In winter 2020/21 Johannes Dale celebrated his breakthrough in the biathlon world elite, secured fifth place in the overall World Cup and won his first medal at a world championships with relay silver in Antholz. Instead of taking the next step on the ladder of success, however, the company fell into a “dark valley”.
“In normal life you can experience worse things, but from a sporting point of view I’ve experienced some of the toughest things you can experience,” Dale gives “Verdens Gang” an insight into how his mind is in the “crappy season” 2021/ 22 stood.
In his third season with the biathlon elite, the Norwegian 2021/22 was the first time that things didn’t go uphill. On the contrary: Dale disappointed right at the beginning of the winter, was dropped from the World Cup team of the Northern Europeans and missed the World Championship and participation in the Olympic Games in Beijing. A time that the 25-year-old describes as the “darkest valley” of his career.
Dale’s excellent 2022/23 season so far is all the greater. At the mass start in Annecy, he recently even celebrated his second victory in an individual race in the World Cup. In the fight for the yellow jersey, the silver medalist of the World Championships mass start in Pokljuka 2021 is currently in a good seventh place.
Ole Einar Björndalen’s ex-coach a great support
“It makes me proud to have managed this turnaround out of the darkest valley. I couldn’t ask for much more,” said Dale, who thanked his coach Anders Överby, his parents and his fiancée Kristina Skjevdal. These played a large part in the fact that he was able to break the “vicious circle”.
In addition, the contact with mental trainer Öyvind Hammer gave him new strength. The coach, who became known as a companion to biathlon legend Ole Einar Björndalen, helped him to get an outside perspective on the biathlon circus.