# 2003–04 Biathlon World Cup

The 2003–04 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The Biathlon World Championships 2004 were part of the Biathlon World Cup.
The men's overall World Cup was won by Raphaël Poirée, while Liv Grete Skjelbreid Poirée of Norway claimed the women's overall World Cup.

## Calendar

Below is the World Cup calendar for the 2003–04 season.
| Location | Date | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | Relay | Mixed relay |
| Kontiolahti | 4–7 December | | ● | ● | | ● | |
| Hochfilzen | 11–14 December | | ● | ● | | ● | |
| Osrblie | 18–21 December | ● | ● | ● | | | |
| Pokljuka | 7–11 January | | ● | ● | ● | | |
| Ruhpolding | 14–18 January | | ● | ● | | ● | |
| Antholz | 21–25 January | ● | ● | | ● | | |
| Oberhof | 7–15 February | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |
| Lake Placid | 27–29 February | | ● | ● | | | |
| Fort Kent | 3–6 March | | ● | ● | ● | | |
| Holmenkollen | 16–19 March | | ● | ● | | | |
| Total | Total | 3 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 0 |

## World Cup Podium
### Men

| Stage | Date | Place | Discipline | Winner | Second | Third | Yellow bib (After competition) | Det. |
| 1 | 4 December 2003 | Kontiolahti | 10 km Sprint | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Halvard Hanevold | Frode Andresen | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 1 | 7 December 2003 | Kontiolahti | 12.5 km Pursuit | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Raphaël Poirée | Sergei Rozhkov | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 2 | 11 December 2003 | Hochfilzen | 10 km Sprint | Lars Berger | Vladimir Drachev | Halvard Hanevold | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 2 | 14 December 2003 | Hochfilzen | 12.5 km Pursuit | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Vladimir Drachev | Stian Eckhoff | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 3 | 18 December 2003 | Brezno-Osrblie | 20 km Individual | Raphaël Poirée | Ricco Groß | Peter Sendel | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 3 | 19 December 2003 | Brezno-Osrblie | 10 km Sprint | Sergei Rozhkov | Ludwig Gredler | Sergei Tchepikov | Sergei Rozhkov | Detail |
| 3 | 21 December 2003 | Brezno-Osrblie | 12.5 km Pursuit | Raphaël Poirée | Peter Sendel | Pavol Hurajt | Sergei Rozhkov | Detail |
| 4 | 8 January 2004 | Pokljuka | 10 km Sprint | Raphaël Poirée | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Vladimir Drachev | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 4 | 10 January 2004 | Pokljuka | 12.5 km Pursuit | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Nikolay Kruglov | Sergei Tchepikov | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 4 | 11 January 2004 | Pokljuka | 15 km Mass Start | Halvard Hanevold | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Michael Greis | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 5 | 17 January 2004 | Ruhpolding | 10 km Sprint | Halvard Hanevold | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Lars Berger | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 5 | 18 January 2004 | Ruhpolding | 12.5 km Pursuit | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Lars Berger | Halvard Hanevold | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 6 | 22 January 2004 | Antholz-Anterselva | 20 km Individual | Sven Fischer | Raphaël Poirée | Ricco Groß | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 6 | 24 January 2004 | Antholz-Anterselva | 10 km Sprint | Sergei Tchepikov | Janez Marič | Ricco Groß | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 6 | 25 January 2004 | Antholz-Anterselva | 15 km Mass Start | Raphaël Poirée | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Ricco Groß | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| WC | 7 February 2004 | Oberhof | 10 km Sprint | Raphaël Poirée | Ricco Groß | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| WC | 8 February 2004 | Oberhof | 12.5 km Pursuit | Ricco Groß | Raphaël Poirée | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| WC | 12 February 2004 | Oberhof | 20 km Individual | Raphaël Poirée | Tomasz Sikora | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| WC | 15 February 2004 | Oberhof | 15 km Mass Start | Raphaël Poirée | Lars Berger | Sergei Konovalov | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 7 | 27 February 2004 | Lake Placid | 10 km Sprint | Lars Berger | Raphaël Poirée | Janez Marič | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 7 | 29 February 2004 | Lake Placid | 12.5 km Pursuit | Raphaël Poirée | Nikolay Kruglov | Ricco Groß | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 8 | 4 March 2004 | Fort Kent | 10 km Sprint | Raphaël Poirée | Michael Greis | Pavol Hurajt | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 8 | 5 March 2004 | Fort Kent | 12.5 km Pursuit | Raphaël Poirée | Carl Johan Bergman | Nikolay Kruglov | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 8 | 6 March 2004 | Fort Kent | 15 km Mass Start | Sven Fischer | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Sergei Rozhkov | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 9 | 11 March 2004 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 10 km Sprint | Lars Berger | Frode Andresen | Tomasz Sikora | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |
| 9 | 13 March 2004 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 12.5 km Pursuit | Raphaël Poirée | Tomasz Sikora | Vladimir Drachev | Raphaël Poirée | Detail |

