Egil Gjelland

Egil Gjelland is a Norwegian former biathlete, born on 12 November 1973, and an Olympic champion in the biathlon relay from the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He grew up in Voss Municipality, the home of many world class biathletes, started biathlon at the age of 15 and first entered the national team in 1996. His strength was shooting, and his greatest triumphs came on Norway's relay team, including the 2002 Olympic gold with Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Halvard Hanevold and Frode Andresen, and the relay gold at the 2005 World Championships in Hochfilzen, Norway's first relay gold at the world championships in 38 years. He won one World Cup race, the pursuit in Östersund on 17 December 2004. He is a carpenter by trade, married the biathlete Ann-Elen Skjelbreid in 2002, and after retiring from competition became a coach, serving as head coach of the Norwegian men's squad and later of the Czech women's biathlon team.