 Björn Ferry during World Cup competitions in Pokljuka, Slovenia in March 2014. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Björn Ferry | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1978-08-01)1 August 1978 (age 46) Stensele,Sweden | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | bjornferry.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Biathlon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup debut | 6 December 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 23 March 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 4 (2002,2006,2010,2014) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 1 (1 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Championships | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 11 (2002,2003,2004,2005,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medals | 3 (1 gold) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Seasons | 13 (2001/02–2013/14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Individual victories | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All victories | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Individual podiums | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All podiums | 31 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Björn Ferry (born 1 August 1978 inStensele,Storuman,Västerbotten) is a formerSwedishbiathlete and medal winning Olympian. He began competing internationally in World Cup competitions in 2001, but did not win his first international race until the 2007–2008 season. In 2007, he won gold in the mixed relay event at the Biathlon World Championships. In 2010, at his thirdWinter Olympics appearance, he won the gold medal in thepursuit event. He started the event in 8th place as determined by the previous sprint event, but managed to overtake the race leader on the final lap.
Ferry debuted in theWorld Cup inHochfilzen in 2001, and earned his first World Cup points after only skiing three races. He finished his first season ranked 36th in World Cup standings. In World Cup competition, he slowly improved his ranking, and by the 2006–2007 season was ranked in the top ten worldwide. His first Olympic appearance, at the2002 Winter Olympics inSalt Lake City,Utah, was disappointing, but four years later at the2006 Games inTurin,Italy he was a member of a Swedish relay team that placed fourth, just off the medal stand.[1]
Ferry has seen some of his strongest efforts and best finishes in Italy, even beyond the 2006 success. His first two World Cup victories both came in the pursuit inAntholz-Anterselva, in the 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 seasons. In 2007, he won a gold medal in the mixed relay in the 2007 World Championships alongsideHelena Jonsson,Anna Carin Olofsson, andCarl Johan Bergman. Although his 2009–2010 season was lackluster, and Ferry saw his ranking drop from 9th to 16th place in the World Cup, Ferry was again selected for the Swedish team for the2010 Olympic Games inVancouver, British Columbia,Canada. In thepursuit event held on February 16, Ferry finished in first place, winning the gold medal after catching and passing the race leader on the final lap of the race.[1] He beat second-place finisherChristoph Sumann ofAustria by only 16.5 seconds. The victory marked the first Olympic biathlon gold for a Swedish male athlete in a half-century.[2]
Ferry practices with the Storuman IK club. His personal coach was GermanWolfgang Pichler[1] until Pichler left his role as coach of the Swedish biathlon team in 2010. He subsequently described the atmosphere in the team under Pichler as being like acult, although he praised Pichler for the energy he brought to the role.[3]
In March 2014, Ferry confirmed that he would be retiring from the sport at the end of the2013–14 season.[4]
Ferry has been outspoken in his opposition to the use of banned substances by athletes who participate in international competition, a practice known as doping. In 2009, he was quoted referring to Russian athletes who had used such substances as 'idiots' and received a number of death threats.[citation needed] During the 2010 winter Olympics, he was quoted saying he would not mind if athletes who use banned substances would get thedeath penalty or, "at least lots of kicks in the balls."[5][6] Further comments referred to dopers as people with low moral standards and suggested that the problem of use of banned substances in sport would not go away until more severe penalties were imposed.
Ferry is married to arm wrestlerHeidi Andersson, who has won multiple world championships inarm wrestling.[2][7] In November 2017, he announced he'd given up flying because of the environment.[8]
In March and April 2018, SVT aired programme seriesStoruman Forever, depicting the Heidi Andersson and Björn Ferry couple's climate engagement.[9][10]
Flygskam, translating as ‘Flight Shame’, or ‘Flight Conscience’, a social pressure not to fly because of the rising greenhouse gas emissions of the airline industry, was originally championed by Björn Ferry but has since gained considerable momentum afterGreta Thunberg’s refusal to fly on environmental grounds. Sweden has reported a 4% drop in domestic travel for 2019 and a 9% increase in rail use. TheBBC claims that the movement could halve the growth of global air travel, but Airbus and Boeing claim that it will continue to grow at around 4% until 2035.[11][12]
All results are sourced from theInternational Biathlon Union.[1]
1 medal (1 gold)
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | Relay | Mixed relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2002 Salt Lake City | 38th | 17th | 24th | — | 14th | — |
 2006 Turin | 28th | 13th | 25th | 18th | 4th | — |
 2010 Vancouver | 42nd | 8th | Gold | 12th | 4th | — |
 2014 Sochi | 12th | 25th | 30th | 12th | 10th | — |
3 medals (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | Relay | Mixed relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 2002 Oslo Holmenkollen | — | — | — | 28th | — | — |
| 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk | 32nd | 43rd | 36th | — | 7th | — |
 2004 Oberhof | 31st | DNF | — | — | 6th | — |
 2005 Hochfilzen | 52nd | 17th | 16th | 18th | 7th | 13th |
| 2007 Antholz-Anterselva | 14th | 4th | 22nd | 15th | 7th | Gold |
 2008 Östersund | 27th | 15th | 18th | 9th | 6th | 4th |
 2009 Pyeongchang | — | 40th | 31st | — | 9th | — |
| 2010 Khanty-Mansiysk | — | — | — | — | — | Bronze |
| 2011 Khanty-Mansiysk | 5th | 23rd | 10th | 27th | 4th | 4th |
| 2012 Ruhpolding | 48th | 7th | 11th | Silver | 16th | 4th |
 2013 Nové Město | 5th | 13th | 9th | 8th | 11th | 14th |
7 victories (2 Sp, 4 Pu, 1 MS)
| Season | Date | Location | Discipline | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 1 victory (1 Pu) | 19 January 2008 | Antholz-Anterselva | 12.5 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup |
| 2008–09 1 victory (1 Pu) | 24 January 2009 | Antholz-Anterselva | 12.5 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup |
| 2009–10 1 victory (1 Pu) | 16 February 2010 | Vancouver | 12.5 km pursuit | Winter Olympic Games |
| 2010–11 2 victories (1 Sp, 1 Pu) | 18 December 2010 |  Pokljuka | 10 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 16 January 2011 | Ruhpolding | 12.5 km pursuit | Biathlon World Cup | |
| 2013–14 2 victories (1 Sp, 1 MS) | 6 March 2014 | Pokljuka | 10 km sprint | Biathlon World Cup |
| 9 March 2014 | Pokljuka | 15 km mass start | Biathlon World Cup |
| World Cup career | |
|---|---|
| Seasons | 2000–2001 |
| Indiv. starts | 5 |
| Indiv. podiums | 0 |
| Team starts | 3 |
| Team podiums | 0 |
| Overall titles | 0 |
| Discipline titles | 0 |
All results are sourced from theInternational Ski Federation (FIS).[13]
| Season | Age | Season standings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Long Distance | Middle Distance | Sprint | ||
| 2000 | 22 | NC | NC | NC | — |
| 2001 | 23 | NC | — | — | — |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
