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 finally, from 1989, both genders have been participating in joint Biathlon World Championships. In 1978 the development was enhanced by the change from the large army rifle calibre to a small bore rifle, while the range to the target was reduced from 150 to 50 meters.
Ole Einar Bjørndalen is a retired Norwegian professional 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 multiple medalists behind Marit Bjørgen who has won 15 medals. He is also the most successful biathlete of all time at the Biathlon World Championships, having won 45 medals. With 95 World Cup wins, Bjørndalen is ranked first all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour. He has won the Overall World Cup title six times, in 1997–98, in 2002–03, in 2004–05, in 2005–06, in 2007–08 and in 2008–09.
Michael Rösch is a German and Belgian former biathlete.
Magdalena "Lena" Neuner is a retired German professional biathlete. She is the most successful woman of all time at Biathlon World Championships and a two-time Olympic gold medalist. At the age of 21, she became the youngest Overall World Cup winner in the history of the International Biathlon Union (IBU). With 34 World Cup wins, Neuner is ranked second all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour. She has won the Overall World Cup title three times, in 2007–08, in 2009–10 and her final season in 2011–12. At only 25 years old, Neuner retired from the sport in March 2012, citing a lack of motivation and her desire for a normal life.
The 2007–08 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started 28 November 2007 and ended 16 March 2008.
Simone Hye-Soon Hauswald is a former German biathlete and Winter Olympics bronze medalist. In 2008, she won her first single World Cup Race. Hauswald retired after the 2009–10 season.
Sabrina Buchholz is a German biathlete. She is the 2008 world champion in the mixed relay.
Miriam Neureuther is a former German biathlete and cross-country skier. She has won an Olympic silver medal in cross-country skiing and two biathlon world championship titles, all in team events. Noted for her fast skiing performances, she won two junior world championship titles in biathlon in 2008 and 2009. Gössner was called up for the Nordic World Ski Championships 2009, where she was part of Germany's cross-country team claiming silver in the 4 × 5 kilometre relay.
Evgeny Romanovich Ustyugov is a Russian former biathlete. Born to cross-country skiers, Ustyugov was introduced to biathlon at the age of three. He started his career in junior tournaments in 2005, before going professional three years later in the European Championships. He is an Olympic champion in the men's 15 km mass start event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Prior to the 2010 Olympic Games, his best World Championship finish in an individual event was 20th place.
Martin Fourcade is a retired French biathlete and sous-lieutenant. He is a five-time Olympic champion, a thirteen-time World Champion and a seven-time winner of the Overall World Cup. As of February 2018, he is the most successful French Olympian of all time. Fourcade is the all-time biathlon record holder of overall World Cup titles with seven big crystal globes and he's also the all-time record holder of the most consecutive Major Championships titles with at least one non-team gold medal in every major championship from 2011-2018.
Erik Lesser is a German former biathlete. In 2010, he ran his first single World Cup Race. At the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, he won a silver medal at Men's individual. At the Biathlon World Championships 2013 he won a bronze medal with the German team in Men's relay.
Yuliia Valentynivna Dzhyma is a Ukrainian World Cup level biathlete. She is Olympic champion in women's relay, multiple World championships medalist. She is one of the most successful Ukrainian biathletes of the 2010s.
Iryna Petrenko, née Iryna Varvynets is a Ukrainian biathlete. She is World Championships medalist. She participated at 2018 Winter Olympics.
The 1982–83 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the UIPMB. The season started on 27 January 1983 in Ruhpolding, West Germany, and ended on 11 March 1983 in Holmenkollen, Norway. It was the sixth season of the Biathlon World Cup, and the first in which women were allowed to compete in their own European Cup. Though called the European Cup, participation was not restricted to Europeans.
The 2014–15 Biathlon World Cup is a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 30 November 2014 in Östersund, Sweden, and ended on 22 March 2015 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
Justine Braisaz-Bouchet is a French biathlete, Olympic champion in the 12.5 km mass start at the 2022 Beijing Games and medalist at the Winter Olympics 2018 and World Championships.
Vladimir Velichkov is a Bulgarian former biathlete. He was among the best biathletes during the 1980s and he is generally recognised as the greatest male Bulgarian biathlete of all time.
Vetle Sjåstad Christiansen is a Norwegian biathlete.
Svetlana Igorevna Mironova is a Russian biathlete.
The 2022–23 Biathlon World Cup (BWC) was a multi-race series over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 29 November 2022 in Kontiolahti, Finland and ended on 19 March 2023 in Oslo Holmenkollen, Norway.
