KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — His tie with his countryman Bjorn Daehlie was broken, and Ole Einar Bjorndalen was posing for group photographs.

It was the right thing to do, of course. Bjorndalen and his Norwegian teammates had just won the first mixed relay in Olympic biathlon history.

But it was not quite the perfect photo opportunity on a clear night in the Caucasus as Bjorndalen crossed his own personal finish line.

If you want to understand how Bjorndalen became the Winter Olympian with the biggest medal collection, it is best to picture him skiing solo: through the woods, through the years.