Last year’s Biathlon World Championships were a disaster for Norwegian biathlete, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold. This year’s event has started in the same fashion. The 28-year-old, who skied the opening leg of the mixed relay, completely fell apart at the shooting range—twice. She had to ski penalty loops in both prone and standing shooting and handed off second to last, more than two minutes behind.

The other three Norwegian athletes used only two spare rounds combined, gained back almost a minute, and finished fourth, but Norway was never in the fight for gold.

“I started by missing my shots in prone, all on the same target. I don’t understand why I missed. It’s almost like I don’t get why the target didn’t go down. I had to double-check to see why it didn’t drop,” a distraught Tandrevold told NRK after the relay.

Following the race, Tandrevold has been subjected to severe harassment on social media. Some have wished her “all the worst in the world” and called her horrible names.

Endless Bad Luck

Tandrevold’s relay leg in the opening event of the Biathlon World Championships is just another stroke of bad luck in what has been a season full of misfortune. The biathlon star had a strong start, winning both the sprint and the mass start at the national opener in Sjusjøen in November.

But things took a turn already in the World Cup opener in Kontiolahti. She once again faced heart issues that have plagued her for years, had to return home from Finland, and missed several World Cup rounds.

During Christmas, she underwent surgery for atrial fibrillation, but by early January, she was back on the World Cup circuit.

A Glimmer of Hope…

Despite the surgery and missed training, Tandrevold managed two 15th-place finishes, skied a brilliant third leg in the mixed relay, and helped Norway secure third place.

Her form seemed to be improving, and her shooting performance was excellent.

… Turns Into Another Setback

But in the final test before the World Championships, during the Olympic test event in Antholz, things went wrong again. Tandrevold had trouble with her rifle in the sprint—the sling attachment broke, forcing her to carry the rifle by hand on her way to the shooting range.

“What happened was that I was climbing the last hill, and suddenly, my rifle just fell off me. The entire back part came loose. So I had to grab the rifle, take off my poles, and carry it in,” Tandrevold told NRK after the bizarre incident.

“This season has turned into a bit of an unlucky one, no doubt about it. But isn’t that just how it goes? It’s kind of like Murphy’s Law—once something goes wrong, everything goes wrong,” the 28-year-old said.

Tandrevold had hoped to leave her bad luck behind, but it seems misfortune continues to follow her.

The next event at the 2025 Biathlon World Championships is the sprint. The women’s 7.5 km sprint is scheduled for Friday, February 14, at 15:05. Last year, at the Biathlon World Championships in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic, Tandrevold finished 25th in the sprint.

Also Read – Biathlon World Championships 2025: Complete program for Lenzerheide

FACTS Lenzerheide Biathlon World Championships Season 2024/2025

• When: Wednesday, February 12 to Sunday, February 23, 2025 
• Who: Elite national biathletes – women and men
• Where: Lenzerheide, Switzerland
• What: IBU World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland