Egil Gjelland
FullnameEgil Gjelland
Birth date12 November 1973 (age 52)
Birth placeVoss Municipality, Hordaland, Norway
Height1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
DisciplinesBiathlon
ClubVoss Skiskyttarlag
Wcdebut7 December 1995
Olympicteams2 (1998, 2002)
Olympicmedals2
Olympicgolds1
Worldsteams9 (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005)
Worldsmedals6
Worldsgolds2
Wcseasons12 (1995/96–2006/07)
Wcwins1
Wcrelayswins16
Wcpodiums7
Wcrelayspodiums47

Egil Gjelland (born 12 November 1973) is a Norwegian former biathlete. He is olympic champion in the biathlon relay from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Career

Egil Gjelland grew up in Voss Municipality, the home of many world class biathletes, and started doing biathlon at the age of 15. He first entered the national team in 1996.

Gjelland's strength is in shooting. His greatest triumphs have come on Norway's relay team, where he was a regular feature for several years, thanks to his ability to keep his cool and deliver faultless shooting. In the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, he won the gold medal on the relay, together with Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Halvard Hanevold and Frode Andresen. In the Biathlon World Championship 2005 in Hochfilzen, Gjelland again helped win the relay, Norway's first relay-gold in the world championships for 38 years. He won one race in the Biathlon World Cup, the pursuit in Östersund on 17 December 2004.

Egil Gjelland is a carpenter by trade. He married fellow biathlete Ann-Elen Skjelbreid in 2002. They have one daughter, Kristi (b. 2004). They live on her home farm, Skjelbreid, in Bjørnafjorden Municipality in western Norway.

Since retiring from competition Gjelland has worked as a coach with the Norwegian biathlon team, and he was appointed as head coach for the Norwegian men's biathlon squad ahead of the 2014–15 season, having previously performed the equivalent role for the Norwegian women's team.[1] In 2018 he was announced as head coach of the Czech women's biathlon team, becoming the first foreign coach to be employed by the Czech Biathlon Association alongside countryman and assistant coach to the men's team Anders Magnus Bratli.[2][3]

Biathlon results

All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.[4]

Olympic Games

2 medals (1 gold, 1 silver)

EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay
1998 Nagano—13thSilver
2002 Salt Lake City16th24th15thGold
*Pursuit was added as an event in 2002.

World Championships

6 medals (2 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)

EventIndividualSprintPursuitMass startTeamRelayMixed relay
1996 Ruhpolding36th——4th
1997 Brezno-Osrblie———4thSilver
1998 Pokljuka36thGold
2000 Oslo Holmenkollen—28th22nd21stSilver
2001 Pokljuka14th4th5th15thBronze
2002 Oslo Holmenkollen22nd
2003 Khanty-Mansiysk6th14th22nd19th4th
2004 Oberhof35th——26thSilver
2005 Hochfilzen17th12th22nd28thGold—
*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program.
**Team was removed as an event in 1998, and pursuit was added in 1997 with mass start being added in 1999 and the mixed relay in 2005.

Individual victories

1 victory (1 Pu)

SeasonDateLocationDisciplineLevel
2004–05
1 victory
(1 Pu)		17 December 2004Östersund12.5 km pursuitBiathlon World Cup
*Results are from UIPMB and IBU races which include the Biathlon World Cup, Biathlon World Championships and the Winter Olympic Games.

References

  1. ^ "Coaching Changes 2: Norway, Russia, Austria, Finland". International Biathlon Union. 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 December 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  2. ^ Johnstone, Chris (5 June 2018). "Norwegian Egil Gjelland Appointed Biathlon Head Trainer". radio.cz. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Coaching Carousel, Gala Evening, and New Stadium in Czech Republic". International Biathlon Union. 7 June 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Egil Gjelland". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Archived from the original on 16 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.