For many athletes, the Olympic Games are the highlight of their careers. To achieve this goal, they push themselves to the limit in training every day, sacrificing family gatherings, nights out, and sweets. The Olympic dream has also inspired many biathletes. To mark Olympic Day, we spoke with Simon Eder, Martin Ponsiluoma, and Maren Kirkeeide about their dreams, emotions, and Olympic moments.

Simon Eder - The Olympics as a Family Tradition

For Simon Eder, his fascination with the Olympics began when he was just a child. His father, Alfred Eder, competed in six Olympic Games, and his son followed his father’s competitions with intensity.

“I especially remember my dad’s tenth-place finish in the individual at Lillehammer. I was eleven years old at the time. During an indoor tournament in Salzburg, the coaches brought me over to the TV. But I was also fascinated by Hermann Maier’s ‘crash’ and ‘comeback’ in Nagano in 1998. I got up in the middle of the night to watch the competitions.”

Simon has now competed in five Olympic Games himself. He took part in every major event from 2010 to 2026. At the Games in Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014), he came home with a silver medal, making him more successful than his father. Yet with six appearances at the Winter Olympics, Alfred remains one of the most prolific competitors in biathlon history.

Maren Kirkeeide – The Olympics as Extra Motivation in Training

Maren Kirkeeide made her Olympic debut at the 2026 Winter Games in Antholz. The 23-year-old Norwegian immediately made a splash. In the sprint, she clinched the gold medal with a spectacular final lap. “The coaches pushed me, which gave me extra energy and literally carried me across the finish line. You never know how fast the others are going, so I just gave it everything I had. I would have been happy with silver, too. The fact that I now have gold is unbelievable!”

Kirkeeide also watched the Olympics on TV as a child and was inspired by them. “The Olympic Games mean lots of fun and exciting competitions. It had been my big goal for several years to compete there, and that motivated me to train even harder to get there.” Her dedication to training paid off, because in addition to the gold medal in the sprint, she won silver in the pursuit and bronze with her teammates in the relay.

Martin Ponsiluoma – Gold on the Third Try

Martin Ponsiluoma will never forget the cheering biathlon fans at Antholz Stadium as he crossed the finish line. In the Olympic pursuit in Antholz in 2026, he shot cleanly in the final shooting and was the first to start the final lap. On the finish line, he was finally able to truly savour his triumph. Finally, an Olympic champion, after having competed in 2018 and 2022 and narrowly missing the gold medal by finishing second in the mass start at Beijing 2022.

“Ever since I was a young child, I’ve been saying that I wanted to beat my dad’s Olympic result. He won a bronze medal in cross-country skiing at the Albertville Games. So that was a goal of mine for a really long time. I wasn’t thinking much about it, but it was always in the back of my mind.” With the complete set of medals that Ponsiluoma now has in his trophy case - after winning bronze in the relay in Antholz - he has finally won the internal family rivalry.

The Olympic Games are and always will be special. They motivate athletes and produce stars. We can safely assume that the Games in Antholz have once again inspired many young athletes whom we will see on the world stage in the future.

Photos: IBU archive