By Philip O'Connor
ANTERSELVA, Italy, Feb 22 (Reuters) - A day after the thrilling finale of biathlon at the Winter Games, the International Olympic Committee honoured International Biathlon Union (IBU) President Olle Dahlin on Sunday with the Olympic Order for outstanding contribution.
A former biathlete and cross-country skier, the 71-year-old was recognised during the final IOC session for his achievements over the last eight years as IBU president, a role he intends to step down from later in the year.
"It has been a fantastic journey, not least this international journey that is being crowned with the Olympic Order, which is perhaps the finest prize in sports in the world. It is a huge honour," Dahlin told Reuters at the Antholz-Anterselva Biathlon Centre.
"It's been a tremendous journey in biathlon, it's now at a top, top level and can be compared to many, if not all, of the world's biggest sports in terms of the level it is at.
"At the Olympics we have seen the development over recent decades on the world stage, the biggest stage that exists. We have top-class stadiums, and our World Cup competition is at a very high level."
Few who saw biathlon competitions at the Games would disagree, as tens of thousands witnessed superb action where superpowers Norway and France once again dominated the podium, though they did not have it all their own way.
Bulgaria and the Czech Republic both secured bronze medals, and thanks to efforts by the IBU and Dahlin to close the gap, plenty of smaller nations put in encouraging performances that they will aim to build on in the next Olympic cycle.
The women's mass start that closed out the Games was a showcase of biathlon at its best as French sharpshooter Oceane Michelon overtook Tereza Vobornikova of the Czech Republic during an electrifying last lap to snatch gold.
It all played out in front of a grandstand packed with excited fans. Dahlin is proud of the investment the IBU made in the Anterselva facility in the Italian biathlon heartland as the fans responded accordingly with a cacophony of noise.
FANTASTIC ATMOSPHERE
"It's primarily the atmosphere that has been fantastic. We had the biggest arena at the Olympics with space for 19,000 fans, so we've had around 200,000 here in total," Dahlin explained.
"When people who have never seen biathlon live before come here and experience this, it's a huge surprise, so it's been so positive to receive these visitors."
A key aspect of Dahlin's presidency has been a data-driven and innovative approach to grassroots development, and a focus on making the sport more accessible outside of its traditional strongholds is beginning to bear fruit.
"It's probably easiest to focus on where we already have, but we also see two particular areas where we can focus - North America and Asia - so we're working with developing the sport there, and also the communication."
Reaching new fans is one of the pillars of the IBU's future, and the organisation has expanded its in-house media and communications activities to target them.
Growing interest has led to increased revenues, which in turn gives the IBU more money to invest.
"I often say money isn't everything, but it's good to have," Dahlin said with a chuckle. "Last year we organised a tournament on roller skis in downtown Munich. It cost a lot of money but we had 50,000 fans.
"We've also had more than 100,000 young people test biathlon with laser rifles, so that's the kind of investment we're going to make - these things are gaining us more fans, but they are also giving biathlon a future."
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
