Ole Einar Bjørndalen, 40, obtaining his award for Best Male Athlete of the 2014 Winter Olympics on Friday in Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo: Norwegian Athletic Association)
At the inaugural Association of Nationwide Olympic Committees (ANOC) awards ceremony on Friday, Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjørndalen received the Best Male Athlete award for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Much more than one,000 delegates from 204 nationwide Olympic committees attended the gala ceremony in Bangkok, Thailand.
Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen skiing to the win in the 10 k sprint at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. His seventh career gold and 12th Olympic medal (at the time) tied the record for the most occupation medals in the Winter Olympics, a mark that had been held by the Norwegian cross-country skier Bjoern Daehlie.
“This need to be the most considerable award I’ve ever obtained,” Bjørndalen, 40, told the Norwegian Athletic Association.
Soon after winning two gold medals at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, in the the 10-kilometer sprint and mixed relay, Bjørndalen became the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time, with a complete of 13 medals: eight gold, 4 silver and a single bronze.
His achievements and performances in Sochi had been honored for the duration of the ANOC’s Basic Assembly in Bangkok. The 1st-ever ANOC awards ceremony honored Olympians and the national Olympic committees that delivered outstanding performances at a offered Olympics.
“I want to consider this chance to thank everybody who has assisted me throughout my career,” he stated. “There are too numerous to mention all the names, but I want to extend a very specific thank you to all my coaches, services workers, the Norwegian National Biathlon Association, Olympiatoppen [Norwegian Olympic Advancement Center] and all my good partners. Everyone who has supported me has contributed to my development and performances, and deserves a portion of the honor for this award. I am proud that biathlon is the sport that goes all the way to the top –the jury was taking into consideration athletes from significantly bigger global sports.”
Twenty-five broadcasters reported live from the ceremony, reaching as many as more than 300 million men and women. There have been far more than one,200 accredited journalists Friday as effectively, and as always, the seasoned Bjørndalen was ready.
“I have known for a whilst that I was a candidate for this award,” he said.” I have been at a coaching camp for practically four weeks and trained nicely in order to get two days off for this ceremony in Bangkok. I have been searching forward to this little mini break in my instruction routine. I planned the journey quite carefully, and with a direct flight from Oslo, it is fairly practical. In my carry-on, I brought 20 slices of my favourite entire-grain bread baked by our outstanding chef Eva. Tomorrow, Saturday, I am flying straight back, leaving tropical Bangkok for perfect skiing at Beitostølen [Norway].”
“In my carry-on, I brought twenty slices of my favorite total-grain bread.” – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian biathlete, the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time, and Best Male Athlete of the 2014 Sochi Olympics
Inge Andersen, secretary general in the Norwegian Athletic Association (Norges Idrettsforbund), was also existing for the awards. In his viewpoint, there was was no one particular far more deserving of the award than Bjørndalen.
“Ole Einar impressed absolutely everyone throughout the Sochi Olympics,” Andersen mentioned. “Two Olympic gold medals had been more than anyone could expect, but nonetheless I’m not truly shocked. This is the most winning Winter Olympian, from the tiny town of Simostranda. We are quite proud of Ole Einar. He represents the best of Norwegian athletes.”
According to Reuters, Olympic officials held the awards as part of an initiative to modernize the Games, and hope the ceremony will turn out to be the “Oscars of Olympics sport.”
Ole Einar Bjørndalen with his two gold medals from Sochi and the gear that aided him get them. (Photograph: Madshus/NordicFocus)
Other award-winners incorporate:
– Best Female Athlete of the 2014 Sochi Olympics: Irene Wust (Dutch velocity skater won five medals, the most of any competitor at the 2014 Olympics, with two gold and 3 silver)
– Best Men’s Group in Sochi: Canada/men’s ice hockey (won gold)
– Very best Girls’s Team in Sochi: Canada/females’s ice hockey (won gold)
– Most Successful Country in Sochi: Russia (topped the medals table with 33 medals, 13 of which have been gold)
– Ideal Male Athlete of the 2012 London Olympics: David Rudisha (Kenyan middle distance runner broke 800-meter planet record)
– Best Female Athlete of the 2012 London Olympics: Li Xiaoxia (Chinese table tennis player won two gold medals in London, in singles and group events)
– Best Males’s Crew in London: France/handball (1st team to win back-to-back gold medals in the event)
– Greatest Females’s Group in London: Brazil/volleyball (second-straight gold)
– Most Successful Nation in London: United States (topped medals table with 104 medals, 46 of which were gold)
– Excellent Achievement Award: Larisa Latynina (former Soviet gymnast earned 18 Olympic medals amongst 1956 and 1964 her record stood right up until Michael Phelps topped it in London. According to Reuters, Phelps congratulated her personally with a note that was go through out loud during the ceremony.)
– Excellent Lifetime Achievement Award: Jacques Rogge (former Worldwide Olympic Committee president)
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About the writer:
A longtime contributor, Inge Scheve was born and bred in Norway, and learned to ski about the time she discovered to stroll. She usually loved skiing, but didn’t really get into racing until finally she came to the University of Alaska Fairbanks, exactly where she was introduced to collegiate ski racing American style. After UAF, she moved to Bend, Ore., in 2001 to ski with XC Oregon. She has competed for the U.S. in four World Masters, earning three gold medals, as effectively as a couple of silver and bronze medals.
When she’s not skiing, Inge loves caribou hunting on the tundra in her native Rendalen valley in Norway, dabbles in adventure racing, mountain biking, street cycling, hiking, trail operating and kayaking. Inge really needs to turn into a wine snob, but realizes that probably includes finding out to like red wine.