### Women

| Stage | Date | Place | Discipline | Winner | Second | Third | Yellow bib (After competition) | Det. |
| 1 | 4 December 2003 | Kontiolahti | 7.5 km Sprint | Sandrine Bailly | Liv Grete Poirée | Uschi Disl | Sandrine Bailly | Detail |
| 1 | 7 December 2003 | Kontiolahti | 10 km Pursuit | Liv Grete Poirée | Kati Wilhelm | Uschi Disl | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 2 | 11 December 2003 | Hochfilzen | 7.5 km Sprint | Olena Zubrilova | Gro Marit Istad-Kristiansen | Liv Grete Poirée | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 2 | 14 December 2003 | Hochfilzen | 10 km Pursuit | Sandrine Bailly | Martina Glagow | Olga Zaitseva | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 3 | 18 December 2003 | Brezno-Osrblie | 15 km Individual | Martina Glagow | Liv Grete Poirée | Olga Pyleva | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 3 | 20 December 2003 | Brezno-Osrblie | 7.5 km Sprint | Sandrine Bailly | Katja Beer | Martina Glagow | Sandrine Bailly | Detail |
| 3 | 21 December 2003 | Brezno-Osrblie | 10 km Pursuit | Sandrine Bailly | Olga Pyleva | Katrin Apel | Sandrine Bailly | Detail |
| 4 | 7 January 2004 | Pokljuka | 7.5 km Sprint | Liv Grete Poirée | Uschi Disl | Sandrine Bailly | Sandrine Bailly | Detail |
| 4 | 9 January 2004 | Pokljuka | 10 km Pursuit | Uschi Disl | Sandrine Bailly | Olga Pyleva | Sandrine Bailly | Detail |
| 4 | 11 January 2004 | Pokljuka | 12.5 km Mass Start | Anna Bogaliy | Liv Grete Poirée | Uschi Disl | Sandrine Bailly | Detail |
| 5 | 16 January 2004 | Ruhpolding | 7.5 km Sprint | Liv Grete Poirée | Svetlana Ishmouratova | Martina Glagow | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 5 | 18 January 2004 | Ruhpolding | 10 km Pursuit | Liv Grete Poirée | Svetlana Ishmouratova | Olga Pyleva | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 6 | 21 January 2004 | Antholz-Anterselva | 15 km Individual | Anna Bogaliy | Svetlana Ishmouratova | Anna Murínová | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 6 | 23 January 2004 | Antholz-Anterselva | 7.5 km Sprint | Natalia Guseva | Kateřina Holubcová | Svetlana Ishmouratova | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 6 | 25 January 2004 | Antholz-Anterselva | 12.5 km Mass Start | Linda Tjørhom | Natalia Guseva | Anna Bogaliy | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| WC | 7 February 2004 | Oberhof | 7.5 km Sprint | Liv Grete Poirée | Anna Bogaliy | Martina Glagow | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| WC | 8 February 2004 | Oberhof | 10 km Pursuit | Liv Grete Poirée | Martina Glagow | Anna Bogaliy | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| WC | 10 February 2004 | Oberhof | 15 km Individual | Olga Pyleva | Albina Akhatova | Olena Petrova | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| WC | 14 February 2004 | Oberhof | 12.5 km Mass Start | Liv Grete Poirée | Katrin Apel | Sandrine Bailly | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 7 | 27 February 2004 | Lake Placid | 7.5 km Sprint | Olga Pyleva | Kati Wilhelm | Anna Bogaliy | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 7 | 28 February 2004 | Lake Placid | 10 km Pursuit | Olga Pyleva | Anna Bogaliy | Sandrine Bailly | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 8 | 3 March 2004 | Fort Kent | 7.5 km Sprint | Uschi Disl | Liv Grete Poirée | Olga Zaitseva | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 8 | 5 March 2004 | Fort Kent | 10 km Pursuit | Uschi Disl | Liv Grete Poirée | Kati Wilhelm | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 8 | 6 March 2004 | Fort Kent | 12.5 km Mass Start | Olga Pyleva | Anna Bogaliy | Liv Grete Poirée | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 9 | 11 March 2004 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 7.5 km Sprint | Olga Pyleva | Kati Wilhelm | Svetlana Ishmouratova | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |
| 9 | 13 March 2004 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 10 km Pursuit | Olga Pyleva | Ekaterina Dafovska | Liv Grete Poirée | Liv Grete Poirée | Detail |

