age of 31, at the same age Johannes Thingnes Bö now stops.
On the other hand, if you persistently and long -lasting as Björndals – namely for over 20 years – the events of an entire sport in the first row can be celebrated as the greatest ever.