The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level
biathlon
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not tim ...
season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of
1977–78 for men and
1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until
1986–87 season were called the European Cup, although participation was not restricted to Europeans.
Competition and format
The World Cup season lasts from November or December to late March, with meetings in a different venue every week excluding some holidays and a couple of weeks before the season's major championships (World Championships or Winter Olympics). All in all, the season comprises nine to ten meetings, with events taking place from Wednesday–Thursday through Sunday. Relay competitions are held four to six times per season. Also counting as World Cup events are World Championships, and formerly Winter Olympics events (the last Olympics to count towards the World Cup were the
2010 Winter Olympics
)''
, nations = 82
, athletes = 2,626
, events = 86 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, opening = February 12, 2010
, closing = February 28, 2010
, opened_by = Governor General Michaëlle Jean
, cauldron = Catriona Le May DoanNancy GreeneWayne Gretz ...
: from the
2014 Winter Olympics
, ''Zharkie. Zimnie. Tvoi'')
, nations = 88
, events = 98 in 7 sports (15 disciplines)
, athletes = 2,873
, opening = 7 February 2014
, closing = 23 February 2014
, opened_by = President Vladimir Putin
, cauldron =
, stadium = Fisht Olympic ...
competitors are no longer awarded World Cup points for their Olympic performances).
The athlete with the highest overall total score (i.e. total score for all disciplines) of the World Cup season is awarded the Big Crystal Globe trophy. A Small Crystal Globe trophy is awarded for the first place in the season total for each discipline. Hence, it is possible for an athlete to win both the Big Crystal Globe and Small Crystal Globes for the same World Cup season.
The tables given below provide an overview of the highest-ranking biathletes and nations of each WC season. For each event, first place gives 60 points, 2nd place – 54 pts, 3rd place – 48 pts, 4th place – 43 pts, 5th place – 40 pts, 6th place – 38 pts, 7th – 36 pts, 8th – 34 points, 9th – 32 points, 10th – 31 points, then linearly decreasing by one point down to the 40th place. Equal placings (ties) give an equal number of points. The sum of all WC points of the season, less the points from an IBU-predetermined number of events (e.g. 2), gives the biathlete's total WC score.
From 1985 to 2000, WC points were awarded so that the first four places gave 30, 26, 24, and 22 points, respectively, and then the 5th to 25th place gave 21, 20, ..., down to 1 point. Before this, points were simply awarded linearly from 25 to 1.
Men's results
* ''
Romanization
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
of
Cyrillic script
The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, ...
-based names follows the
IBU's athlete records''.
* ''See the
List of IOC country codes
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses three-letter abbreviation country codes to refer to each group of athletes that participate in the Olympic Games. Each geocode usually identifies a National Olympic Committee (NOC), but there are ...
for expansions of country abbreviations.''
Men's overall
; Statistics by athlete
; Statistics by country
Men's U25
Men's relay
; Statistics by country
Women's results
* ''
Romanization
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
of
Cyrillic script
The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, ...
-based names follows the
IBU's athlete records''.
* ''See the
List of IOC country codes
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses three-letter abbreviation country codes to refer to each group of athletes that participate in the Olympic Games. Each geocode usually identifies a National Olympic Committee (NOC), but there are ...
for expansions of country abbreviations.''
Women's overall
The women's World Cup seasons until 1986–87 were actually called the European Cup, although participation was open to biathletes of all nationalities. Until 1987–88, women raced on shorter tracks than they do today. The 1988–89 season was the first in which women raced on tracks of the same length that they do nowadays.
;Notes
*
1 Petra Schaaf married XC skier and later German national XC ski team coach
Jochen Behle
Jochen Behle (born 7 July 1960 in Korbach, Hesse) is a former (West) German cross-country skier who competed from 1980 to 1998.
Competing in six Winter Olympics, he earned his best career finish of fourth in the 4 × 10 km relay at Lilleha ...
.
*
2 Helena Jonsson
Helena Ekholm (née Helena Jonsson) (born September 6, 1984 in Helgum) is a former Swedish biathlete. She was born in Helgum, Sollefteå Municipality. She is the 2009 world champion in pursuit and the 2011 world champion in individual. She also ...
married fellow biathlete
David Ekholm
David Ekholm (born 16 January 1979) is a Swedish biathlete. He competed in three events at the 2006 Winter Olympics
The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Tor ...
in 2010.
*
3 Kaisa Mäkäräinen
Kaisa Leena Mäkäräinen (born 11 January 1983) is a Finnish former world-champion and 3-time world-cup-winning biathlete, who currently competes for Kontiolahden Urheilijat. Outside sports, Mäkäräinen is currently studying to be a Physics tea ...
was the winner at the conclusion of the season with
Tora Berger
Tora or TORA may refer to:
People
* Tora (given name), female given name
* Tora (surname)
* Tora people of Arabia and northern Africa
* Torá language, an extinct language once spoken in Brazil
Places
* Tora, Benin, in Borgou Department
* ...
2nd. However, the results of
Olga Zaitseva
Olga Alekseyevna Zaitseva (russian: Ольга Алексеевна Зайцева; born 16 May 1978) is a former Russian biathlete. She began her career in 1994. After not competing in the 2014–15 season, Zaitseva announced her retirement o ...
were later annulled due to doping offences. The recalculation would have given overall world cup win to Berger, but the IBU made the decision based on the principle that clean athletes cannot be punished for the doping offenses of others.
