Tarjei Bø (born 29 July 1988) is a former Norwegian professional biathlete. Awarded Olympic gold medals, World Championship gold medals and World Cup victories from 2010 to 2025. Bø debuted in the Biathlon World Cup on 26 March 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. In the 2010 Winter Olympics, he earned his first gold medal in the 4 × 7.5 km biathlon relay. On 10 December 2010 he won the World Cup sprint race in Hochfilzen, his first world cup victory. He also won the following pursuit race and anchored the winning relay team. Bø is the older brother of biathlete Johannes Thingnes Bø.
Tarjei won the 2010 to 2011 biathlon crystal globe for having the most points overall in the season. He finished five points ahead of his teammate Emil Hegle Svendsen.
Career Early career At his first Junior World Championships in 2006 in Presque Isle, Maine, United States, Bø claimed the gold medal in the individual discipline and the silver medal in the pursuit discipline. A year later in Martell-Val Martello, Italy, Bø again claimed the silver medal in the pursuit discipline and was part of the Norwegian relay team that won the silver medal. The 2009 Junior World Championships in Canmore, Canada began in disappointment: Bø finished as number 23 in the individual discipline with a total of five shooting errors. However, Bø would eventually claim the bronze medal in both the pursuit and sprint disciplines. During the 2009 European Championships in Ufa, Russia, Bø was the most successful biathlete and claimed the gold medal in all four races he entered (individual, sprint, pursuit and relay). At the World Cup finals in Khanty Mansiysk, Russia, Bø made his debut in the Biathlon World Cup on 26 March 2009, finishing 61st.
2009–10 season: Olympic champion
In the 2009–10 season, Bø continued his positive development in the IBU Cup, coming in sixth in the individual discipline and second in the sprint. This led to his appointment to the World Cup races in Pokljuka, Oberhof and Ruhpolding. In Pokljuka, Bø made an impressive performance and finished fourth; in Oberhof, he was part of the Norwegian winning relay team; and in Ruhpolding, he was part of the Norwegian relay team that finished second. On 29 January, Bø was named as one of the 99 athletes that would travel to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. On 18 February, Bø finished 21st in his first Olympics event. Bø was chosen for the Norwegian relay team, which claimed the gold medal before runners-up Austria and bronze-medalists Russia.International Biathlon Union. E.ON Ruhrgas IBU World Cup – Vancouver (CAN) – Men 4 x 7.5 km Relay . IBU Datacenter. Retrieved 13 December 2011. At the World Cup stop in Kontiolahti, Finland, Bø ran the last leg for the Norwegian mixed team, securing the win for Norway.
2010–11 season: Overall World Cup winner 2010–11 World Cup season results No. World Cup location Individual Sprint Pursuit Mass Start Relay Mixed relay 1 Östersund, Sweden 4 5 4 – – – 2 Hochfilzen, Austria – 1 1 – 1 – 3 Pokljuka, Slovenia 12 2 – – – DNS 4 Oberhof, Germany – 1 – 1 DNS – 5 Ruhpolding, Germany 5 5 4 – – – 6 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy – 51 – 15 3 – 7 Presque Isle, USA – 4 6 – – DNS 8 Fort Kent, USA – 3 3 3 – – WCH Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia 1 3 3 4 1 1 9 Oslo, Norway – 44 2 8 – – Key:"—" denotes discipline not held; DNS: Did not start; WCH: World Championships
Bø became a regular fixture in the Norwegian team in the 2010–11 season. He started the season with fourth place in the individual discipline in Östersund, Sweden, followed by fifth and fourth place in the sprint and pursuit disciplines, respectively.International Biathlon Union. E.ON Ruhrgas IBU World Cup – Oestersund (SWE) – Men 20 km Individual . IBU Datacenter. Retrieved 13 December 2011.International Biathlon Union. E.ON Ruhrgas IBU World Cup – Oestersund (SWE) – Men 10 km Sprint . IBU Datacenter. Retrieved 13 December 2011.International Biathlon Union. E.ON Ruhrgas IBU World Cup – Oestersund (SWE) – Men 12.5 km Pursuit . IBU Datacenter. Retrieved 13 December 2011. On 5 January 2007, Bø won his first World Cup event, the sprint race in Hochfilzen, Austria, beating runner-up Serguei Sednev by 27.5 seconds.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Hochfilzen (AUT) – Men 10 km Sprint . IBU Datacenter. Retrieved 13 December 2011. One day later, he won his second World Cup victory in the pursuit discipline.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Hochfilzen (AUT) – Men 12.5 km Pursuit IBU Datacenter. Retrieved 13 December 2011. On 12 December, he was part of the winning Norwegian relay team.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Hochfilzen (AUT) – Men 4 x 7.5 km Relay . After his highly successful races in Hochfilzen, Bø took the yellow bib of the Overall World Cup leader. In the races in Pokljuka, Bø finished 12th in the individual discipline and second in the sprint.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Pokljuka (SLO) – Men 20 km Individual International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Pokljuka (SLO) – Men 10 km Sprint . In Oberhof, Bø claimed his third and fourth World Cup victories (mass start and sprint).International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Oberhof (GER) – Men 15 km Mass Start .International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Oberhof (GER) – Men 10 km Sprint . At the World Cup stops in February in the United States, Bø continued his good form; his worst result was sixth place. He came in fourth in the sprint discipline in Presque Isle, Maine.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Presque Isle, ME (USA) – Men 10 km Sprint . One week later in Fort Kent, Maine, Bø finished all three races in third place (sprint, pursuit and mass start).International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Fort Kent, ME (USA) – Men 10 km Sprint .International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Fort Kent, ME (USA) – Men 12.5 km Pursuit .International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Fort Kent, ME (USA) – Men 15 km Mass Start .
