Monday Briefing: Marriages for Jakov Fak, Nadezhda Pisareva, Ole’s Farewell and…

Olympic Winter Games, BMW IBU World Cup

18 Jun 2018

Monday Briefing: Marriages for Jakov Fak, Nadezhda Pisareva, Ole’s Farewell and…

Something on the lighter side to start this week when summer officially begins are several June biathlon weddings, most recently Jakov Fak and Nadezhda Pisareva, with several more on the horizon, and a farewell party for ole Einar Bjorndalen.

Lakeside Ceremony for Fak2018 Olympic 20K Individual Silver medalist and 2012 and 2015 IBU World Champion Jakov Fak married his long-time fiancé Matea Korenić in a church and civil ceremony on Saturday June 10. The lakeside civil ceremony and accompanying reception were held under perfect conditions at the Brdo pri Kranju wedding venue just outside of Ljubljana.

Family and Friends Outside the ChurchAmong those celebrating and gathering after the church ceremony were family, friends and numerous teammates and Coach Uros Velepec who has guided much to the Slovenian star’s career.

By the Lake with MilaOne of the youngest and most welcome guests at the wedding was the couple’s almost two-year-old daughter Mila.

Sharing His Day

Fak, who generally keeps his private life out of the limelight, shared his joyous day with these professional photos by Lukart Wedding Photography exclusively for this article. Congratulations and best wishes to Jakov and Matea!

Nadezhda Pisareva Marries in St. PetersburgJust a day before Fak’s nuptials, Nadezhda Pisareva was married in her home city of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Pisareva wed Andrey Shatokin, a serviceman for the Russian Biathlon Team. With typical splendid June weather on their big day, the couple posed for some outdoor photos. Our congratulations and much happiness to Nadezhda and Andrey!

Johannes and More to ComeBeyond these two biathlon weddings, several others are on tap this summer including the man just ahead of Fak in the Olympic 20K, Gold medalist Johannes Thingnes Boe, who will tie the knot with long-time girlfriend Hedda Dæhli on June 30. His Norwegian teammate Olympic Sprint Silver medalist Marte Olsbu is also soon to be married, as is Finland’s Mari Laukkanen.

Ole’s Farewell PartyOle Einar Björndalen held a farewell party this past Saturday at the X Meeting Point just outside Oslo. The now retired “King of Biathlon” hosted 230 guests that “have contributed to my career in many different ways, some very much and some who had peripheral roles,” according to comments to Norway’s VG newspaper. The guest list included many familiar biathlon names as well as his whole extended family of four siblings from his hometown of Simostranda. As with any gala event, the guest of honor posed on the red carpet with his wife Darya Domracheva and her good friends/teammates Nadezhda Skardino, the recently married Pisareva and Anastasia Kinnunen.