# 1977–78 Biathlon World Cup

The 1977–78 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 13 January 1978 in Ruhpolding, West Germany, and ended in April 1978 in Sodankylä, Finland. It was the first ever season of the Biathlon World Cup, and it was only held for men.

## Calendar

Below is the World Cup calendar for the 1977–78 season.
| Location | Date | Individual | Sprint | Relay |
| Ruhpolding | 13–15 January | ● | ● | ● |
| Antholz-Anterselva | 21–25 February | ● | ● | ● |
| Hochfilzen | 2–5 March | ● | ● | ● |
| Murmansk | 24–29 March | ● | ● | ● |
| Sodankylä | 1–? April | ● | ● | ● |
| Total | Total | 5 | 5 | 5 |
*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 1978 | Ruhpolding | 20 km Individual | Klaus Siebert | Eberhard Rösch | Andreas Schweiger | Klaus Siebert | Detail |
| 1 | 15 January 1978 | Ruhpolding | 10 km Sprint | Sigleif Johansen | Eberhard Rösch | Frank Ullrich | Eberhard Rösch | Detail |
| 2 | 23 February 1978 | Antholz-Anterselva | 20 km Individual | Frank Ullrich | Alexander Ushakov | Nikolay Kruglov | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 2 | 25 February 1978 | Antholz-Anterselva | 10 km Sprint | Klaus Siebert | Eberhard Rösch | Vladimir Barnashov | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| WC | 2 March 1978 | Hochfilzen | 20 km Individual | Odd Lirhus | Frank Ullrich | Eberhard Rösch | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| WC | 4 March 1978 | Hochfilzen | 10 km Sprint | Frank Ullrich | Eberhard Rösch | Klaus Siebert | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 3 | 25 March 1978 | Murmansk | 20 km Individual | Nikolay Kruglov | Anatoly Alyabyev | Vladimir Artemyev | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 3 | 27 March 1978 | Murmansk | 10 km Sprint | Frank Ullrich | Nikolay Kruglov | Sigleif Johansen | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 4 | 1 April 1978 | Sodankylä | 20 km Individual | Klaus Siebert | Vladimir Otchnev | Svein Engen | Frank Ullrich | Detail |
| 4 | 2 April 1978 | Sodankylä | 10 km Sprint | Vladimir Barnashov | Heikki Ikola | Alexander Tikhonov | Frank Ullrich | Detail |

## Standings
### Overall

| Pos. | | Points |
| 1. | Frank Ullrich | 144 |
| 2. | Klaus Siebert | 137 |
| 3. | Eberhard Rösch | 133 |
| 4. | Vladimir Barnashov | 125 |
| 5. | Nikolay Kruglov | 119 |
* Final standings after 10 races.

## Achievements
### First World Cup career victory

* Klaus Siebert (GDR), 22, in his 1st season — the WC 1 Individual in Ruhpolding; it also was his first podium and the first podium for an East German biathlete
* Sigleif Johansen (NOR), 29, in his 1st season — the WC 1 Sprint in Ruhpolding; it also was his first podium and the first podium for a Norwegian biathlete
* Frank Ullrich (GDR), 20, in his 1st season — the WC 2 Individual in Ruhpolding; first podium was 1977–78 Sprint in Ruhpolding
* Odd Lirhus (NOR), 21, in his 1st season — the World Championships Individual in Hochfilzen; it also was his first podium
* Nikolay Kruglov (URS), 28, in his 1st season — the WC 3 Individual in Murmansk; first podium was 1977–78 Individual in Antholz-Anterselva
* Vladimir Barnashov (URS), 27, in his 1st season — the WC 4 Sprint in Sodankylä; first podium was 1977–78 Sprint in Antholz-Anterselva

### First World Cup podium

* Eberhard Rösch (GDR), 27, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 1 Individual in Ruhpolding
* Andreas Schweiger (FRG), 24, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 1 Individual in Ruhpolding; it also was the first podium for a West German biathlete
* Frank Ullrich (GDR), 19, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 1 Sprint in Ruhpolding
* Alexander Ushakov (URS), 29, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 2 Individual in Antholz-Anterselva; it also was the first podium for a Soviet biathlete
* Nikolay Kruglov (URS), 28, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 2 Individual in Antholz-Anterselva
* Anatoly Alyabyev (URS), 26, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 3 Individual in Murmansk
* Vladimir Artemiev (URS), in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 3 Individual in Murmansk
* Vladimir Barnashov (URS), 26, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 2 Sprint in Antholz-Anterselva
* Vladimir Otchnev (URS), in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 4 Individual in Sodankylä
* Svein Engen (NOR), 25, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 4 Individual in Sodankylä
* Heikki Ikola (FIN), 30, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 4 Sprint in Sodankylä; it also was the first podium for a Finnish biathlete
* Alexander Tikhonov (URS), 31, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 4 Sprint in Sodankylä

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

* Klaus Siebert (GDR), 3 (3) first places
* Frank Ullrich (GDR), 3 (3) first places
* Sigleif Johansen (NOR), 1 (1) first place
* Odd Lirhus (NOR), 1 (1) first place
* Nikolay Kruglov (URS), 1 (1) first place
* Vladimir Barnashov (URS), 1 (1) first place

## Retirements

Following notable biathletes retired after the 1977–78 season:
* Juhani Suutarinen (FIN)
* Aleksandr Elizarov (URS)