Emil Hegle Svendsen

Emil Hegle Svendsen (born 12 July 1985) is a retired Norwegian biathlete. He has won eight medals at Winter Olympics (four gold) and five individual gold medals and seven relay gold medals at World Championships.

Emil Hegle Svendsen

Emil Hegle Svendsen in 2009
Personal information
Nickname	Super-Svendsen
Born	(1985-07-12) 12 July 1985 (age 39) Trondheim, Norway
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Professional information
Sport	Biathlon
Club	Trondhjems Skiskyttere
World Cup debut	15 December 2005
Olympic Games
Teams	4 (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
Medals	8 (4 gold)
World Championships
Teams	9 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016)
Medals	21 (12 gold)
World Cup
Seasons	11 (2005/06–2017/18)
Individual victories	37
All victories	58
Individual podiums	79
All podiums	115
Overall titles	1 (2009–10)
Discipline titles	4: 2 Individual (2010–11, 2013–14); 1 Sprint (2009–10); 1 Mass start (2010–11)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 4 3 1 World Championships 12 6 3 Junior/Youth World Championships 2 1 2 Total 18 8 6 Olympic Games 2010 Vancouver 20 km individual 2010 Vancouver 4 × 7.5 km relay 2014 Sochi 15 km mass start 2014 Sochi Mixed relay 2010 Vancouver 10 km sprint 2018 Pyeongchang 4 × 7.5 km relay 2018 Pyeongchang Mixed relay 2018 Pyeongchang 15 km mass start World Championships 2008 Östersund 20 km individual 2008 Östersund 15 km mass start 2009 Pyeongchang 4 × 7.5 km relay 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 15 km mass start 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 4 × 7.5 km relay 2012 Ruhpolding 4 × 7.5 km relay 2012 Ruhpolding Mixed relay 2013 Nové Mesto 10 km sprint 2013 Nové Mesto 12.5 km pursuit 2013 Nové Mesto 4 × 7.5 km relay 2013 Nové Mesto Mixed relay 2016 Oslo 4 × 7.5 km relay 2008 Östersund 4 × 7.5 km relay 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk Mixed relay 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk 12.5 km pursuit 2012 Ruhpolding 10 km sprint 2015 Kontiolathi 20 km individual 2015 Kontiolahti 4 × 7.5 km relay 2007 Antholz-Anterselva Mixed relay 2013 Nové Mesto 15 km mass start 2016 Oslo 12.5 km pursuit Junior World Championships 2005 Kontiolahti 15 km individual 2005 Kontiolahti 10 km sprint 2005 Kontiolahti 12.5 km pursuit Youth World Championships 2004 Haute Maurienne 10 km pursuit 2004 Haute Maurienne 3 × 7.5 km relay 2003 Kościelisko 12.5 km individual 2003 Kościelisko 10 km pursuit Men's cross-country skiing Junior World Championships 2005 Rovaniemi 4 × 10 km relay 2005 Rovaniemi 10 km freestyle
Updated on 23 February 2018

He skis with Trondhjems Skiskyttere, based in his hometown Trondheim.

Career

The 2005–06 season was Svendsen's first season on the World Cup tour. Previously, he had competed as a junior in the European Cup, now known as the IBU cup. During his first season in the World Cup, Svendsen finished fifth in three races, two of them in sprints (Brezno-Osrblie and Ruhpolding), and the other in a mass start (Holmenkollen). He also finished races in seventh, ninth, and four more within the top twenty (14th, 15th, 17th, 19th). He finished the overall season in 22nd place. He was 32nd in the pursuit, 21st in the sprint, and 7th in the mass start, only seven points behind Sven Fischer in fourth place.

Svendsen was selected for the Olympics, to compete in the mass start, in which he came sixth, after hitting 18/20 targets and finished 53.8 seconds behind winner Michael Greis of Germany. As a junior, Svendsen won four gold medals in junior World Championships, his first and second gold was in the pursuit, and the relay in Haute Maurienne in 2004, and the third and fourth gold in the individual and the sprint in Kontiolahti in 2005. He also has two bronze medals from the individual and the pursuit in Kościelisko in 2003. During his three seasons in the European Cup, Svendsen won two races (individual and pursuit), one second place (sprint), and came third three times (all in the sprint).

For his first season in the World Cup Svendsen had an 82% shooting average, making him the 42nd best shot of the tour, but the same shooting percentage as Halvard Hanevold and Vincent Defrasne. He hit 243 out of 295 targets. He shot both 82% in his prone and standing shoot, he averaged 70% in the individual, 84% in the sprint, 81% in the pursuit, 87% in the mass start, and 76% in the relay.

On 13 December 2007, Svendsen took his first world cup victory, at the 20 km in Pokljuka. However, his big breakthrough came when he won two individual gold medals at the 2008 World Championships, winning both the individual and the mass start ahead of Ole Einar Bjørndalen. He went on winning more victories and podiums for the rest of the season, and eventually finished third overall.

