(ATR) Olympic biathlon legend Ole Einar Bjoerndalen said he had no doubts about Norway hosting the Olympics, even with the potential costs involved.
"I don‘t think that living conditions will worsen for the average Norwegian if X billion (kroner) is spent on the Winter Olympics," Bjoerndalen told Norwegian news agency NTB.
The government of Norway has not given the Oslo guaranteed backing on the bid, which has prompted speculation to whether the bid will survive.
Oslo would be going against Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing, China; and Lviv, Ukraine in the race to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.
"I think it can be a great and fun event even if we don‘t spend as much as has been the case in some countries," Bjoerndalen added.
Bjoerndalen has won 13 total Winter Olympics medals, the most of all time. He was also elected to the IOC Athlete’s Commission in 2014.
"I think it will have a lot of positive effects. It is important to boost health in Norway, and we have too few sports facilities."
Written by Aaron Bauer
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