Jon Istad

Who is Jon Istad?

Jon Istad was a Norwegian biathlete and sport shooter.

He was born in Voss and represented the club Voss IL. He was the father of Sverre Istad and uncle of Gro Marit Istad, both Olympians.

He competed at the 1960, 1964 and 1968 Winter Olympics, and all three times finished eleventh in the 20 kilometres. In 1968 he also won a silver medal with the Norwegian relay team. At the World Championships he won a gold medal in the 20 km event in 1966 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, becoming the second biathlon world champion in Norway's history. In addition, he won two gold medals in relay in 1966 and 1967 and a silver medal in 1969. He was Norwegian champion in the 20 kilometres five times, and once in the relay.

Istad was also a national champion, European Championships bronze medalist and World Championships silver medalist in sport shooting. He died in May 2012.