# 1996–97 Biathlon World Cup

The 1996–97 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season started on 30 November 1996 in Lillehammer, Norway, and ended on 16 March 1997 in Novosibirsk, Russia. It was the 20th season of the Biathlon World Cup.

## Calendar

Below is the IBU World Cup calendar for the 1996–97 season.
| Location | Date | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | Relay |
| Lillehammer | 30 November–1 December | | ● | ● | | |
| Östersund | 5–8 December | ● | ● | | | ● |
| Holmenkollen | 12–15 December | | ● | ● | | ● |
| Oberhof | 4–5 January | | ● | ● | | |
| Ruhpolding | 9–12 January | ● | ● | | | |
| Antholz | 16–19 January | ● | ● | | | ● |
| Osrblie | 1–17 February | ● | ● | ● | | ● |
| Nagano | 6–9 March | ● | ● | | | ● |
| Novosibirsk | 13–16 March | ● | ● | | ● | |
| Total | Total | 6 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 |

## World Cup Podium
### Men

| Stage | Date | Place | Discipline | Winner | Second | Third | Yellow bib (After competition) | Det. |
| 1 | 30 November 1996 | Lillehammer | 10 km Sprint | Sven Fischer | Sergei Tarasov | Pavel Rostovtsev | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 1 | 1 December 1996 | Lillehammer | 12.5 km Pursuit | Sven Fischer | Pavel Rostovtsev | René Cattarinussi | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 2 | 5 December 1996 | Östersund | 20 km Individual | Wilfried Pallhuber | Vesa Hietalahti | Pavel Mouslimov | Pavel Mouslimov | Detail |
| 2 | 7 December 1996 | Östersund | 10 km Sprint | Vadim Sashurin | Frode Andresen | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Pavel Mouslimov | Detail |
| 3 | 12 December 1996 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 10 km Sprint | Viktor Maigourov | Frode Andresen | Sven Fischer | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 3 | 14 December 1996 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 12.5 km Pursuit | Viktor Maigourov | Sven Fischer | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 4 | 4 January 1997 | Oberhof | 10 km Sprint | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Pavel Mouslimov | Halvard Hanevold | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 4 | 5 January 1997 | Oberhof | 12.5 km Pursuit | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Viktor Maigourov | Ludwig Gredler | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 5 | 9 January 1997 | Ruhpolding | 20 km Individual | Ricco Groß | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Viktor Maigourov | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 5 | 11 January 1997 | Ruhpolding | 10 km Sprint | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Pavel Rostovtsev | Sven Fischer | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 6 | 16 January 1997 | Antholz-Anterselva | 20 km Individual | Ludwig Gredler | Ricco Groß | Sergei Rozhkov | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 6 | 18 January 1997 | Antholz-Anterselva | 10 km Sprint | Viktor Maigourov | Pieralberto Carrara | Raphaël Poirée | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| WC | 1 February 1997 | Brezno-Osrblie | 10 km Sprint | Wilfried Pallhuber | René Cattarinussi | Oleg Ryzhenkov | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| WC | 2 February 1997 | Brezno-Osrblie | 12.5 km Pursuit | Viktor Maigourov | Sergei Tarasov | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| WC | 7 February 1997 | Brezno-Osrblie | 20 km Individual | Ricco Groß | Oleg Ryzhenkov | Ludwig Gredler | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 7 | 6 March 1997 | Nagano | 20 km Individual | Mark Kirchner | Vesa Hietalahti | Oleg Ryzhenkov | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 7 | 8 March 1997 | Nagano | 10 km Sprint | Sven Fischer | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | René Cattarinussi | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Detail |
| 8 | 13 March 1997 | Novosibirsk | 20 km Individual | Pavel Mouslimov | Ricco Groß | Sven Fischer | Sven Fischer | Detail |
| 8 | 15 March 1997 | Novosibirsk | 10 km Sprint | Ludwig Gredler | Ricco Groß | Sergei Tarasov | Sven Fischer | Detail |

