The first Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual and team contests for men. The original team event, Team (time), was held for the last time in 1965, to be replaced in 1966 by the team event, Relay, which we know today. 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.
Sven Fischer is a former German biathlete. He trained with the WSV Oberhof 05 club, and was coached by Frank Ullrich and Fritz Fischer and Klaus Siebert. After the 2006/07 biathlon season, he retired.
Magdalena "Lena" Holzer 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, Holzer 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, Holzer retired from the sport in March 2012, citing a lack of motivation and her desire for a normal life.
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.
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.
Andreas Birnbacher is a former German biathlete. His biggest successes were the silver medal in the mass start event at the 2007 World Championships and the gold medal in the mixed relay at the 2008 World Championships. He also won the bronze medal at the 2012 world championships in Ruhpolding when he was part of the German teams that finished third in the mixed relay and the men's relay.
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.
The 2009–10 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started 2 December 2009 in Östersund, Sweden and ended 28 March 2010 with the Mixed Relay World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. Races of the season were broadcast in Europe on Eurosport channel.
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. 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 Winter 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 to 2018.
Serhiy Oleksandrovych Semenov is a Ukrainian biathlete. He is first Ukrainian male biathlete to win a World Cup title in a single discipline, having become World Cup champion in the individual in the 2014–15 season. He is two-time World Championships medalist.
The 2011–12 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 30 November 2011 in Östersund, Sweden and ended on 18 March 2012 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.
Evgeniy Aleksandrovich Garanichev is a former Russian biathlete, who has been competing on the World Cup circuit since the 2010–11 season. He has had five Top 10 finishes in World Cup races in individual races. He got his first win in individual races on 3 February 2012.
The 2013–14 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 24 November 2013 in Östersund, Sweden, and ended on 23 March 2014 in Holmenkollen, Norway.
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.
The 2020–21 Biathlon World Cup (BWC) was a multi-race series over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 28 November 2020 in Kontiolahti, Finland and ended on 21 March 2021 in Östersund, Sweden.
The 2021–22 Biathlon World Cup (BWC) was a multi-race series over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 27 November 2021 in Östersund, Sweden and ended on 20 March 2022 in Oslo Holmenkollen, Norway.
The 2022–23 Biathlon World Cup(official: BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon) was a multi-race series over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union (IBU). It was the 46th edition for men and 41st edition for women of the highest international race series in biathlon.
