Biathlon World Championships: 'A Massacre!' – TV Fury in Norway

TV Outrage: “Simply a Massacre!”

During Johannes Thingnes Bö’s historic victory in the sprint at the Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide, crucial scenes were not shown on TV – a detail that has infuriated Norway’s TV duo. Although Bö celebrated his 21st world championship gold medal in the sprint, the final shooting sequence was not broadcast, with the replay instead showing the finish of an American biathlete.

Commentator Marius Skjelbæk from TV2 exclaimed, "This is nearly a scandal," while his colleague Ole Kristian Stoltenberg questioned, "Did the producer just go home?"

"Catastrophic for a TV production"

Biathlon legend Ole Einar Björndalen was visibly upset, stating, "Today was a 1 out of 10. It was miserable. You cannot lose sight of the favourite during the standing shoot." Speaking to NRK, he added, "I cannot describe how catastrophic this is for a TV production. This is one of the most important races – it’s a sprint, and the production should capture the climax of the championship. I thought everything was in order."

IBU communications director Christian Winkler later responded to the criticism, admitting, "First of all, we must say that this was a mistake. It is unacceptable that Johannes’ final shooting was not shown." He apologized, particularly to the Norwegian viewers, and promised that the production would undergo a thorough evaluation.

"It’s just a massacre"

The man of the moment, however, remained calm. He commented, "It might be a little boring. But it’s fast, and not all producers have this expertise. Sometimes these things happen." In stark contrast, his teammate Endre Strömsheim stated, "It’s simply a massacre. It’s maddening – you have to know exactly when the gold is being shot for."

Bö’s brother Tarjei echoed these sentiments, adding, "This is the just punishment for the IBU after they changed the starting order against the athletes’ wishes. Today they really got a slap on the wrist."