– That was in 1993. Then sponsors were ready. We were ready. And we were determined that now we would have a professional team, and train outside the national team with our own coaches. We were ready to finance our venture outside the union, says Ole Einar Bjørndalen, 31 years after the plans to break away. But he and Tyldum were flatly rejected by the Norwegian Biathlon Union at the time. – It was blocked and stopped, and we were not allowed to go to the World Cup races. There was no chance. We wanted to go racing, but they claimed they had the right to shut us out, so it was completely out of the question, Bjørndalen said when he guested on Dagsrevyen on Thursday evening. Jon Åge Tyldum confirms history 31 years later. – I remember there was a lot of fuss about getting our own sponsors. There were many discussions back and forth. We compared ourselves to cross-country skiing which was more professional and spent money on sponsorship, says Tyldum to news. He won the World Cup overall in both 1992 and 1995. TEAMMATE: Jon Åge Tyldum was one of the world’s best biathletes in the 1990s and won the World Cup two seasons. Photo: Tyldum / NTB – Not best friends But the conflict started a process between the federation and the athletes. – It contributed to a discussion coming up. And we started to discuss very hard with the association that we had to try to make a living from sport – because at the time we couldn’t make a living from sport, says Bjørndalen, and at the same time comes up with an example from the 1990s: – Jon Åge Tyldum won the world cup overall and perhaps barely had an industrial salary. We couldn’t sell ourselves to the sponsors. But gradually we got one sponsor’s badge sold on the suit, and then maybe one on the weapon. According to Jon Åge Tyldum, there was “nothing to gain” financially at that time. – Biathlon was not something you could make a living from. You depended on living cheaply and perhaps having kind parents behind you, he says. – In the end, we’re still up by four or five marks after renegotiations with the Biathlon Union year after year, says Bjørndalen, who at the same time talks about tough negotiations with the union. – We weren’t exactly best friends with presidents and secretaries-general. But we always found solutions. And there were discussions with the union around the clock. They were available all the time, both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve if there was anything we wanted to discuss. – There was a short communication path with the tenant and many coffee meetings. We came up with something we can be proud of today. Today, many have places on the competition equipment they can sell. And if they work really hard, they can make a good living doing biathlon at the top level, says Bjørndalen. EXPERT: Ole Einar Bjørndalen currently works as a biathlon expert for TV 2. He is Norway’s best male winter Olympian and has, among other things, 96 victories in the World Cup (one in cross-country skiing). Photo: Roy Kenneth Sydnes Jacobsen / news – Very sad and sad In contrast to the Ski Association’s conflict with the alpine skier Lucas Braathen, the Biathlon Association managed to resolve the friction that time. Braathen announced on Thursday that he will compete for Brazil next season, half a year after he announced that he was giving up. One of the reasons why he gave up was that he lost his skiing after the row with the federation. The conflict was about who should have access to, among other things, image and marketing rights. – He had been a goldmine for Norway’s ski association. Imagine having him for another ten years. That they were not able to land it was very sad and sad. I think it would have been possible. But then you have to meet Lucas on his terms. At the same time, he must contribute, and the union must contribute. COMEBACK: Ole Einar Bjørndalen thinks the ski association’s conflict with Lucas Braathen could be resolved. – He is young and innovative and the world’s best slalom driver, and is way ahead of his time in his thinking. He is aware of branding and “image-building”, something which the Ski Association may not be able to keep up with. – We must also not forget that the individual athletes who are coming up now do not come from the village with “the hat under their arm”. There are many professional people out there who have a good team around them. Much is demanded, and much is demanded. And a completely different kind of collaboration is needed to meet the big personalities. They are not only big in Norway. They are big all over the world, says Ole Einar Bjørndalen. The Brazil manager snorts at the Neymar comparison 00:48 The bicycle helmet is ridiculed 00:44 Absurd World Cup blunder: — What are you doing? 00:29 Scandalous scenes in the World Cup: – Oi! It is extremely dangerous! 00:47 Show more
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– We weren’t exactly best friends – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcasting schedule
