The 43-year-old, a legend in his sport, has won 13 Olympic medals in all, including eight golds.

His overall tally is more than any other Winter Olympian in history while he shares the record for golds with compatriot Bjørn Dæhlie, a cross-country skier.

Bjørndalen competed at his first Games on home snow in Lillehammer in 1994 and has been a part of every edition since, winning his first gold in the 10 kilometres sprint at Nagano 1998.

He then won four golds at Salt Lake City 2002, one at Vancouver 2010 and two at Sochi 2014 to cement his place into the history books.

The 20-time world champion has also won the overall International Biathlon Union (IBU) World Cup title on six occasions.

However, his bid to reach Pyeongchang 2018 has ultimately ended in disappointment after he failed to make an impact on the IBU World Cup circuit this term.

He targeted the South Korean Games after coming out of retirement in 2016 and resigning his role as a member of the International Olympic Committee's Athletes' Commission.

The Norwegian repeatedly missed important meetings as he instead concentrated on his sport.

He had initially planned to retire after Sochi 2014 but continued to his home World Championships in Oslo in 2016 before extending his career again.

The IBU World Cup in Ruhpolding in Germany at the weekend was seen as his last chance to earn an Olympic spot but he came 42nd in the individual competition.

His best finish in any individual World Cup race this term is 18th, although he was a member of Norway's relay team which won gold in Hochfilzen on December 10. 

According to Tore Ovrebo, the head of the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, he failed to meet the qualifying standard for Pyeongchang.

Swimmer Michael Phelps is one of only three Summer Olympians to boast more medals than Bjørndalen, with his record haul of 28.

The other two are Russian gymnasts Larisa Latynia and Nikolai Andrianov, who have 18 and 15 respectively.