### Women

| Stage | Date | Place | Discipline | Winner | Second | Third | Yellow bib (After competition) | Det. |
| 1 | 30 November 1996 | Lillehammer | 7.5 km Sprint | Petra Behle | Simone Greiner-Petter-M. | Olga Melnik | Petra Behle | Detail |
| 1 | 1 December 1996 | Lillehammer | 10 km Pursuit | Simone Greiner-Petter-M. | Galina Koukleva | Magdalena Forsberg | Simone Greiner-Petter-M. | Detail |
| 2 | 5 December 1996 | Östersund | 15 km Individual | Anna Volkova | Yu Shumei | Svetlana Paramygina | Petra Behle | Detail |
| 2 | 7 December 1996 | Östersund | 7.5 km Sprint | Olga Melnik | Svetlana Paramygina | Gunn Margit Andreassen | Petra Behle | Detail |
| 3 | 12 December 1996 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 7.5 km Sprint | Uschi Disl | Simone Greiner-Petter-M. | Galina Koukleva | Petra Behle | Detail |
| 3 | 14 December 1996 | Oslo Holmenkollen | 10 km Pursuit | Uschi Disl | Galina Koukleva | Olga Romasko | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 4 | 4 January 1997 | Oberhof | 7.5 km Sprint | Magdalena Forsberg | Hildegunn Mikkelsplass | Kathi Schwaab | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 4 | 5 January 1997 | Oberhof | 10 km Pursuit | Magdalena Forsberg | Simone Greiner-Petter-M. | Annette Sikveland | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 5 | 9 January 1997 | Ruhpolding | 15 km Individual | Annette Sikveland | Simone Greiner-Petter-M. | Corinne Niogret | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 5 | 11 January 1997 | Ruhpolding | 7.5 km Sprint | Petra Behle | Uschi Disl | Olga Romasko | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 6 | 16 January 1997 | Antholz-Anterselva | 15 km Individual | Tetyana Vodopyanova | Annette Sikveland | Uschi Disl | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 6 | 18 January 1997 | Antholz-Anterselva | 7.5 km Sprint | Uschi Disl | Ann-Elen Skjelbreid | Corinne Niogret | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| WC | 1 February 1997 | Brezno-Osrblie | 7.5 km Sprint | Olga Romasko | Olena Zubrilova | Magdalena Forsberg | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| WC | 2 February 1997 | Brezno-Osrblie | 10 km Pursuit | Magdalena Forsberg | Olena Zubrilova | Olga Romasko | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| WC | 6 February 1997 | Brezno-Osrblie | 15 km Individual | Magdalena Forsberg | Olena Zubrilova | Ekaterina Dafovska | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 7 | 6 March 1997 | Nagano | 15 km Individual | Andreja Grašič | Uschi Disl | Anna Stera | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 7 | 8 March 1997 | Nagano | 7.5 km Sprint | Olga Romasko | Uschi Disl | Ekaterina Dafovska | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 8 | 13 March 1997 | Novosibirsk | 15 km Individual | Svetlana Paramygina | Uschi Disl | Anna Volkova | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |
| 8 | 15 March 1997 | Novosibirsk | 7.5 km Sprint | Petra Behle | Andreja Grašič | Svetlana Paramygina | Magdalena Forsberg | Detail |

### Men's team

| Event | Date | Place | Discipline | Winner | Second | Third |
| 2 | 8 December 1996 | Östersund | 4x7.5 km Relay | Germany Ricco Gross Peter Sendel Frank Luck Sven Fischer | Norway Egil Gjelland Halvard Hanevold Frode Andresen Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Belarus Alexei Aidarov Oleg Ryzhenkov Alexander Popov Vadim Sashurin |
| 3 | 15 December 1996 | Holmenkollen | 4x7.5 km Relay | Germany Ricco Gross Peter Sendel Mark Kirchner Frank Luck | Norway Ole Einar Bjørndalen Egil Gjelland Dag Bjørndalen Frode Andresen | Russia Sergei Rozhkov Pavel Mouslimov Pavel Rostovtsev Alexei Kobelev |
| 5 | 12 January 1997 | Ruhpolding | Team event | Austria Hannes Obererlacher Reinhard Neuner Wolfgang Perner Ludwig Gredler | Norway Halvard Hanevold Egil Gjelland Jon Age Tyldum Dag Bjørndalen | Russia Sergei Tarasov Eduard Ryabov Pavel Mouslimov Sergei Rozhkov |
| 6 | 19 January 1997 | Antholz-Anterselva | 4x7.5 km Relay | Germany Ricco Gross Mark Kirchner Carsten Heymann Frank Luck | Italy Rene Cattarinussi Wilfried Pallhuber Patrick Favre Pieralberto Carrara | Norway Bard Mjolne Sylfest Glimsdal Jon Age Tyldum Ole Einar Bjørndalen |
| WC | 5 February 1997 | Osrblie | Team event | Belarus Oleg Ryzhenkov Petr Ivashko Alexander Popov Vadim Sashurin | Germany Carsten Heymann Mark Kirchner Frank Luck Peter Sendel | Poland Wieslaw Ziemianin Jan Ziemianin Wojciech Kozub Tomasz Sikora |
| WC | 9 February 1997 | Osrblie | 4x7.5 km Relay | Germany Ricco Gross Peter Sendel Sven Fischer Frank Luck | Norway Egil Gjelland Jon Age Tyldum Dag Bjørndalen Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Italy Rene Cattarinussi Wilfried Pallhuber Patrick Favre Pieralberto Carrara |
| 7 | 9 March 1997 | Nagano | 4x7.5 km Relay | Russia Viktor Maigourov Vladimir Drachev Sergei Tarasov Alexei Kobelev | Norway Frode Andresen Jon Age Tyldum Halvard Hanevold Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Slovenia Jože Poklukar Tomaž Žemva Janez Ožbolt Matjaž Poklukar |

