 Skjelbreid inAntholz-Anterselva in 2006. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Liv Grete Skjelbreid | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1974-07-07)7 July 1974 (age 51) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.67 m (5 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Biathlon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Hålandsdal IL | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 6 March 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 26 March 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 3 (1998,2002,2006) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 3 (0 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 9 (1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2004,2005) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 12 (8 gold) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 13 (1992/93, 1994/95–2005/06) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Individual victories | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Individual podiums | 46 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall titles | 1 (2003–04) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline titles | 3: 1 Sprint (2003–04); 1 Pursuit (2003–04); 1 Mass start (2003–04) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Liv Grete Skjelbreid (born 7 July 1974) fromHålandsdal,Fusa, near the city ofBergen in westernNorway, is a former professionalbiathlete. On 20 March 2006, Liv Grete announced her retirement, effective at the end of the season which ended on 26 March at theHolmenkollen. She said that she was retiring because of her young daughter, Emma, her family and because she did not have the motivation to continue.
As a child Skjelbreid spent a lot of her time with her older sisters, and consequently took part in the sports her sisters did. She playedfootball,kayaked in the lake next to the family home,cross-country skied, and she used to run up to the family cottage up in the mountains, touch the wall and run back down.
Skjelbreid excelled in football and biathlon, and first started competing in biathlon when she was nine. She borrowed her father's rifle for her first race. He also built a small shooting range on the family’s farm so his young daughters could practice. However, as she was finishing high school, she was undecided as to whether continue with biathlon or to become a hairdresser. She, then, received an offer from a new sports school, which developed young talent, based inGeilo, to train and study there, still she was undecided, but her friends and family succeeded in persuading her to attend the school, and that after the first year if she did not like it, she could then leave. It turned out that Skjelbreid did enjoy the school, and was in the same year asOle Einar Bjørndalen, and was taught byOdd Lirhus, who would become her coach between 2003 and 2006.
Skjelbreid won theIBU overall World Cup once, in the 2003–04 season, it was also the first for Norway sinceAnne Elvebakk won the event in 1988. She won the overall title by 95 points overOlga Pyleva, and took three of the four individual disciplines, the sprint, pursuit and mass start. She came fourth in the individual. Norway also won the relay.Her first season was in 1995/96, she finished 30th. In her next season, 1998/99, she shot up the table and came 5th in the end. The year after however she finished 21st. In 2000/01 Skjelbreid finished the season in 2nd place, 217 points behindMagdalena Forsberg. She was 2nd in the sprint, pursuit and mass start, and came 3rd in the individual. Norway won the relay. She also came second the year after, again behind Forsberg, this time by 149 points. She was 2nd in the individual, sprint and pursuit, and 9th in the mass start. Norway came 2nd in the relay. Skjelbreid missed the 2002/03 season because of her pregnancy. However, the year after she captured the crystal globe of the World Cup. Although, 2004/05 was a poor year, Skjelbreid had to retire from the season due to illness, missing the World Championships in the process. She ended up in 22nd place, 532 points behindSandrine Bailly. She was suffering from a virus closely related tomononucleosis (glandular fever). The virus took away about 15–20 percent of her energy according toLars Kolsrud, doctor for Norway's biathlon squads.
Skjelbreid finished the 2005/06 season in 12th place, 511 points behind the overall winnerKati Wilhelm. She ended in 21st place in the individual, 64 points down onSvetlana Ishmouratova. She was 12th in the sprint, 190 behind Wilhelm. Her best standing was in the pursuit, where she finished the season in 9th place, 177 points behind Wilhelm, and she finished 13th in the mass start, with 90 points less thanMartina Glagow. Norway were 4th in the relay.
Skjelbreid was a steady shooter over the years. Her overall percentage was in the high 70% – low 80%. As with the vast majority of biathletes, her prone shoot was her best, averaging mid 80% shooting, whilst her standing shoot gradually got better, from 65% in 1999/00 to 74% in the 2005/06 season. Skjelbreid achieved 46 podium finishes, 22 in first place, 15 in second, and 9 in third place.
Skjelbreid was coached byRolf Sæterdal until 2003, when he died suddenly. Then she was coached by Odd Lirhus until 2006, when she retired.
Skjelbreid won theHolmenkollen ski festival biathlon competition four times with two wins each in sprint (2000, 2001) and in mass start (2000, 2004).
