Honest Wax Chief After Norwegian World Championship Disaster: 'We're Completely Flat'

The Biathlon World Championships in Lenzerheide entered its final week with high expectations for the Norwegian team. On Wednesday, while the women failed to secure a medal on the normal distance, it was the men’s turn to compete on the same course.

Sturla Holm Lægreid was the only Norwegian who managed a perfect shooting in the opening round. However, Johannes Thingnes Bø had a disastrous start, recording three misses in his very first shooting, which essentially dashed his medal hopes from the outset. The commentary by NRK’s Jann Post summed up the situation by stating that the gold medal race was effectively over before it even began for Bø.

In the aftermath, Endre Strømsheim managed to finish in eighth place—3.08 minutes behind French shooter Eric Perrot, who went on to secure the gold, with Tommaso Giacomel and Quentin Fillon Maillet trailing behind. Strømsheim described the race as “terrible and very slow from the start” and queried whether the Norwegians were using the best skis. In response, wax specialist Tobias Dahl Fenre bluntly stated that their skis were far from perfect on that day, adding that the team was “completely flat” in terms of performance.

Despite the setback, Norway’s championship campaign has so far yielded two medals, both from previous events featuring Johannes Thingnes Bø—once in the sprint and once in the pursuit start. Bø, who is in the final season of his career along with his brother Tarjei, now holds a record 22 World Championship golds, surpassing even legends such as Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Martin Fourcade.

The upcoming schedule includes a mixed relay on Thursday, a rest day on Friday, followed by the concluding relay on Saturday and a mass start on Sunday to finish the championships in Lenzerheide.