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– It’s completely wild. I didn’t fully understand it at first, until Siegfried (Mazet), who is the boys’ French and male coach, told me how great he was. That I am the first biathlete and the first Norwegian in history, Røiseland tells NRK.
Because among all the athletes, summer and winter, the French newspaper found Røiseland’s performance during the World Cup in March, as the greatest in 2020.
There, the 30-year-old won seven medals, five gold and two bronze.
– It means that people have opened their eyes to what Mars has done and the path it has traveled to get there. She has been very patient and has worked very hard, says Liv Grete Skjelbreid, an NRK biathlon expert.
– It is difficult to put into words
And the biathlon expert has a hard time expressing how high the price really is.
– I almost think it’s difficult to put it into words, because I wonder how many people in Norway really know how great L’Équipe is. It’s NRK, VG, Dagbladet and Aftenposten, it’s all in one newspaper, says Skjelbreid.
SEVEN OF SEVEN: Røiseland took seven medals during WC at Anterselva in March.
Photo: Berit Roald / NTB
Because previous winners include names like Serena Williams, Diego Maradona, and Usain Bolt, to name a few.
And in this year’s edition, Røiseland immersed, among other things, the trees of the tennis world, Naomi Osaka and Federica Brignone, who won the Alpine Skiing World Cup last season.
– It means a lot. Without a doubt, it is the most important award I have received, and it is also almost the first. I have received some local awards, but this is the first major award that I receive. It’s unbelievably cool that it’s that kind of price. It’s almost unreal to start there, says Røiseland.
On the men’s side, the French newspaper has classified Lewis Hamilton, who this season took his seventh world title, as the best athlete of 2020.
The award, called “The Master of Teachers” by L’Équipe, has been awarded since 1975.
– Says a bit about interest.
Røiseland is not only the first Norwegian athlete and the first biathlete to receive the award, but she is also the third winter athlete of all time to finish on the list.
BIG: NRK biathlon expert Live Grete Skjelbreid has a hard time putting into words how high the price tag is.
Photo: Marit Sofie Strand / NRK
– It says a little about the interest in biathlon in France and how many people have opened their eyes to what this sport is for. And not least what he accomplished during the World Cup, let it show, says Skjelbreid.
Only former skater Eric Heiden and former world alpine skier Marcel Hirscher have competed in the winter and received the award.
Martin Fourcade, who has dominated the sport of biathlon at times and is French, has never won the award.
– It’s so cool that biathlon looks like a great sport externally. Norway is often considered a ski country, but biathlon is incredibly big in many other countries as well. It was great that biathlon received an internationally recognized award, concludes Røiseland.
Relive Røiseland’s seven medals as well as the other Norwegian WC achievements on the show. “Anterselva 2020 – a World Cup before the close of the world”.