### Women's team

| Event | Date | Place | Discipline | Winner | Second | Third |
| 2 | 8 December 1996 | Östersund | 4x7.5 km Relay | Russia Olga Melnik Galina Kukleva Anna Volkova Olga Romasko | Germany Uschi Disl Simone Greiner Katrin Apel Petra Behle | Norway Ann-Elen Skjelbreid Annette Sikveland Hildegunn Mikkelsplass Gunn Margit Andreassen |
| 3 | 15 December 1996 | Holmenkollen | 4x7.5 km Relay | Russia Olga Melnik Galina Kukleva Nadezhda Talanova Olga Romasko | Germany Uschi Disl Simone Greiner Katrin Apel Petra Behle | Norway Ann-Elen Skjelbreid Annette Sikveland Hildegunn Mikkelsplass Gunn Margit Andreassen |
| 6 | 19 January 1997 | Antholz-Anterselva | 4x7.5 km Relay | Russia Olga Melnik Galina Kukleva Nadezhda Talanova Olga Romasko | Norway Ann-Elen Skjelbreid Annette Sikveland Liv Grete Skjelbreid Gunn Margit Andreassen | France Delphyne Burlet Christelle Gros Veronique Claudel Corinne Niogret |
| WC | 9 February 1997 | Osrblie | 4x7.5 km Relay | Germany Uschi Disl Simone Greiner Katrin Apel Petra Behle | Norway Ann-Elen Skjelbreid Annette Sikveland Liv Grete Skjelbreid Gunn Margit Andreassen | Russia Olga Melnik Galina Kukleva Nadezhda Talanova Olga Romasko |
| 7 | 9 March 1997 | Nagano | 4x7.5 km Relay | Ukraine Nina Lemesh Olena Petrova Valentina Tserbe-Nessina Tetyana Vodopyanova | Russia Nadezhda Talanova Olga Melnik Anna Volkova Olga Romasko | China Yu Shumei Sun Ribo Liu Jinfeng Liu Xianying |

## Standings: Men
### Overall

| Pos. | | Points |
| 1. | Sven Fischer | 314 |
| 2. | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | 303 |
| 3. | Viktor Maigourov | 294 |
| 4. | Ricco Groß | 281 |
| 5. | Pavel Mouslimov | 255 |
* Final standings after 19 races.

## Standings: Women
### Overall

| Pos. | | Points |
| 1. | Magdalena Forsberg | 340 |
| 2. | Uschi Disl | 333 |
| 3. | Simone Greiner-Petter-M. | 283 |
| 4. | Olga Romasko | 240 |
| 5. | Corinne Niogret | 240 |
* Final standings after 19 races.

## Medal table

| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
| 1 | Germany | 18 | 14 | 5 | 37 |
| 2 | Russia | 13 | 9 | 13 | 35 |
| 3 | Norway | 4 | 13 | 9 | 26 |
| 4 | Sweden | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Italy | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 6 | Ukraine | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | Belarus | 2 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| 8 | Austria | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| 9 | Slovenia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 10 | Finland | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 11 | China | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 12 | France | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 13 | Bulgaria | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 14 | Poland | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (14 entries) | Totals (14 entries) | 48 | 48 | 48 | 144 |

## Retirements

The following notable biathletes retired after the 1996–97 season:
* Hervé Flandin (FRA)
* Stéphane Bouthiaux (FRA)
* Mariya Manolova (BUL)
* Veronique Claudel (FRA)
* Svetlana Panyutina (RUS)