Ragnhild Femsteinevik is a member of the Hålandsdal IL club.[2] Her debut on the international stage occurred at the 2016 Junior World Championships in Cheile Grădiștei, Romania, where she secured the 27th position in the individual race. In the same year, she, alongside Hilde Fenne and Jori Mørkve, clinched the Norwegian championship title in the relay event. At the onset of the 2016/17 season, Femsteinevik finished fifth in the initial IBU Cup race, the sprint in Beitostølen, earning her an immediate nomination for the World Cup events in Östersund and on the Pokljuka.[3] Following three races, some of which placed her well beyond the point-scoring range – notably the 103rd position in the sprint in Slovenia, second-to-last among the ranked athletes – Ragnhild only participated in races in the second-tier IBU Cup for the remainder of the season. After a year without international competitions, she returned to the IBU Cup in the winter of 2018/19. Achieving her inaugural podium finish with a third place in the sprint at Arber, she, along with Håvard Bogetveit, Johannes Dale, and Emilie Kalkenberg, secured another third place in the mixed relay race at Lenzerheide. Following a commendable ninth place in the individual race over 15 km at the European Championships in Minsk, Femsteinevik narrowly missed the medal positions in the single-mixed relay, as Endre Strømsheim had to complete three penalty laps after the final shooting. In the 2019/20 season, Femsteinevik refrained from participating in any international competitions; she returned to the starting line only at the 2021 European Championships but fell significantly short of the top ten in all races. However, for the remaining part of the season, she consistently achieved top-10 results in the IBU Cup, granting her the opportunity to compete in the World Cup during the last trimester. In Nové Město na Moravě, following a 47th-place finish in the sprint, she experienced her first pursuit race at the highest level.
European Championship Title and First World Cup Victory
Femsteinevik at the 2023 World Championships in Oberhof
In December 2021, Femsteinevik celebrated her first victory in an IBU Cup race with the mass start in Sjusjøen. Following her win in the sprint in Osrblie the following January, she became part of the World Cup team in Ruhpolding and secured her first ranking points by finishing 34th in the sprint. The Norwegian had a significantly more successful performance at the European Championships, where Femsteinevik won the sprint and the mixed relay, crowning herself a double European champion. Throughout the season, she claimed another victory and two podium finishes. Despite finishing second in the overall IBU Cup standings with a 25-point gap behind Lou Jeanmonnot, she made a final appearance in the World Cup in Oslo, achieving a notable personal best of 15th place in the sprint despite two shooting misses.
For the 2022/23 winter season, Femsteinevik joined the Norwegian A-team and consistently competed in the World Cup. Her first podium finish in a relay came with Karoline Offigstad Knotten, Ida Lien, and Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold in Kontiolahti. After somewhat disappointing individual races, she finally achieved her personal best by finishing ninth in the mass start in Le Grand-Bornand in mid-December. The first relay victory followed alongside Knotten, Tandrevold, and Marte Olsbu Røiseland in Ruhpolding in mid-January 2023. Femsteinevik also participated in the World Championships in Oberhof, securing her best result with a 21st-place finish in the pursuit. At the end of the season, she ranked 34th in the overall World Cup standings. Due to a COVID-19 illness, Femsteinevik missed the first competitions of the 2023/24 winter season and exclusively competed in the IBU Cup during the first trimester, achieving only one top-10 result primarily due to shooting misses.[4]
Personal life
Ragnhild Femsteinevik from Hatlestrand in the municipality of Kvinnherad. Her brother, Martin Femsteinevik, is also a biathlete. Femsteinevik is known for competing in almost all races without gloves.[5]
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