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.
Ole Einar Bjørndalen is a retired Norwegian professional biathlete and coach, often referred to by the nickname, the "King of Biathlon". With 13 Winter Olympic Games medals, he is second on the list of multiple medalists behind Marit Bjørgen who has won 15 medals. He is also the most successful biathlete of all time at the Biathlon World Championships, having won 45 medals. With 95 World Cup wins, Bjørndalen is ranked first all-time for career victories on the Biathlon World Cup tour. He has won the Overall World Cup title six times, in 1997–98, in 2002–03, in 2004–05, in 2005–06, in 2007–08 and in 2008–09.
Myriam Bédard, is a Canadian retired biathlete. She represented Canada at two Winter Olympics winning gold medals, and a bronze medal. As of 2022, Bédard is the only Canadian biathlete, male or female, ever to win an Olympic medal, and the only North American biathlete ever to win Olympic gold.
Magdalena "Magda" Forsberg is a Swedish former cross-country skier and biathlete. She was the dominant female biathlete from 1997 to 2002, when she retired, winning the Biathlon World Cup for six years straight. She is also a six-time world champion, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, and holds the record for the most World Cup victories in women's biathlon.
Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle is a retired German cross-country skier and biathlete from Reit im Winkl who has competed since 1998. She was born in Traunstein, West Germany. Competing in three Winter Olympics, she won five medals with two golds and three silvers.
Zina Kocher is a Canadian cross-country skier and former biathlete. She competed for Team Canada in biathlon at the 2006, 2010, 2014 Winter Olympics and in 12 editions of the Biathlon World Championships.
Tora Berger is a retired Norwegian biathlete and Olympic champion.
Kaisa Leena Mäkäräinen is a Finnish former world-champion and 3-time world-cup-winning biathlete, who currently competes for Kontiolahden Urheilijat. Outside sports, Mäkäräinen is currently studying to be a Physics teacher at the University of Eastern Finland in Joensuu. Her team coach is Jonne Kähkönen, while Jarmo Punkkinen is her ski coach.
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.
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.
Andrijana Stipaničić Mrvelj is a Croatian biathlete. She is the first female Croatian biathlete to win points in World Cup by winning 39th place in 15 km Individual at Biathlon World Championships 2009. She competed for Croatia at the 2010 Winter Olympics.
Alfred Eder is an Austrian former biathlete.
Sara Studebaker-Hall is a retired biathlete from the United States who competed on the World Cup circuit from 2009 to 2014. Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, she has had multiple top 20 results and her best World Cup finishes are 14th in the sprint event at Presque Isle, Maine in February 2011 and 15th in the sprint at Kontiolahti, Finland in February 2012. She placed 17th in the individual race at the 2011 World Championships in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia. She was ranked 34th in the World Cup in the 2010–11 season and 55th for 2011–12.
Marie Dorin Habert is a retired French biathlete.
Valentyna Oleksandrivna Semerenko, known also as Valya Semerenko and featuring in statistics as Valj Semerenko is a Ukrainian biathlete. She is Olympic and World champion, multiple World championships medalist, and one of the most successful Ukrainian winter athletes.
Amanda Lightfoot is a former British biathlete who competed in many international races.
Mari Eder is a Finnish former biathlete and cross-country skier.
Justine Braisaz-Bouchet is a French biathlete, Olympic champion in the 12.5 km mass start at the 2022 Beijing Games and medalist at the Winter Olympics 2018 and World Championships.
Sarah Konrad is an American former biathlete. She competed in two events at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She also competed in the cross-country skiing at the same Olympics. Konrad was the first woman to represent the United States in two different sports at the same Winter Olympic Games. Since retiring, Konrad has served as a representative for the Athletes Advisory Council of the United States Olympic Committee and the United States Biathlon Association for the International Competition Committee.
