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 Klagenfurt-Land is a district of the state of Carinthia in Austria.
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.
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.
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 1985–86 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the UIPMB. The season started on 16 January 1986 in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy, and ended on 16 March 1986 in Boden, Sweden. It was the ninth season of the Biathlon World Cup.
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.
The Cross country and biathlon center Fabio Canàl, until December 2018 named Lago di Tésero Cross Country Stadium is a sport venue located in the village of Lago, in the municipality of Tésero, in Trentino, northern Italy. It will host cross-country skiing and nordic combined for the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
