Celebrated by the fans: Sondre Slettemark is the exotic person in biathlon
Sondre Slettemark has achieved the best result of his career to date at the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon 2025 in Oberhof. The fans celebrated the 20 year old Greenlander, who is viewed as an exotic person within biathlon, during the opening ceremony on the city square, on the track and cottage village.
Sondre Slettemark has never gotten that much attention before. The biathlete from Greenland, who finished 65th in yesterday’s (Friday) men's sprint and with that only just missed out on the pursuit, is beaming all over his face. ‘Yes, I do notice that there is a lot of interest in me at the moment. It's new for me, but it's a lot of fun,” says fun,” says Slettemark. He is competing in Oberhof for the first time - and has directly achieved the best result of his career to date on the challenging course. The fans celebrated him for this - also during his short appearance on the Thüringer Wald event stage in the cottage village.
The 20-year-old is coached by his father, Oystein Slettemark, who was also a biathlete and inspired him to take up the sport. His mother Uiloq, also a former biathlete, and sister Ukaleq Astri, who is also active in the World Cup, would usually be at their side. However, as Ukaleq Astri Sletteamark fell in one of the first races of the season and is still recovering, the father-son team traveled this time without them to the Thuringian Forest.
The BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon 2025 in Oberhof is his second stop in the first league of biathlon sport, so far he has mainly competed in the IBU Cup.
Tracks and weather are met with approval
He has taken a liking of Oberhof, which is often described as a biathlon Mecca. ‘There are so many people here who even cheer on the smaller nations. It's great,’ they both report, enthusiastic about the backdrop in the ARENA am Rennsteig. Is that more pressure or motivation? ‘Pressure,’ replies Sondre Slettemark, ‘but a positive one’. He really likes the course and also the weather, his father adds with a laugh.
As there is enough snow in Greenland but no shooting range, the Slettemarks train in Norway. Nevertheless, they are a bit of a celebrity in Greenland, although the people of Greenland do not know how important biathlon is in many European countries, as the races are not broadcasted on TV. However, the Danes are all the more enthusiastic fans of his. Next year, he wants to make it back to the World Cup in Oberhof - and then participate also in the pursuit. He is sure to get the attention and support of the fans.