*
4 Gabriela Soukalová
Gabriela Soukalová, formerly Koukalová () (born 1 November 1989 in Jablonec nad Nisou, Czechoslovakia) is a former Czech biathlete and television presenter for TV Prima. She won three Olympic medals at the 2014 Sochi Games and she is a two-time ...
took the name Koukalová when she married professional
badminton
Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...
player
Petr Koukal in 2016. They divorced in 2020.
; Statistics by athlete
; Statistics by country
Women's U25
Women's relay
; Statistics by country
Mixed relay
; Statistics by country
Individual discipline titles
Men's titles
Women's titles
Nations Cup
Men's Nations Cup
Women's Nations Cup
Race winners
Below is a list of all male and female biathletes that have won 5 or more individual World Cup or Olympic races. Biathletes whose names are in bold are still active.
* ''Updated: 18 December 2022''
Race winners by decade
Men
Note:
Frank Luck
Frank Luck (born 5 December 1967) is a former German and, before 1990, East German biathlete.
Career
Luck started early with cross-country skiing, but in 1980 he went over to biathlon. By 1988 at the age of 21 he had already qualified for the ...
,
Sergei Tchepikov
Sergei Vladimirovich Tchepikov (russian: Серге́й Влади́мирович Че́пиков; born 30 January 1967) is a Russian politician and a former Soviet-Russian biathlete and cross-country skier who competed at six Winter Olympics, ...
, ''
Ole Einar Bjørndalen
Ole Einar Bjørndalen () (born 27 January 1974) is a retired Norwegian professional Biathlon, biathlete and coach, often referred to by the nickname, the "King of Biathlon". With 13 Winter Olympic Games medals, he is second on the List of multip ...
, and
Arnd Peiffer
Arnd Peiffer (born 18 March 1987) is a German former biathlete. His greatest achievements were sprint victories in the 2018 Winter Olympics and the Biathlon World Championships 2011. During his career, he also won three World Championship relay go ...
, are the only biathletes to win World Cup races in three decades.''
;1950s (2 races)
;1960s (10 races)
;1970s (32 races)
;1980s (120 races, 1 tied result)
;1990s (162 races, 1 tied result)
;2000s (255 races)
;2010s (256 races, 1 tied result)
;2020s (74 races)
;Notes
*
1 Shared the win with
Alexandr Popov at
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
Canmore sprint.
*
2 Shared the win with
Juri Kashkarov at
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
Canmore sprint.
*
3 Shared the win with
Halvard Hanevold
Halvard Hanevold (3 December 1969 – 3 September 2019) was a Norwegian biathlete.
Career
Hanevold won medals in biathlon events at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics by winning his first Olympic gold followed by another gold ...
at
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
Oslo Holmenkollen sprint.
*
4 Shared the win with
Sven Fischer
Sven Fischer (born 16 April 1971) is a former German biathlete. He trained with the WSV Oberhof 05 club, and was coached by Frank Ullrich and Fritz Fischer (national coaches) and Klaus Siebert (club coach). After the 2006/07 biathlon season, he ...
at
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...
Oslo Holmenkollen sprint.
*
5 Shared the win with
Lukas Hofer
Lukas Hofer (born 30 September 1989) is an Italian biathlete.[IBU Profile](_blank)
...
at
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Antholz-Anterselva sprint.
*
6 Shared the win with
Simon Schempp
Simon Schempp (born 14 November 1988) is a German former biathlete.
Career
In 2009, he made his World Cup debut. He became world champion by winning gold in the 15 km mass start race at the Biathlon World Championships 2017 in Hochfilzen. He ...
at
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Antholz-Anterselva sprint.
Women
Note:
Andrea Henkel
Andrea Burke, née Henkel (born 10 December 1977) is a retired Germany, German professional biathlon, biathlete and the younger sister of Manuela Henkel, a successful Cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skier. She trained at SV Großbreit ...
is the only biathlete to win World Cup races in three decades.
;1980s (50 races)
;1990s (164 races)
;2000s (255 races, 1 tied result)
;2010s (256 races)
;2020s (74 races)
;Notes
*
1 Shared the win with
Martina Beck
Martina "Molly" Beck (born Martina Glagow; 21 September 1979 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany) is a retired German biathlete. She now lives in Mittenwald in Bavaria. She was most successful in the 2002– ...
at
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
Khanty-Mansiysk pursuit.
*
2 Shared the win with
Sandrine Bailly
Sandrine Bailly (born 25 November 1979 in Belley, Ain) is a former French biathlete. She was most successful in the 2004–05 season, when she won the overall World Cup, and in the 2007–08 season, when she finished second. In 2003, s ...
at
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
Khanty-Mansiysk pursuit.
Most wins in a season
Most podiums in a season
Most consecutive wins
Men
Women
Most consecutive podiums
Men
Women
Most starts
List of top 10 most started all male and female biathletes in individual World Cup or Olympic races. Biathletes whose names are in bold are still active.
* ''Updated: 15 December, 2022''
See also
*
Biathlon World Championships
The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The number of events has grown significantly over the years. Beginning in 1984, women biathletes had their own World Championships, and fina ...
*
List of Olympic medalists in biathlon
This is the complete list of Olympic medalists in biathlon.
Medalists in military patrol, a precursor to biathlon, are listed separately.
Men
The numbers in brackets denotes biathletes who won gold medal in corresponding disciplines more than o ...
References
External links
IBU WebsiteIBU Datacenter
{{Main world cups
World Cup
A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...
World cups in winter sports
Recurring sporting events established in 1978