Olympic champion Johannes Dale reacted with humor to reports that the French biathlon team wants to bring in Norwegian specialist Egil Kristiansen as a consultant.
French coach Siegfried Mazet recently revealed that he would like Kristiansen to help the French athletes improve their skiing performance.
Kristiansen previously worked alongside Mazet for many years within the Norwegian setup, and the French team is now considering renewing that collaboration.
“It’s starting to become a little worrying”
Dale responded to the news with a smile but also acknowledged how strong the French team already is.
“Fortunately, Egil has a job in Sweden now. Maybe he’s become a bit too attached to Sweden and won’t spend too much time in France.
But if France builds a technical program together with him, they will become even more dangerous,” Dale said.
He then continued jokingly:
“France is already strong enough. Now they’re starting to recruit our specialists… First they took our shooting coach, and now they also want our skiing coach — that’s starting to become a little worrying.”
A new era for Norway
Despite his playful comments, Dale remains confident about the future of the Norwegian team.
Norway enters the 2026/2027 season with a renewed coaching staff led by Anders Overby and Patrick Oberegger.
Dale admitted that he is excited about the upcoming season.