The 2008/2009 season started off well for Svendsen. By placing on the podium in every one of the first five races, he took the lead in the overall world cup. After the Christmas holiday however, Svendsen struggled to maintain the early season's results, and when he fell ill during the world championships and did not compete in several races, he lost the overall lead. After a couple of middle placings, he returned with a third place at the mass start event in Trondheim, and a fourth place and a victory in Khanty Mansiysk the consecutive week.

Emil Hegle Svendsen Kontiolahti, 2010

He won a silver medal in the 10 km sprint at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver on the first day of men's biathlon competition and then followed it up with two gold medals in the 20 km individual and the relay event.

He won 2 gold medals in 2014 Winter Olympics: in mass-start and mixed relay (together with Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Tiril Eckhoff and Tora Berger).

Svendsen is 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) tall, and weighs 170 lb (77 kg, 12 st 2 lb)

On 9 April 2018, he announced his retirement from biathlon following the 2017–2018 season.^[1][2]

Personal life

Svendsen was in a relationship with a fellow biathlete Kaja Eckhoff,^[3] sister of the biathletes Stian and Tiril Eckhoff, for several years after meeting her in the early 2000s at the Norges Toppidrettsgymnas in Lillehammer where they both studied as teenagers, before breaking up in the summer of 2011.^[4]

He then was in a relationship with Samantha Skogrand from November 2013 to autumn 2022. They got engaged in December 2016,^[5] but never married. In January 2019 the couple became parents to a son whom they named Magnus^[6] and in July 2021 they welcomed their second child - daughter Elsa.^[7] The family resided in Oslo. They announced their separation in a joint statement on Instagram on 28 April 2023.^[8]

After retiring from competition in 2018 Svendsen decided to study for a bachelor's degree in business administration. While studying he worked as a biathlon expert for the Norwegian TV channel NRK^[9] in 2019-2021 and a coach with the privately-funded Norwegian biathlon youth team Meistebakken. As of 2023 he has finished his studies and is working for the Norwegian real estate company Fredensborg Fritid as a real estate developer.^[10]

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.^[11]

Olympic Games

8 medals (4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)

Event	Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass start	Relay	Mixed relay
2006 Turin	—	—	—	6th	—	—
2010 Vancouver	Gold	Silver	8th	13th	Gold	—
2014 Sochi	7th	9th	7th	Gold	4th	Gold
2018 Pyeongchang	10th	18th	20th	Bronze	Silver	Silver

*The mixed relay was added as an event in 2014.

World Championships

21 medals (12 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze)

Event	Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Mass start	Relay	Mixed relay
2007 Antholz-Anterselva	—	7th	5th	—	—	Bronze
2008 Östersund	Gold	12th	12th	Gold	Silver	—
2009 Pyeongchang	DNS	—	—	12th	Gold	—
2010 Khanty-Mansiysk	—	—	—	—	—	Silver
2011 Khanty-Mansiysk	4th	5th	Silver	Gold	Gold	—
2012 Ruhpolding	8th	Silver	5th	18th	Gold	Gold
2013 Nové Město	—	Gold	Gold	Bronze	Gold	Gold
2015 Kontiolahti	Silver	36th	19th	15th	Silver	—
2016 Oslo Holmenkollen	32nd	17th	Bronze	28th	Gold	—
2017 Hochfilzen	27th	36th	DNS	28th	8th	8th

*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.

Junior/Youth World Championships

Event	Individual	Sprint	Pursuit	Relay
2002 Ridnaun-Val Ridanna	18th	13th	13th	11th
2003 Kościelisko	Bronze	7th	Bronze	4th
2004 Haute Maurienne	14th	6th	Gold	Gold
2005 Kontiolahti	Gold	Gold	Silver	10th

World Cup

Season	Overall			Individual			Sprint			Pursuit			Mass start
	Races	Points	Position	Races	Points	Position	Races	Points	Position	Races	Points	Position	Races	Points	Position
2005–06	17/26	289	22nd	0/3	0	—	7/10	120	21st	5/8	52	32nd	5/5	117	7th
2006–07	19/27	381	17th	0/4	0	—	8/10	158	14th	6/8	154	12th	3/5	69	18th
2007–08	20/26	687	3rd	2/3	100	2nd	8/10	253	3rd	6/8	210	6th	4/5	124	5th
2008–09	19/26	844	3rd	2/4	72	14th	7/10	318	3rd	6/7	308	2nd	4/5	146	7th
2009–10	19/25	828	1st	2/4	120	2nd	8/10	354	1st	4/6	173	8th	5/5	163	2nd
2010–11	24/26	1105	2nd	4/4	188	1st	9/10	369	2nd	6/7	304	3rd	5/5	244	1st
2011–12	26/26	1035	2nd	3/3	108	3rd	10/10	378	2nd	8/8	349	2nd	5/5	218	2nd
2012–13	20/26	827	2nd	1/3	43	25th	8/10	315	2nd	7/8	287	2nd	4/5	182	2nd
2013–14	18/22	642	2nd	2/2	84	1st	7/9	240	6th	6/8	217	7th	3/3	101	4th
2014–15	21/25	613	9th	2/3	114	3rd	8/10	191	17th	6/7	199	6th	5/5	109	15th
2015–16	19/25	595	10th	3/3	64	15th	6/9	183	14th	6/8	229	7th	4/5	119	15th
2016–17	19/26	667	7th	1/3	14	49th	8/9	276	3rd	6/9	249	5th	4/5	128	12th
2017–18	10/22	323	24th	2/2	41	15th	3/8	106	24th	3/7	126	20th	2/5	50	29th

