# 1981–82 Biathlon World Cup

The 1981–82 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the UIPMB (Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon). The season started on 14 January 1982 in Egg am Etzel, Switzerland, and ended on 7 March 1982 in Lahti, Finland. It was the fifth season of the Biathlon World Cup, and it was only held for men.

## Calendar

Below is the World Cup calendar for the 1981–82 season.
| Location | Date | Individual | Sprint | Relay |
| Egg am Etzel | 14–17 January | ● | ● | ● |
| Antholz-Anterselva | 21–24 January | ● | ● | ● |
| Ruhpolding | 28–30 January | ● | ● | |
| Minsk | 10–14 February | ● | ● | ● |
| Lahti | 5–7 March | ● | ● | |
| Total | Total | 5 | 5 | 4 |
*The relays were technically unofficial races as they did not count towards anything in the World Cup.

## World Cup Podium
### Men

| Stage | Date | Place | Discipline | Winner | Second | Third | Yellow bib (After competition) | Det. |
| 1 | 14 January 1982 | Egg am Etzel | 20 km Individual | Svein Engen | Walter Pichler | Fritz Fischer | Svein Engen | Detail |
| 1 | 16 January 1982 | Egg am Etzel | 10 km Sprint | Frank Ullrich | Matthias Jacob | Fritz Fischer | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 2 | 21 January 1982 | Antholz-Anterselva | 20 km Individual | Andreas Göthel | Matthias Jacob | Bernd Hellmich | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 2 | 23 January 1982 | Antholz-Anterselva | 10 km Sprint | Frank Ullrich | Kjell Søbak | Matthias Jacob | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 3 | 28 January 1982 | Ruhpolding | 20 km Individual | Frank Ullrich | Sergei Bulygin | Matthias Jacob | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 3 | 30 January 1982 | Ruhpolding | 10 km Sprint | Matthias Jacob | Tapio Piipponen | Kjell Søbak | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| WC | 10 February 1982 | Minsk | 20 km Individual | Frank Ullrich | Eirik Kvalfoss | Terje Krokstad | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| WC | 13 February 1982 | Minsk | 10 km Sprint | Eirik Kvalfoss | Frank Ullrich | Vladimir Alikin | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 4 | 5 March 1982 | Lahti | 20 km Individual | Kjell Søbak | Odd Lirhus | Fritz Fischer | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 4 | 6 March 1982 | Lahti | 10 km Sprint | Matthias Jacob | Odd Lirhus | Kjell Søbak | Frank Ullrich | Detail |

## Standings: Men
### Overall

| Pos. | | Points |
| 1. | Frank Ullrich | 146 |
| 2. | Matthias Jacob | 143 |
| 3. | Kjell Søbak | 137 |
| 4. | Andreas Göthel | 125 |
| 5. | Fritz Fischer | 123 |
* Final standings after 10 races.

## Achievements
### First World Cup career victory

* Svein Engen (NOR), 28, in his 5th season — the WC 1 Individual in Egg am Etzel; first podium was 1977–78 Individual in Sodankylä
* Andreas Göthel (GDR), 23, in his 1st season — the WC 2 Individual in Antholz-Anterselva; it also was his first podium
* Matthias Jacob (GDR), 21, in his 3rd season — the WC 3 Sprint in Ruhpolding; first podium was 1979–80 Individual in Ruhpolding

### First World Cup podium

* Walter Pichler (FRG), 22, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 1 Individual in Egg am Etzel
* Viktor Bulygin (URS), in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 3 Individual in Ruhpolding
* Taipio Piipponen (FIN), 24, in his 3rd season — no. 2 in the WC 3 Sprint in Ruhpolding

### Victory in this World Cup (all-time number of victories in parentheses)

* Frank Ullrich (GDR), 4 (14) first places
* Matthias Jacob (GDR), 2 (2) first places
* Eirik Kvalfoss (NOR), 1 (3) first place
* Kjell Søbak (NOR), 1 (2) first place
* Svein Engen (NOR), 1 (1) first place
* Andreas Göthel (GDR), 1 (1) first place

## Retirements

Following notable biathletes retired after the 1981–82 season:
* Heikki Ikola (FIN)