Norway's Ole Einar Bjoerndalen has revealed that he is overwhelmed to have become the most successful athlete in the history of the Winter Olympics.

The 40-year-old secured his 13th medal across all Games when he won gold as part of the Norwegian team in the mixed relay biathlon to go with his gold in the biathlon 10km sprint.

His successes in Sochi mean that he passed Bjorn Daehlie as the most successful Winter Olympics athlete of all time.

"It's fantastic, I never imagined this would happen," Bjoerndalen told reporters. "Bjorn is still my big hero, he gave me a lot of motivation. Now I have the same gold as him, and that's cool.

"It's difficult to realise during the championships what has happened because you try to focus on the races. It will only sink in after the Olympics."

Eight of out the 13 medals Bjoerndalen has won have been gold, along with four silvers and a bronze.