History and general information
The Australian Biathlon Association began in the 1970s as the North East Victoria Biathlon Association, it has remained the national governing body for the sport of biathlon in Australia, evolving to become the Victorian Biathlon Association, then the Australian/Victorian Biathlon Association in the early 1980s, and is now the Australian Biathlon Association, reflecting its membership base and unitary model of governance. More recently, Biathlon Australia has begun a unification with Biathlon East Australia allowing for a smoother run sport.
In 2016–2017, the ABA undertook the largest redevelopment of the Whiskey Flat range at Mount Hotham, to allow 15 lanes of participants at one time. The 15 lanes were ready for the 2017 Australian Winter season of biathlon, and at the Australian Biathlon Championships in August 2017, the range was officially named the Hotham Biathlon Arena, by Ms Danielle Green former MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Regional Victoria and Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism and Major Events. Biathlon upgrade to facilities was also undertaken in 2017 at SSAA Range in Wodonga and further upgrades to facilities have more recently taken place in NSW at the Perisher Laser Biathlon Range, the Anzac Rifle Range and Jindabyne Sport and Recreation Centre. These projects are part of the Victorian Government Shooting Sports Facilities Program and the NSW Government's Community Facilities upgrade projects. The upgrade to the Perisher Laser Range was funded by SportAUS.
Biathlon Australia together with a range of biathlon organisations in NSW, Victoria, ACT and QLD, are responsible for the development of biathlon at all levels in Australia, from grass roots to elite to Masters/Veterans. These activities range from laser biathlon for Under 12's to sending athletes to International Biathlon Union events during the IBU winter season, plus developing coaches through attendance at the IBU Coach Seminars each year, along with sending developing athletes and coaches to specialist IBU Development Camps each year.
Winter Youth Olympic Games (WYOG)
Biathlon Australia has sent athletes to Winter Youth Olympic Games in every iteration since its beginning in 2012. The first Australian Youth Olympic Biathlete was Lachlan Porter in 2012, this was followed in the 2016 Games with Darcie Morton and Jethro Mahon. In 2020, Australia had record biathlon numbers, with three in both the boys' and girls', sending Isabella Moon, Lulu Minskin, Chelsey Johnson, David Patterson, Jonte Treasure, and Christian Mahon. The 2024 event saw another six Australian youth athletes compete, those being Phoenix Sparke, Ava Mcann, Alessandra Sydun-West, Edward Woodhouse-Bedak, Bridget Harvey, and Matthew Wilby.
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 timed per se, but depending on the competition, missed shots result in extra distance or time being added to the contestant's total.
The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon 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.
The International Biathlon Union is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the city. It was rocked by a corruption scandal that broke in 2018, concerning the Russians bribing its top two officials. In 2022, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, as invading nations, were suspended from all international biathlon competitions until further notice.
Timothy John Burke is a retired U.S. biathlete and coach. On December 20, 2009, he became the first ever US biathlete to lead the overall Biathlon World Cup. During his career he competed in 11 Biathlon World Championships and four Winter Olympic Games, won a World Championship silver and took six podiums in World Cup races.
Tora Berger is a retired Norwegian biathlete and Olympic champion.
Darya Uladzimirauna Domracheva is a retired Belarusian biathlete and coach who competed in the Biathlon World Cup from 2006 to 2018. She won a gold medal in the 4×6 km relay and a silver medal in the mass start competition at the 2018 Winter Olympics, three gold medals in the pursuit, individual, and mass start competitions at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and a bronze medal in the individual competition at the 2010 Winter Olympics. She was a Biathlon World Cup overall winner for the 2014–15 season.
Alfred Eder is an Austrian former biathlete.
Skiing in Australia takes place in the Australian Alps in the states of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as well as in the mountains of the island state Tasmania, during the Southern Hemisphere winter.
Kerryn Michelle Pethybridge-Rim is an Australian biathlete who competed at three Winter Olympics from 1992 to 1998. On her debut, she came 39ths and 32nd out of 68 and 66 competitors respectively in the 7.5 km and 10 km events. In 1994, she came 21st and 8th out of 69 and 68 racers in the 7.5 km and 15 km events respectively. In 1998 she became a triple Olympian and finished 47th and 43rd in the same two events. There were 64 competitors in each race. Rim's result remains the only top 20 finish by an Australian in the discipline of biathlon.
Amanda Lightfoot is a former British biathlete who competed in many international races.
Nicole Gontier is an Italian biathlete. Born in Aosta but originally from Champorcher, Gontier competes in the Biathlon World Cup. Gontier has won a bronze medal at the Biathlon World Championships 2013. She competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
Darya Klimina is a Kazakhstani biathlete. She competed at the Biathlon World Championships 2012 and the Biathlon World Championships 2013. She competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Tomáš Hasilla is a Slovak biathlete. He competed at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, in sprint and individual.
The Biathlon World Championships 2021 took place in Pokljuka, Slovenia, from 9 to 21 February 2021.
Nadiya Billova is a Ukrainian former biathlete and biathlon coach. She competed in the women's individual event at the 1994 Winter Olympics. She also previously competed at the 1986 Biathlon World Championships for the Soviet Union, where she was part of the gold medal-winning Soviet women's relay team, and also took the silver in the sprint competition. After retiring from competition she embarked on a career as a coach, becoming one of the few female biathlon coaches working at the elite level: she has had spells coaching the Ukrainian women's and men's teams, as well as the Polish women's team. During her time with the Ukrainian women's team she coached the squad alongside her husband, Roman Bondaruk. She was named the Polish Olympic Committee's Coach of the Year in 2006 and coached the Ukrainian women's team to success at the 2014 Winter Olympics, where they took the gold medal in the relay and Vita Semerenko also took the bronze in the sprint. In May 2019 the Polish Biathlon Association announced that Billova had been forced to leave her role as the Polish women's team coach after a year due to health reasons.
Remus Faur is a Romanian biathlete. He competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Vassiliy Podkorytov is a Kazakhstani biathlete. He competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Maxim Braun is a Kazakhstani biathlete. He competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
A Biathlon rifle is a specialized rifle designed for use in a biathlon event. Specialist biathlon rifles are ultra lightweight, and usually equipped with straight-pull actions, integrated magazine carriers, and ergonomic stock designs suitable for both prone and standing positions.
Lenart Oblak is a Slovenian biathlete. He competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
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