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 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.
The history of Norway has been influenced to an extraordinary degree by the terrain and the climate of the region. About 10,000 BC, following the retreat inland of the great ice sheets, the earliest inhabitants migrated north into the territory which is now Norway. They traveled steadily northwards along the coastal areas, warmed by the Gulf Stream. They were hunter-gatherers whose diet included seafood and game, particularly reindeer as staple foods. Between 5,000 BC and 4,000 BC the earliest agricultural settlements appeared around the Oslofjord. Gradually, between 1,500 BC and 500 BC, agricultural settlements spread to the entire south Norway, while the inhabitants of the regions north of Trøndelag continued to hunt and fish.
Magdalena "Magda" Forsberg is a Swedish former cross-country skier and biathlete. She was the dominating female biathlete from 1997 to 2002, when she retired, winning the Biathlon World Cup for six years straight. She is also a six-times world champion, a two-times Olympic bronze medalist, and holds the record for the most World Cup victories in women's biathlon.
Veikko Johannes Hakulinen was a Finnish cross-country skier, triple champion in both the Olympics and World Championships. He also competed in biathlon, orienteering, ski-orienteering, cross-country running, and rowing at a national level.
Anna Carin Helena Cecilia Zidek is a Swedish former biathlete who won a silver medal in the 7.5 km sprint and a gold medal in the 12.5 km mass start event at the 2006 Winter Olympics. Originally a cross-country skier, Olofsson competed at the 2002 Winter Olympics, but in the three events she took part in she made the top 30 only once, and the following season she switched to biathlon.
Sergei Vladimirovich Tchepikov is a Russian politician and a former Soviet-Russian biathlete and cross-country skier who competed at six Winter Olympics, five in biathlon and one in cross-country skiing (1998). His last Olympic performance was a silver medal in the 4 × 7.5 km relay at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
Anfisa Anatolyevna Reztsova was Soviet and Russian biathlete and cross-country skier who competed in both sports from 1985 to 2000.
Mikael Löfgren is a former Swedish biathlete. He became the Junior World Champion in 1986, aged 17. At the 1992 Olympics in Albertville, France, he won two bronze medals, one in the 4 × 7.5 km relay and one in the 20 km individual. His teammates with the Swedish relay team were Ulf Johansson, Tord Wiksten, and Leif Andersson. The next season, he won the overall Biathlon World Cup.
Henrik Forsberg is a Swedish former cross-country skier and biathlete who competed from 1988 to 2001. Competing in four Winter Olympics, he earned his best finishes at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville in cross-country skiing with a fourth in the 4 × 10 km relay and ninth in the 10 km + 15 km combined pursuit.
Eva Korpela is a former Swedish biathlete, world champion and world cup winner.
Björn Ferry is a former Swedish biathlete and medal winning Olympian. He began competing internationally in World Cup competitions in 2001, but did not win his first international race until the 2007–2008 season. In 2007, he won gold in the mixed relay event at the Biathlon World Championships. The next year, at his third Winter Olympics appearance, he won the gold medal in the pursuit event. He started the event in 8th place as determined by the previous sprint event, but managed to overtake the race leader on the final lap.
Thorsten is a Scandinavian given name. The Old Norse name was Þórsteinn. It is a compound of the theonym Þór (Thor) and steinn "stone", which became Thor and sten in Old Danish and Old Swedish.
Tarjei Bø is a Norwegian professional biathlete. Awarded Olympic gold medals, World Championship gold medals and World Cup victories from 2010 to 2022. Bø debuted in the Biathlon World Cup on 26 March 2009 in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. In the 2010 Winter Olympics, he earned his first gold medal in the 4 × 7.5 km biathlon relay. On 10 December 2010 he won the World Cup sprint race in Hochfilzen, his first world cup victory. He also won the following pursuit race and anchored the winning relay team. Bø is the older brother of biathlete Johannes Thingnes Bø.
Olena Bilosiuk (Ukrainian: Олена Білосюк, romanized: Olena Bilosiuk, née Olena Pidhrushna is a Ukrainian biathlete. She is Olympic and World champion and multiple medalist in different high-level competitions. Pidhrushna is considered one of Ukraine's most successful winter sports athletes. She lives in Ternopil.
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.
Nathan Smith is a Canadian biathlete.
The 2014–15 Biathlon World Cup – World Cup 6 was held in Rasen-Antholz, Italy, from 22 January until 25 January 2015.
Hans Wilhelm Peppe Femling is a former Swedish biathlete. He has competed in the Biathlon World Cup, and represented Sweden at the Biathlon World Championships 2016. He won an Olympic gold medal as part of the Swedish men's relay team in PyeongChang 2018.
Jesper Nelin is a Swedish biathlete. He competed in the World Cup, and represented Sweden during the 2016 World Championships in Oslo, Norway.
