Sverre Dahlen Aspenes (born 20 June 1997) is a Norwegian biathlete. He made his debut in the Biathlon World Cup in 2022.[1] Aspenes is a two-time European 2022 champion in the individual and pursuit races.[2][3]
Career
Sverre Dahlen Aspenes entered the biathlon sport in 2007, but he didn't make his international debut until relatively late. Initially, he competed in cross-country skiing at the national junior championships in 2015 and 2016. Aspenes made his first biathlon appearances at the Junior European Championships in 2017 in Nové Město na Moravě. Just a year later, the Norwegian won his first international title, unexpectedly triumphing in the pursuit race at the 2018 Junior World Championships.[4] Additionally, he secured a bronze medal in the sprint. Aspenes made his debut in the IBU Cup three years later in Obertilliach, immediately achieving a good result with 12th place in the sprint.
Aspenes' breakthrough came in the 2021/22 season. Before the turn of the year, he already had a podium finish and another top-10 result to his name, earning him a place alongside three other athletes as a replacement for the absent A-team in the Biathlon World Cup in Ruhpolding.[5] With the relay team, he finished seventh, and he earned his first World Cup points by finishing 25th in the pursuit. The following 2022 European Championships at Arber brought further success, with Aspenes winning gold in the individual and pursuit events, making him the most successful athlete of the championships.[6] After another victory in the IBU Cup, Aspenes concluded his season in Kontiolahti and Oslo in the World Cup, achieving more placements around the top 30 and finishing 62nd overall. In the IBU Cup rankings, he ended the season in third place behind Erlend Bjøntegaard and Håvard Bogetveit.
In contrast to the previous winter, the 2022/23 season was relatively unsuccessful for Aspenes for personal reasons. He only competed in the IBU Cup in Idre and managed to achieve top-10 finishes three times. As defending champion, he could not surpass 14th place in the pursuit at the European Championships. However, he ended the season by becoming the Norwegian champion in the sprint, comfortably distancing himself from Vetle Paulsen and Johannes Thingnes Bø. He finished second behind Bø in the mass start. In the winter of 2023/24, Aspenes mainly competed at the national level and only joined the IBU Cup for the season finale in Obertilliach, where he dominated the race times and secured his second victory at that level after two podium finishes in the season-ending mass start event.
Personal life
Aspenes lives at the biathlon training center in Lillehammer. He had a younger brother Knut who took his own life in the summer of 2022, prompting Aspenes to skip almost the entire 2022/23 season.[7]