On 3 March, Bø won his first World Championship title as part of the Norwegian mixed team.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Khanty-Mansiysk (RUS) – Mixed 2 x 6 + 2 x 7.5 km Relay . Running the last lap, Bø secured Norway the victory; this was the first time Norway had won this event. Two days later, Bø came in third in the sprint discipline, behind runner-up Martin Fourcade and Arnd Peiffer.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Khanty-Mansiysk (RUS) – Men 10 km Sprint . By finishing third, Bø won the Overall Sprint Cup. In the pursuit discipline, Bø again claimed the bronze medal.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Khanty-Mansiysk (RUS) – Men 12.5 km Pursuit . On 8 March, Bø won his first individual gold medal in the individual, beating runner-up Maxim Maksimov by 40 seconds despite having one shooting error compared to Maksimov's clean shooting.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Khanty-Mansiysk (RUS) – Men 20 km Individual . Two days later, Bø claimed his second title alongside Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Alexander Os and Emil Hegle Svendsen in the relay,International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON 2 – Khanty-Mansiysk (RUS) – Men 4 x 7.5 km Relay . becoming the most successful biathlete at the championships with a total of five medals.
At the season finals in Oslo, Norway Bø, with five shooting errors, came in 44th in the sprint, his second-worst result this season.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON – Oslo Holmenkollen (NOR) – Men 10 km Sprint . In the pursuit two days later, Bø started 2 minutes and 15 seconds behind; however, he pulled back the entire time and eventually finished second, 0.6 seconds behind teammate Emil Hegle Svendsen,International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP BIATHLON – Oslo Holmenkollen (NOR) – Men 12.5 km Pursuit . thus winning the Overall Pursuit Cup. Bø had a narrow lead of 31 points to Svendsen in the Overall World Cup before the season's last race, mass start. Svendsen won the event, but as Bø finished eight, he beat Svendsen in the Overall Cup by five points, winning the Overall Cup for the first time in his career.International Biathlon Union. Cup Standings – Men's World Cup Total Score .
2011–12 season Bø poorly started the season and finished 25th in the individual in Östersund. He was back on the podium in two of the three next events, however; he finished second in the sprint in Östersund and came in second in the pursuit in Hochfilzen.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP 1 BIATHLON – Oestersund (SWE) – Men 10 km Sprint .International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP 2 BIATHLON – Hochfilzen (AUT) – Men 12.5 km Pursuit . He was also part of the winning Norwegian relay team in Hochfilzen, running the last lap.International Biathlon Union. E.ON IBU WORLD CUP 2 BIATHLON – Hochfilzen (AUT) – Men 4x7.5 km Relay .
In March 2025, Tarjei Bø and his brother Johannes Thingnes Bø retired from competitions.
Biathlon results
All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.
Olympic Games 7 medals – (3 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze) EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay 2010 Vancouver 21st — — — Gold 2014 Sochi 26th 39th 27th — Bronze — 2018 Pyeongchang 13th 13th 4th 8th Silver — 2022 Beijing 8th Bronze Silver 12th Gold Gold *The mixed relay was added as an event in 2014.
World Championships 28 medals – (12 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze) EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk Gold Bronze Bronze Bronze Gold Gold rowspan="6" 2012 Ruhpolding 18th 17th 7th 17th Gold — 2013 Nové Město 12th 18th 17th Gold Gold Gold 2015 Kontiolahti 25th Bronze Bronze Bronze Silver Bronze 2016 Oslo 22nd 54th 31st 6th Gold Bronze 2017 Hochfilzen — 14th 9th 14th 8th — 2019 Östersund Bronze 13th 4th 9th Gold — — 2020 Antholz-Anterselva 6th 4th 6th 4th Silver Gold — 2021 Pokljuka 69th 9th 13th 6th Gold — — 2023 Oberhof 7th Silver 4th 9th Silver — — 2024 Nové Město Silver 6th 5th 4th Silver Silver — 2025 Lenzerheide 10th 10th 10th 18th Gold — —
*During Olympic seasons competitions are only held for those events not included in the Olympic program. **The single mixed relay was added as an event in 2019.
Junior/Youth World Championships 6 medals – (1 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze) EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay 2006 Presque Isle Gold 4th Silver 4th 2007 Martell-Val Martello 4th 5th Silver Silver 2009 Canmore 23rd Bronze Bronze 6th
World Cup standings 6 titles – (1 Overall, 1 Individual, 2 Sprint, 1 Pursuit, 1 Mass Start) Season Discipline 2010–11 Overall Sprint Pursuit 2020–21 Mass Start 2021–22 Individual 2023–24 Sprint