World Cup

In this page you can read statistics and other information about the Biathlon World Cup. The Biathlon World Cup was opened with the 7,5 km Sprint in Östersund in Season 1, a competition that was won by Lyudmyla Sovoljova. The Biathlon World Cup season lasts between late November and early March and is hosted in different venues all over the world, mainly Europe and North America but also sporadically in Asia.

All World Cup competitions award points to the top 10 athletes, but in addition to World Cup competitions, both World Championship and Olympic Winter Games competitions count as World Cup competitions and therefore award points in the same matter. The athlete with the highest overall total score (i.e. total score for all disciplines) of the World Cup season is awarded the Big Crystal Globe trophy. A Small Crystal Globe trophy is awarded for the first place in the season total for each discipline. Hence, it is possible for an athlete to win both the Big Crystal Globe and Small Crystal Globes for the same World Cup season.

## Overall World Cup Winners

Following are the top three overall biathletes of every season so far. The overall winner of each season is awarded with the Big Crystal Globe.

## Disciplines:

### Sprint

The sprint is raced over 7,5 km and includes two shooting moments, one prone and one standing. For each missed target the athlete takes one penalty loop. The Sprint is traditionally the discipline with the most events during a season. The discipline was introduced in Season 1 and the first competition was hosted in Östersund in Season 1. It was won by Lyudmyla Sovoljova.

### Pursuit

The pursuit is raced over 10 km and includes four shooting moments, two prone followed by two standing. For each missed target the athlete takes one penalty loop. The Pursuit is traditionally the discipline with the second most events during a season. The discipline was introduced in Season 1 and the first competition was hosted in Ruhpolding in Season 1. It was won by Marja-Saara Sillanpää.

### Individual

The pursuit is raced over 15 km and includes four shooting moments, two prone and two standing. For each missed target one penalty minute is added to the athlete's time. The Individual is traditionally the discipline with the least events during a season. The discipline was introduced in Season 1 and the first competition was hosted in Östersund in Season 1. It was won by Mariana Horáková.

### Mass Start

The Mass Start is raced over 12,5 km and includes four shooting moments, two prone followed by two standing. For each missed target the athlete takes one penalty loop. The Mass Start is traditionally the discipline with the second least events during a season. The discipline was introduced in Season 1 and the first competition was hosted in Östersund in Season 1. It was won by Lina Södergren.

#### Statistics by athlete:

\*Ingrid Abrahamsen won the Mass Start Globe after a tie-break by winning more races in the discipline than Anne Katrine Kaspersen, however having the same amount of points.

### Relay

The Relay is raced over 4x6 km, where four athletes go six kilometers each. It includes eight shooting moments, one prone and one standing for each athlete. The athletes have got their ordinary five shots, and in addition to that three extra shots to clear all targets. If targets are still missed after all eight shots, the athlete will take one penalty loop for each missed target. The discipline was introduced in Season 2, but only on the World Championship and Winter Olympics program. The World Cup Relays aswell as the Relay cup were introduced in Season 9. The first World Championship gold medal was hosted in Oslo Holmenkollen and won by Ukraine (Ilchenko, Shapovalova, Vakulenko, Sovoljova). The first World Cup Relay was hosted in Östersund and won by Norway (Eide, Buhaug, Kaspersen, Abrahamsen).

#### Relay cup results (number in parentheses show amount of points received):

\**Sweden won by having more victories (2 to 0) compared to Norway.*

\*\**Norway won by having more victories (2 to 1) compared to Sweden.*

## Other Records

### Most Podiums

Following are the athletes that have achieved 10 or more victories during their careers. Athletes in bold are still active.

### Most Podiums

Following are the athletes that have achieved 25 or more podiums in their careers. Athletes in bold are still active.

## Locations

Following are all the venues that have hosted World Cup races (including World Championships and Olympic Winter Games). The symbol WCC stands for World Cup competition, the symbol **WCH** for World Championship competition and the symbol *OGC* for Olympic Games competition.