Karoline Knotten was excluded from the Norwegian national biathlon team in the spring after the two sides could not agree on the training content. Biathlon icon Ole Einar Bjørndalen has great confidence in the 30-year-old and also believes that the new season will not be easy for the top athlete.
“Knotten’s situation is not optimal,” noted former world-class biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen on TV2. He says clearly: “The best should be in the national team.”
But the 30-year-old ski hunter has not been on the Norwegian team since spring, and at one point she even thought about ending her career. She felt exhausted and “thought a lot” about whether it was even worth continuing, she said in an interview with “VG” in the summer: “And I have to deal with these people all winter long.”
Last April there was a break between the Norwegian and her association. Knotten was accused by the association of not fully identifying with the training plans for the coming Olympic season; now the ski hunter has to take care of the preparation herself.
Knotten “came out of it well”
Instead of putting her skis and rifle in the corner, Karoline Knotten started her individual program in the summer. She found optimal conditions for her training, especially in France, and sometimes worked together with other Norwegian ski hunters who are no longer part of the association structures.
At the IBU event in Munich, Knotten, who is no longer with DSV biathlete Philipp Nawrath, met the national team again for the first time. The thick atmosphere between the athlete and the association now seems to have evaporated. “It’s different,” she told “TV2”: “I feel like I came out of it well. I still have a lot of work to do, but now I’ll prepare myself mentally and have a good season.”
Despite the difficult situation, Bjørndalen believes that Knotten can play an important role in the World Cup again. “Maybe this is a wake-up call. Now she’s building her own team with positive people who give her energy and taking responsibility for what she does. I have a lot of trust in her for the winter,” said the 51-year-old.
Last winter she finished 14th in the overall World Cup, making her Norway’s second-best biathlete.