### Men's team

| Event | Date | Place | Discipline | Winner | Second | Third |
| 1 | 6 December 2003 | Kontiolahti | 4x7.5 km Relay | Germany Peter Sendel Sven Fischer Ricco Gross Frank Luck | France Ferréol Cannard Vincent Defrasne Julien Robert Raphael Poiree | Sweden Carl Johan Bergman Jakob Börjesson Mattias Nilsson Björn Ferry |
| 2 | 13 December 2003 | Hochfilzen | 4x7.5 km Relay | Norway Stian Eckhoff Lars Berger Halvard Hanevold Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Belarus Alexandr Syman Vladimir Drachev Rustam Valiullin Oleg Ryzhenkov | France Ferréol Cannard Vincent Defrasne Julien Robert Raphael Poiree |
| 5 | 15 January 2004 | Ruhpolding | 4x7.5 km Relay | Belarus Alexandr Syman Vladimir Drachev Rustam Valiullin Oleg Ryzhenkov | Norway Egil Gjelland Lars Berger Frode Andresen Halvard Hanevold | Russia Filipp Shulman Sergei Konovalov Sergei Rozhkov Sergei Tchepikov |
| WC | 13 February 2004 | Oberhof | 4x7.5 km Relay | Germany Frank Luck Ricco Gross Sven Fischer Michael Greis | Norway Halvard Hanevold Lars Berger Egil Gjelland Ole Einar Bjørndalen | France Ferréol Cannard Vincent Defrasne Julien Robert Raphael Poiree |

### Women's team

| Event | Date | Place | Discipline | Winner | Second | Third |
| 1 | 5 December 2003 | Kontiolahti | 4x6 km Relay | Norway Liv-Kjersti Eikeland Linda Tjorhom Gunn Margit Andreassen Liv Grete Poiree | Russia Albina Akhatova Olga Zaitseva Svetlana Ishmouratova Olga Pyleva | France Corinne Niogret Christelle Gros Julie Carraz Sandrine Bailly |
| 2 | 12 December 2003 | Hochfilzen | 4x6 km Relay | Belarus Ekaterina Ivanova Ksenia Zikounkova Olga Nazarova Olena Zubrilova | Germany Martina Glagow Katrin Apel Katja Beer Kati Wilhelm | France Corinne Niogret Christelle Gros Julie Carraz Sandrine Bailly |
| 5 | 14 January 2004 | Ruhpolding | 4x6 km Relay | Germany Simone Denkinger Uschi Disl Katrin Apel Kati Wilhelm | Russia Olga Pyleva Svetlana Ishmouratova Anna Bogaliy Albina Akhatova | Norway Linda Tjorhom Ann-Elen Skjelbreid Liv Grete Poiree Gunn Margit Andreassen |
| WC | 12 February 2004 | Oberhof | 4x6 km Relay | Norway Linda Tjorhom Gro Marit Istad-Kristiansen Gunn Margit Andreassen Liv Grete Poiree | Russia Olga Pyleva Svetlana Ishmouratova Anna Bogaliy-Titovets Albina Akhatova | Germany Martina Glagow Katrin Apel Simone Denkinger Kati Wilhelm |

## Standings: Men
### Overall

| Pos. | | Points |
| 1. | Raphaël Poirée | 1010 |
| 2. | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | 901 |
| 3. | Ricco Groß | 769 |
| 4. | Halvard Hanevold | 688 |
| 5. | Lars Berger | 589 |
* Final standings after 26 races.

## Standings: Women
### Overall

| Pos. | | Points |
| 1. | Liv Grete Poirée | 955 |
| 2. | Olga Pyleva | 860 |
| 3. | Sandrine Bailly | 788 |
| 4. | Uschi Disl | 733 |
| 5. | Anna Bogaliy | 687 |
* Final standings after 26 races.

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Norway | 21 | 16 | 13 | 50 |
| 2 | France | 15 | 6 | 7 | 28 |
| 3 | Russia | 11 | 14 | 17 | 42 |
| 4 | Germany | 10 | 14 | 13 | 37 |
| 5 | Belarus | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 6 | Poland | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 7 | Slovenia | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Sweden | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 9 | Austria | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Bulgaria | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Czech Republic | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 13 | Ukraine | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (13 entries) | Totals (13 entries) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 180 |

## Retirements

The following notable biathletes retired after the 2003–04 season:
* Frank Luck (GER)
* Peter Sendel (GER)
* Patrick Favre (ITA)
* Marko Dolenc (SLO)
* Ann Elen Skjelbreid (NOR)
* Iryna Merkushina (UKR)