While former rivals and national team colleagues prepared for the season debut at the Blink Festival 2025, Johannes Thingnes Bø made his debut in a new arena. It was a real upswing.

Earlier this week, it was announced that the biathlon star is switching sports. He has signed with the football team Vinger FK from Kongsvinger, which plays in the Norwegian 6th division.

“It will be fun. I used to play football in Stryn before biathlon took all my time. It will be exciting to see what it’s like to play matches again. The transfer fee to Stryn was 800 kroner, which I believe was paid to the Norwegian Football Federation for paperwork purposes. I had hoped I was worth more, but somewhere I have to start my career,” he said in connection with the signing.

Dream debut

Now Thingnes Bø has made a solid first impression. Thursday evening, he debuted for Vinger. The match against Kjellmyra was a dream debut for Thingnes Bø, with both a goal and an indirect assist after coming on as a substitute in the second half.

The former biathlete was thus heavily involved in Vinger overturning Kjellmyra’s 2-0 lead and securing one point against the league leader.

“It was really tough. Kjellmyra has an outstanding team, in my opinion. I was a bit cold with the ball in the first five minutes, but we became good friends after the goal. The passes were better, and I made some good turns with the ball. After all, it’s been 20 years since I’ve played. This was fun,” Thingnes Bø told Glåmdalen after the match.

Switching sports

When Thingnes Bø retired in March, he said he planned to lie on the couch and get fat.

That hasn’t happened. Immediately after, he sold his roller ski treadmill, which had taken up the whole basement for years, because he no longer needed it. First, the 32-year-old announced he had found a new sport: running, where the biathlon star collaborates with the German sports giant Adidas.

In his half-marathon debut in Grue on May 1, just weeks after retiring from biathlon, he clocked a very respectable 1:20:19, finishing 77th. Then he finished 13th in the Birken Mountain Marathon in June.

And now he has signed a contract with the football team Vinger FK.

Also Read: Thingnes Bø delivers rock-solid marathon debut at Birken

Fans beg for a comeback

After Johannes Thingnes Bø revealed a new collaboration with the German producer Adidas, fans are begging the biathlon star to make a comeback. The 32-year-old is keeping his cards close to his chest.

“I retired because I didn’t have time to train. And look at me now: I have time to train because I’ve retired,” Johannes Thingnes Bø wrote on Instagram earlier this spring.

Read More: Fans beg for comeback – now Thingnes Bø debuts at Birken

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