Olav JORDET

Olav Jordet was 22 when he won his first biathlon national championship in 1962. He repeated his victory two years later, when he also won the bronze medal at the Innsbruck Olympic Games. In 1965 he became Norway’s first World champion in biathlon on home ground at Elverum, hitting 19 shots out of 20 and finishing 22 seconds ahead of Soviet’s Nikolay Puzanov. He was also a member of the victorious Norwegian relay team, but in 1965 the relay was only an unofficial event at the World Championships. In 1966 relay had become an official event, and Jordet was again a member of Norway’s winning team. Norway defended their relay title in 1967, Jordet as usual skiing the second leg. Under difficult conditions in Altenberg, DDR, Norway’s winning margin was the biggest in the biathlon history, with the Soviets in second place, 10½ minutes behind Norway. Jordet ended his biathlon career by winning an Olympic relay silver medal for Norway at the 1968 Grenoble Games. He then became a farmer in Vingelen, Tolga until his retirement.