The start of the 12.5 k Women’s Mass Start at the Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus) On the final day of the 2023 Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof, Germany, the top thirty women in the world took to the course for the 12.5 k Mass Start. For some, it was the seventh race in twelve days. Under steady rain, the top fifteen athletes from the World Cup Overall standings plus the medalists and other athletes with the most cumulative points from the World Championships Sprint, Pursuit, and Individual races battled through four shooting stages and five ..read more

  Fans line the famous Birxsteig climb during the Women’s Relay at the IBU World Championships in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus) If there’s one competition to watch from the 2023 Biathlon World Championships, make it the Women’s 4 x 6 k Relay. (Replay available here.) In a dazzling display of biathlon mastery, the Italian quartet knocked down 40 targets with 42 bullets, excelling one after another under pressure in difficult conditions to capture Italy’s first-ever Women’s Relay title. The “Blues” have been investing heavily in biathlon development with their sites set on the 2026 ..read more

Fans jockey for a spot on the famous Birxsteig climb in Oberhof, Germany during the Men’s Relay at Biathlon World Championships. (Photo: NordicFocus) Coming into this race, the Norwegian team of Vetle Christiansen, Sturla Holm Laegreid, Tarjei Boe, and younger brother Johannes Boe, had never lost a relay. But the windy range and the pressure on the Norwegians to carry Johannes Boe to his sixth straight gold medal of the 2023 Championships proved too much for the team to handle. Already one minute behind in 12th place after Christiansen’s lead leg, the team played catch-up for for the rest of t ..read more

The start of the Single-Mixed Relay at IBU World Championships in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus). Twenty seven nations took part in the Single-Mixed Relay today at Biathlon World Championships in Oberhof, Germany, but none could match the star power of Norwegian duo, Marte Olsbu Roeiseland and Johannes Thignes Boe. They teamed up to win Boe’s fifth straight gold medal at the 2023 Championships, and Olsbu’s record-breaking 13th World Championship gold. But it did not come easily. The first shooting stage of the Single-Mixed Relay at the IBU World Championships. On Lane 11, Lisa Vittozzi ..read more

Ever since Hanna Oeberg burst onto the podium for the first time, winning Olympic gold in the 15km Individual at the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, she has been a consistent force in the event. She defended her title at the 2019 World Championships, just missed the podium in fourth in 2020, and took silver in 2021. After faltering slightly in the 2022 Olympics in Beijing with a 16th place finish, Oeberg came back today to win her third Championship-level gold, in spite of one miss. Oeberg’s teammate, Linn Persson, shot 20/20 for the silver medal, and Italy’s Lisa Vittozzi missed only her last s ..read more

Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) started Sunday’s Pursuit with a 15-second advantage but stretched it to 1:11 by the end of the race to claim his third straight gold medal at the IBU World Championships in Oberhof, Gemany. (Photo: NordicFocus) This winter, two Norwegian men have set a new standard of excellence in biathlon. In Sunday’s Pursuit at the IBU World Championships in Oberhof, Germany, twenty-nine-year-old Johannes Thignes Boe and 25-year-old Sturla Holm Laegreid put on a masterclass. They both shot 20/20—something many biathletes never manage to do in a whole career—to claim their now fam ..read more

  Julia Simon (FRA) wearing the yellow World Cup leader’s bib as she fights her way from 10th to first in the IBU World Championships Pursuit in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus) After missing her last two shots in Friday’s Sprint competition and finishing a disappointing tenth, World Cup Overall leader Julia Simon of France was determined to fight her way onto the podium in today’s World Championship Pursuit. In the end, Simon, who thrives in head-to-head competitions, made clear why she leads the World Cup standings, recovering a 1:02.8 deficit from Sprint winner Denise Herrmann (G ..read more

Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) congratulates his brother, Tarjei Boe (NOR) who finished beside him on the podium at the IBU World Championships Men’s Sprint in Oberhof. (Photo: Reichert/NordicFocus) One man has won all five 10 k Sprint competitions so far this season, so even with 112 starters in today’s BMW IBU World Championship Sprint, there was no doubt about the favorite. Johannes Thignes Boe of Norway has been untouchable on skis since November, regularly out-skiing his nearest competitor by over 30 seconds. The 150m penalty loop in biathlon usually takes athletes about 23 seconds, so Boe c ..read more

Denise Herrmann-Wick (GER) shooting from the standing position at the IBU World Championships Sprint in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus) Biathlon fans anticipated that the women’s 7.5km Sprint would be one of the most tightly-contested races of the BMW IBU World Championships, and it did not disappoint. In the end, only 2.2 seconds separated the new World Champion, Denise Herrmann-Wick of Germany, from the silver medalist, Hanna Oeberg of Sweden. Oeberg’s teammate, Linn Persson, finished third. These athletes will start at the front of Sunday’s 60-person Pursuit and try to stave off the ..read more

The start of the IBU World Championships Mixed Relay in Oberhof, Germany. (Photo: NordicFocus) The opening event of the 2023 World Championships delivered in spectacular fashion. Twenty-six nations lined up for the Mixed Relay on Wednesday afternoon under bright sunshine and calm, clear skies, with temperatures around zero degrees Celsius. The perfect conditions were a dream come true for organizers, spectators, and teams alike, especially since Oberhof has a reputation for dense fog, heavy wind and snow, and that displeasing other form of precipitation which we won’t even name. Ultimately, th ..read more