Tora Berger

Tora Berger is a former Norwegian biathlete who became the first woman from her country to win Olympic gold in the biathlon. Her gold medal, won in the 15km individual event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, is one of ten gold medals she won during her 15-year-long career. She also helped the Norwegian team to gold in the mixed relay at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and won eight gold medals in three years at successive World Championships. She also won thirteen silver and bronze medals from the Olympics and World Championships. However, none of this overshadows her amazing World Cup success. She was one of the tournament’s major presences during the 2000s and early 2010s, and she won the overall women’s World Cup title in both of her final two seasons, a fitting cap to an incredible career.

Berger was born in Ringerike in southern Norway in 1981. She first joined the national women’s biathlon team in 1999 and got her first taste of glory in 2000 when she won bronze in the 7.5km sprint at the Junior World Championships. She made her World Cup debut in 2001 and became a regular on the podium over the following 13 years, winning 28 individual races and making the podium a further 63 times. She enjoyed success in front of a much broader audience at the 2010 Winter Olympics, taking the first-ever Norwegian female biathlon gold medal. To make it extra special, Berger’s gold was the tenth Norwegian biathlon gold of all-time and, even better, the 100th gold medal won by Norway at the Winter Olympics.