Tarjei Bö closed his eyes and stretched his nose towards the sky, he had to enjoy this moment now. In his arms his little brother, they both stood together on the podium, which was renamed in their honor in the World Cup: The podium then became “Bödium” when the bad guys finished their race among the best. And now, Saturday evening in Zhangjiakou: Johannes Thingnes Bö, the smaller one, had secured the gold medal in the sprint, bronze went to Tarjei Bö, it was her greatest family moment after all the successes in the relay.
Quentin Fillon Maillet from France intervened and won silver, he and Johannes Thingnes Bö share a friendly rivalry – both are already decorated with three medals from three races in China. And so many stories came together in this sprint, but the most emotional one was: That Tarjei, the older Bö, can now also take home his Olympic medal from an individual race. “It means everything to me,” said the 33-year-old. And probably also meant that he could share this moment with someone who understood him as well as his brother does.
Johannes, 28, only started with biathlon because of Tarjei, he emphasized that again as he sat on the press podium. “He’s the reason I’m sitting here, in first place,” said Johannes. Things weren’t always smooth between them, though: “Biathlon is easy compared to the fights we had together,” he said, half-jokingly, but that time is long behind them. The bronze medal is like gold for his brother, “I’m prouder of him than of myself”.
Johannes was considered a corona contact person, he had to isolate himself and train alone
Tarjei had already become Olympic relay champion in Vancouver in 2010 and won the overall ranking in the World Cup in 2011 – at the age of 22, nobody was that young before him with such successes. “My goal was to win as much as possible before he grew up,” Tarjei said of Johannes, already feeling the younger one would overtake him. That’s how it happened, he’s already won the overall World Cup three times. Tarjei’s last goal in China: finally getting that solo medal at the Olympic Games. It’s his last, for Bö a countdown was running: he only had four chances to fulfill his dream.
Dream fulfilled at the last Olympic Games: Tarjei Bö.
(Photo: Jon Olav Nesvold/Bildbyran/imago)
The first, the singles on Tuesday, passed when Tarjei Bö finished eighth. Although he only made one mistake, he was slower on the cross-country ski run than he had been for most of the season. A full 2:08 minutes separated him from Fillon Maillet, the fastest, over 20 kilometers. “After the singles I was at the bottom,” he said now, even in moments like this, contact with his brother helps him. “When I have doubts, he’s always the one I go to,” Tarjei said, “because he knows me well, his life is the same. He has the best view of my problems. I think that makes us stronger.” At the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang, he came close to a medal in the pursuit, but then had two penalties on the last standing stage and Bö finished fourth. And now: Third place, 1.7 seconds ahead of Russian Maxim Tsvetkov.
Last Saturday, the Bö brothers had to pull themselves together when cheering for gold with the mixed relay and were only allowed to hug each other with a mask. Johannes was considered a contact of a person who tested positive for Corona, he had to isolate himself and train alone. The state of emergency ended on Monday, but the matter did not dissuade the younger man from his own goals: on the track in Zhangjiakou he ran faster than everyone else in the sprint, Fillon Maillet was only 26.9 seconds behind him in the running time. All three medalists were able to afford a penalty at the shooting range thanks to their fast legs.
Benedikt Doll finished eighth in the sprint as the best German
When the mascots were handed out, silver winner Fillon Maillet bowed to the Bö brothers, and the reverse has also been seen this season. Fillon Maillet is the man who leads the overall standings, little Bö had recently lost his dominance. Benedikt Doll finished eighth in the sprint as the best German with one mistake, he hadn’t noticed anything from the Olympic champion on the track. “I only heard his times and it was impressive,” said Doll: “He was just in a different class today.”
At the Olympics it is now 2:1 for Johannes Thingnes Bö against Quentin Fillon Maillet: In the mixed relay he passed the Frenchman on the final lap, in the individual the Norwegian was at a disadvantage, now it was the other way around. The pursuit continues on Sunday, “it will be a big fight,” said Bö. And behind him lurks his big brother.