Individual victories

38 victories (8 In, 11 Sp, 12 Pu, 7 MS)

Season	Date	Location	Discipline	Level
2007–08 6 victories (2 In, 2 Sp, 1 Pu, 1 MS)	13 December 2007	Pokljuka	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	14 February 2008	Östersund	20 km individual	Biathlon World Championships
	17 February 2008	Östersund	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Championships
	27 February 2008	Pyeongchang	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	8 March 2008	Khanty-Mansiysk	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	13 March 2008	Oslo Holmenkollen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
2008–09 5 victories (3 Sp, 2 Pu)	6 December 2008	Östersund	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	12 December 2008	Hochfilzen	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	13 December 2008	Hochfilzen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	23 January 2009	Antholz-Anterselva	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	28 March 2009	Khanty-Mansiysk	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
2009–10 5 victories (2 In, 1 Sp, 1 Pu, 1 MS)	3 December 2009	Östersund	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	12 December 2009	Hochfilzen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	14 January 2010	Ruhpolding	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	16 January 2010	Ruhpolding	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	18 February 2010	Vancouver	20 km individual	Winter Olympic Games
2010–11 8 victories (2 In, 2 Sp, 2 Pu, 2 MS)	2 December 2010	Östersund	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	4 December 2010	Östersund	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	12 January 2011	Ruhpolding	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	10 February 2011	Fort Kent	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	12 February 2011	Fort Kent	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	12 March 2011	Khanty-Mansiysk	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Championships
	19 March 2011	Oslo Holmenkollen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	20 March 2011	Oslo Holmenkollen	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
2011–12 4 victories (1 Sp, 1 Pu, 2 MS)	10 December 2011	Hochfilzen	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	14 January 2012	Nové Město	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	5 February 2012	Oslo Holmenkollen	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
	18 March 2012	Khanty-Mansiysk	15 km mass start	Biathlon World Cup
2012–13 3 victories (1 Sp, 2 Pu)	15 December 2012	Pokljuka	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	9 February 2013	Nové Město	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Championships
	10 February 2013	Nové Město	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Championships
2013–14 5 victories (1 In, 1 Sp, 2 Pu, 1 MS)	3 January 2014	Oberhof	10 km sprint	Biathlon World Cup
	4 January 2014	Oberhof	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	11 January 2014	Ruhpolding	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	12 January 2014	Ruhpolding	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup
	18 February 2014	Sochi	15 km mass start	Winter Olympic Games
2014–15 2 victories (1 In, 1 Pu)	3 December 2014	Östersund	20 km individual	Biathlon World Cup
	20 December 2014	Pokljuka	12.5 km pursuit	Biathlon World Cup

*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.

See also

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists

References

1. "4-time Olympic biathlon gold medalist Svendsen retires". USA Today. 9 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
2. Nick Zaccardi (9 April 2018). "Emil Hegle Svendsen joins list of Norway Olympic star retirements". NBC Sports. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
3. "Gull-Emil reiser til syden med kjæresten". www.vg.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2008-03-11. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
4. "Slutt mellom Kaja Eckhoff og Emil Hegle Svendsen". Budstikka (in Norwegian). 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
5. "Emil Hegle Svendsen og Samantha Skogrand er forlovet". www.vg.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2016-12-25. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
6. Eilertsen, Kaja Hoff Henriette (January 29, 2019). "Nå er de blitt foreldre". Dagbladet.no. Retrieved 31 August 2019
7. Persson, Lilly Christin S. (2021-07-17). "TV-profilene Samantha Skogrand og Emil Hegle Svendsen har fått barn". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2021-07-23.
8. "Brudd". dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). 2023-04-28. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
9. NTB (2019-11-07). "Emil Hegle Svendsen har fått ny jobb". folkebladet.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2023-07-17.
10. "Fredensborg Fritid - Våre ansatte". fredensborgfritid.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2023-07-17.
11. "Emil Hegle Svendsen". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.

External links

• Emil Hegle Svendsen at IBU BiathlonWorld.com
• Emil Hegle Svendsen at IBU BiathlonResults.com
• Emil Hegle Svendsen at the International Ski and Snowboard Federation
• Emil Hegle Svendsen at Olympics.com
• Emil Hegle Svendsen at Olympedia (archive)
• Yahoo! Sports profile for the 2006 Winter Olympics at the Wayback Machine (archived 6 April 2012)

Olympic Games
Preceded by Aksel Lund Svindal	Flagbearer for  Norway 2018 Pyeongchang	Succeeded by Incumbent