Ole Einar Bjoerndalen cemented his place in Olympic history tonight.
He won his eighth gold medal, his 13th overall, making him the most decorated winter Olympian ever.
He opened the Sochi Games in the men's sprint with gold — his 12th Olympic medal —and the crush that descended upon him is an image I'll never forget. That night, he sat at an elevated, rounded desk, smiling into the faces of roughly 60 reporters, photographers and camera operators, all who wanted to know his secret.
(A bit of background: After the press conferences, reporters are (stupidly) invited to approach the athletes for "one-on-ones." It's stupid because only half a dozen reporters get close to the athlete while the rest are left in shadow, far in the outer orbit. That they don't ask their best question during the official press conference, which is translated, baffles and annoys me. This structure is not the fault of the journalists, but the organizers.)
He was smiling that first night.
Nearly two weeks later, he was quieter.
The crush was smaller by half and his mood more reflective. On the eve of the end of the Sochi Games and the culmination of his competitive career, Bjoerndalen seemed to be in awe.
So were we. Even the U.S. was paying attention to biathlon, though the Norwegian's achievement was made relevant through comparison to a U.S. swimmer.
Still, Bjoerndalen was one of the biggest stories of the Sochi Olympic Winter Games. He's is an Olympic beast.
We like to think the picture was taken by his (rumoured) girlfriend and three-time Olympic champion Darya Domracheva. Who may have made history for Belarus but can't work the fill flash of a point-and-shoot camera. Sorry, Dasha!
