One year after her split with the Norwegian national team, Karoline Knotten opens up about her return and what it took to make it happen.

Karoline Knotten is back on the Norwegian national team, a year after being dropped due to disagreements with the coaching staff.

After a season of private training, the 31-year-old from Lillehammer boasts an Olympic bronze and six podium finishes in the World Cup, including two victories. Now, she has been offered a spot on the Norwegian national biathlon team.

The reason Knotten accepted the offer is simple: a coaching change. Patrick Oberegger and Sverre Hüber Kaas are no longer part of the team, and two new coaches have been appointed.

“I always wanted to return to the national team, but not until there were new coaches,” Knotten tells NordicMag, adding:

“When Sverre Olsbu Røiseland was hired as the new coach, I knew I wanted to come back.”

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Excited about a female coach

The other new coach is Marthe Kristoffersen.

The former World Cup athlete joins the biathlon national team after two seasons as coach for the long-distance Pro Team, Team Eksjöhus, and several years with the Ski Association’s regional team, Team Elon Innlandet.

Knotten is looking forward to working with Kristoffersen and is curious about having a female coach.

“It’s an honor to have her as a coach. I haven’t had many female coaches in my career, so it will be interesting to see how it goes. The most important thing is competence and enthusiasm, but so far, I’m satisfied,” says Knotten.

Missed the team spirit

After Knotten’s split from the national team last year, she trained independently with a private support team, primarily with Roger Grubben as her coach and her mother Ann Karin Offigstad Knotten as her daily manager.

Sportingly, it has clearly worked well. However, Karoline Knotten is clear that she has missed being part of a team.

Now she is back with the team as one of six athletes on the elite national team for 2026/2027. The other five are Maren Kirkeeide, Juni Arnekleiv, Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, Marthe Kråkstad Johansen, and Gro Randby.

“I’m really looking forward to it and hope we can make progress together,” she says.

The 31-year-old from Lillehammer is entering her ninth season in the World Cup. Since her debut in Pokljuka in 2018, she has competed in 190 World Cup races for Norway, finishing on the podium in 30 of them and winning 14.

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