Biathlon: Johannes Thingnes and Tarjei Boe aim to do battle again this winter
Last April, at a time when many were predicting his retirement, Tarjei Boe announced that he would be back for at least one season in international biathlon competitions. Second in the overall World Cup standings last year behind his younger brother Johannes Thingnes, the veteran of the Norwegian national team is determined to challenge his younger brother.
It’s an ambition that the five-time winner of the crystal globe is well aware of, and one that he hopes will motivate his brother not to end his sporting career in April 2025. ” We’ve always had this idea in the family that it’s our last competition together that will count,” he toldEurosport. If Tarjei beats me this year, I think he’ll retire. That’s why I’m hoping to stay ahead of him so that he can stay on for another year.
Convinced that he can still play among the best this season, Tarjei Boe wants above all to make the most of his final years as a biathlete. I’ve chosen to continue for another year and I’m really enjoying it,” he says. Last year was great and I’m still riding that wave. It’s fantastic to be in the national team with your brother. He’s five years younger, but we’ve been in the team for twelve years now.
“When the pieces of the jigsaw come together, it’s hard to beat”.Johannes Thingnes Boe talks to Eurosport about his brother Tarjei
And while he admitted that he “didn’t expect” to see his eldest continue his career this spring, Johannes Thingnes Boe was quick to praise his runner-up from last winter. “He’s always been good and he still is. He’s an extremely strong athlete physically, but he also shoots very fast,” he says. When the pieces of the jigsaw come together, he’s hard to beat, as he showed last year.”
And while the Norwegian team hasn’t looked this strong for a number of seasons, Drôme coach Siegfried Mazet will once again be able to rely on the solid Boe siblings to field an ultra-competitive relay: “I’m delighted that Tarjei is staying on for another year. He’s an incredible relay runner. Our mother always says that when we race together, it makes the team even stronger,” adds Johannes Thingnes.
Tarjei Boe’s training is getting harder and harder to take
However, Tarjei Boe knows that his days at the World Cup are numbered. The Scandinavian makes no secret of his difficulties in getting to training. “In this sport, it’s the training that’s boring. So now it’s time to start being cooler,” he concedes. We’ll see what else I can do, but it’s never been as difficult as it is today.
But that doesn’t stop his brother – who plans to hang up his boots in the near future – from hoping for a shared end in a few seasons’ time: “You want good duels, and the best ones are with Tarjei. It’s the best memory I’ll have of my career. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he has one last year ahead of him and that he can stay with me until the end,” concludes the outgoing world number one.
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