CHRISTIANSEN Vetle Sjaastad

Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen had an almost perfect start to his biathlon career, winning a combined seven medals in the IBU Youth Junior Championships in 2010 and 2011. His early successes earned the Norwegian several years mixing up BMW IBU World Cup starts with stints on the IBU Cup circuit. The 2017/18 season was a turning point for Christiansen. He started the season in the IBU Cup, stayed there and excelled, winning three individual competitions, shooting clean eight times, capping the year winning the IBU Cup Total Score. That sent him back to the Norwegian A team and the World Cup circuit permanently. Since then, Christiansen has become a valued member of Norway’s top team.

The year after his return to the BMW IBU World Cup was a benchmark for Christiansen. On the two-stop trip to North America, he was on the podium three times: second in the Canmore short individual and Soldier Hollow pursuit plus his first-ever victory in the Soldier Hollow sprint. That special day in Utah, Christiansen was elated with his first win. “It is unbelievable for me; there are a lot of emotions. I have been doing biathlon since I was six years, so you could say I have been waiting for this for 20 years. There have been a lot of down times over the years, but here in first place, I forgot all of them.”

Christiansen’s calling card: shooting and gritty highly competitive style makes him a valuable piece of Norway’s relay successes. His record shows seventeen relay podiums, including ten wins and four mixed relay podiums, with one victory. Coming into the 2021/22 season, Christiansen swept every domestic rollerski competition in Norway, with as usual excellent range performances and strong track performances.

Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen is known for his powerful style of competing, outspoken character, and frequently exhibits his dry sense of humor in social media posts, making light of the daily business of the professional biathlete.