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.
Austria is a predominantly mountainous country in Central Europe, approximately between Germany, Italy and Hungary. It has a total area of 83,871 square kilometres (32,383 sq mi).
Carinthia is the southernmost and least densely populated Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carinthian Slovene dialects, forms of a South Slavic language that predominated in the southeastern part of the region up to the first half of the 20th century, are now spoken by a small minority in the area.
Bezirk Spittal an der Drau is an administrative district (Bezirk) in the state of Carinthia, Austria.
The Puster Valley is one of the largest longitudinal valleys in the Alps that runs in an east-west direction between Lienz in East Tyrol, Austria, and Mühlbach near Brixen in South Tyrol, Italy. The South Tyrolean municipalities of the Puster Valley constitute the Puster Valley district.
Bezirk Villach-Land is a district of the state of Carinthia in Austria.
The Maltatal is a valley in the High Tauern mountain range of the Central Eastern Alps. It follows the course of the Malta river down towards its confluence with the Lieser, itself a left tributary of the Drava. Most of the area belongs to the municipality of Malta in Carinthia, Austria.
Ilz is a municipality in the district of Hartberg-Fürstenfeld in Styria, Austria. It is located at 47° 05' N, 15° 56' O and approx. 300 m above sea level, at the Left Bank of the river Ilz, in the 1 km wide and fruitful Ilz valley, 43 km to the east of Graz, 19 km to the east of Gleisdorf, and 13 km to the west of Fürstenfeld. It was named first in a writ issued on 14 October 1265 in Graz by Herbord of Fullnstein, who was sewer of bishop Bruno of Olmütz. In this writ a witness is mentioned: Dominus Wernherus de Ylnz, probably the vicar of that town.
Gisle Oddvar Fenne is a former Norwegian biathlete. His best-known international achievement was the silver medal in the 20 km individual in the World Championships 1989 in Feistritz an der Drau. He succeeded in many duels with teammate Eirik Kvalfoss. He was among the top Norwegian biathletes from the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s, and became twice the Norwegian champion in the 20 km individual. He is the father of biathlete Hilde Fenne.
Windische Höhe Pass is a high mountain pass in the Austrian Alps, located in the state of Carinthia (Kärnten). The pass connects St. Stefan in the Gail River valley with Feistritz an der Drau in the Drau River valley.
Feistritz im Rosental, often referred to as simply Feistritz, is a market town in the district of Klagenfurt-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia.
Paternion is a market town in the district of Villach-Land in the Austrian state of Carinthia. It is located within the Drava valley about 18 kilometres (11 mi) in the north-west of the city of Villach.
Feffernitz is a sub-municipality of Paternion in the Villach-Land District of the Carinthia in Austria, the site of a post World War II British sector displaced person camp.
Raik J. Dittrich is a retired East German biathlete who won two World Championships medals. He represented the sports club SG Dynamo Zinnwald / Sportvereinigung (SV) Dynamo. and Ski Club Ruhpolding.
Geir Einang is a former Norwegian biathlete. He participated in the Norwegian team that received bronze medals in the 4 × 7.5 km relay in the Biathlon World Championships in Feistritz an der Drau in 1989, and in Lahti in 1991.
The 24th Biathlon World Championships were held in 1989 in Feistritz, Austria. These world championships were the first to hold the men's and women's championships simultaneously.
Rothenthurn is a castle in the municipality of Spittal an der Drau in Carinthia, Austria.
Burgruine Straßfried is a castle in Carinthia, Austria. It is located next to the Austrian–Italian border by Arnoldstein in Carinthia.
The Gail Valley dialect is the westernmost Slovene dialect in the Carinthian dialect group, spoken in parts of southern Carinthia in Austria, in the northeasternmost part of the Province of Udine in Italy, and in northeastern Upper Carniola in Slovenia.