- Sprint (1): 2003/04
- Pursuit (): 2003/04
- Mass start (1): 2003/04
| Season | Overall | Sprint | Pursuit | Individual | Mass start | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | |
| 1995–96 | - | 30th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1997–98 | - | 11th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1998–99 | 313 | 5th | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 1999–00 | 172 | 21st | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2000–01 | 804 | 2nd | 312 | 2nd | 252 | 2nd | 110 | 3rd | 120 | 2nd |
| 2001–02 | 795 | 2nd | 262 | 2nd | 327 | 2nd | 133 | 2nd | 62 | 9th |
| 2003–04 | 955 | 1st | 370 | 1st | 327 | 1st | 90 | 4th | 139 | 1st |
| 2004–05 | 315 | 22nd | 116 | 22nd | 140 | 15th | 9 | 53rd | 50 | 17th |
| 2005–06 | 458 | 12th | 178 | 12th | 157 | 9th | 36 | 21st | 87 | 11th |
22 victories (10 Sp, 8 Pu, 1 In, 3 MS)
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 3 victories (2 Sp, 1 Pu) | 8 January 1999 |  Oberhof | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 9 January 1999 | Oberhof | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 5 March 1999 |  Valcartier | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 1999–2000 2 victories (1 Sp, 1 MS) | 19 February 2000 |  Oslo Holmenkollen | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Championships |
| 26 February 2000 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 12.5 km mass start | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 2000–01 2 victories (1 Sp, 1 Pu) | 4 February 2001 |  Pokljuka | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Championships |
| 16 March 2001 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 2001–02 6 victories (3 Sp, 2 Pu, 1 In) | 10 January 2002 | Oberhof | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 19 January 2002 | Ruhpolding | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 20 January 2002 | Ruhpolding | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 23 January 2002 |  Antholz-Anterselva | 15 km individual | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 27 January 2002 | Antholz-Anterselva | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 9 March 2002 |  Östersund | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 2003–04 7 victories (3 Sp, 3 Pu, 1 MS) | 7 December 2003 |  Kontiolahti | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup |
| 7 January 2004 | Pokljuka | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 16 January 2004 | Ruhpolding | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 18 January 2004 | Ruhpolding | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 7 February 2004 | Oberhof | 7.5 km sprint | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 8 February 2004 | Oberhof | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 14 February 2004 | Oberhof | 12.5 km mass start | Biathlon World Championships | |
| 2004–05 1 victory (1 MS) | 19 December 2004 | Östersund | 12.5 km mass start | Biathlon World Cup |
| 2005–06 1 victory (1 Pu) | 15 January 2006 | Ruhpolding | 10 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup |
Skjelbreid competed in three Olympic games, the first in 1998 in Nagano. She has three medals, two silver and one bronze, two of them (one silver & one bronze) came in the relay (1998 and2002), the other silver came in the individual in 2002. Her medal count, especially her solo medal count is quite poor for a biathlete of her calibre, though she did come fourth in both the sprint and the pursuit in 2002. Her2006 results were poor, much in the same pattern as the Norwegian Olympic team on the whole. She finished 9th in the individual, 12th in the sprint, 6th in the pursuit, 18th in the mass start, and 5th in the relay (although Skjelbreid did run a solid anchor leg).
3 medals (2 silver, 1 bronze)
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | Relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 1998 Nagano | 15th | 23rd | — | — | Bronze |
 2002 Salt Lake City | Silver | 4th | 4th | — | Silver |
| 2006 Turin | 9th | 12th | 6th | 18th | 5th |
Skjelbreid has 13 World Championship medals: 8 gold, three silver and two bronze. She won four of her gold medals in a single Championships, inOberhof in 2004, the first time a biathlete has won four golds in a single World Championships. Her first World Championship medal was a silver in the relay inBrezno-Osrblie,Slovakia in 1997. She then had to wait until 2000 for her first individual medal. She won two golds in Holmenkollen, in the sprint and the mass start. In 2001 inPokljuka, she won a gold in the pursuit, a silver in the individual, and a bronze in both the sprint and mass start. Her next Championships was in 2004, where she took the four golds. The one event she did not win was the individual where she finished eighth. She suffered from illness in the 2004–05 season, and came 37th in the sprint, and did not start in the pursuit. During the 2003–04 season, Skjelbreid was handed the wrong gold medal after she won Sunday's 7.5 km race. She was given the medal for the 15 km event, which wasn't taking place until Tuesday.
12 medals (8 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze)
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | Team | Relay | Mixed relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Ruhpolding | 42nd | 7th | — | — | 12th | 4th | — |
 1997 Brezno-Osrblie | 39th | 39th | 42nd | — | Gold | Silver | — |
| 1998 Pokljuka | — | — | 10th | — | Silver | — | — |
| 1999 Kontiolahti | 28th | 11th | 10th | 14th | — | 4th | — |
| 2000 Oslo | 32nd | Gold | 7th | Gold | — | 5th | — |
| 2001 Pokljuka | Silver | Bronze | Gold | Bronze | — | 4th | — |
| 2002 Oslo | — | — | — | 15th | — | — | — |
| 2004 Oberhof | 8th | Gold | Gold | Gold | — | Gold | — |
 2005 Hochfilzen | — | 37th | DNS | — | — | — | — |
Skjelbreid suffered a spate of injuries throughout her career. In the summer of 1995 she broke her wrist whilst swinging on monkey bars, then in the summer of 1997 she was jumping on a chair, fell and broke her elbow. She then broke the cast when she crashed while training on roller skis days later.She also suffers from chronic inflammation, but she has said it had got better since she gave birth. There was also the illness that drained her energy and forced her to finish the 2004/05 season early.
Liv Grete Skjelbreid grew up on a dairy farm inHålandsdal. One of her two sistersAnn Elen also had a career as a biathlete. Ann Elen skied the first leg of the relay inNagano 1998 when Norway came third, with Liv Grete skiing the anchor leg. Her brother-in-law is Norwegian biathleteEgil Gjelland.
Skjelbreid married French biathleteRaphaël Poirée on 27 May 2000 in Norway. They first met at the 1992 Junior World Championships and began dating in 1996. They have three daughters, Emma (born 27 January 2003), Anna (born 10 January 2007) and Lena (born 10 October 2008). The family have spent most of their time in Norway and have a house inEikelandsosen, near Skjelbreid's childhood home. They also kept a small apartment inVillard-de-Lans,France, site of the1968 Olympic luge venue. In July 2013, the couple announced that they were separating.[1]
The oldest daughter Emma traveled with the Poirées to all of their biathlon events, with a full-time nanny (older sister Ann Elen) for the first two years. But Emma was sick several times over those two seasons, and the family decided she should remain at home during the buildup to the Olympic games in Torino, and only travel with them every third race weekend. So during the 2006 Olympic season Emma stayed with her maternal grandparents.
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