What are the Biathlon World Championships?
Biathlon's world titles, contested every February under the International Biathlon Union — men since 1958, women since 1984, and together since 1989. Twelve titles are awarded: sprint, pursuit, individual and mass start for each sex, plus the men's relay, women's relay, mixed relay and single mixed relay. There is no full championship in an Olympic season.[1] [2]
| Season | Pool / Format | Host cities |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | France 6 golds / 13 medals — Julia Simon 4 golds | Lenzerheide (SUI) |
| 2024 | France 6 golds / 13 medals | Nové Město (CZE) |
| 2023 | Norway 5 golds — J.T. Bø medalled in all seven races | Oberhof (GER) |
| 2021 | Norway 7 golds — Tiril Eckhoff 4 | Pokljuka (SLO) |
| 2020 | Marte Olsbu Røiseland won all seven available medals | Antholz-Anterselva (ITA) |
| 2027 | — scheduled: Estonia's first | Otepää (EST), 10–21 February |
Recent editions — leading nation and headline performances.
How do athletes qualify?
Through an individual standard and a national quota. A competitor must hold 180 or fewer IBU qualifying points at the end of the last trimester before the championships, or have scored 150 or fewer in a single race at an IBU Cup, Open European Championships, World Cup or World Championships — a percentage-behind-the-winner measure rather than a time. National quotas then come off the World Cup Total Score list: a federation may enter athletes currently in the top 15, to a maximum of five per nation in the sprint and individual, rising to six if it holds a reigning individual world champion.[2] [3]
How does the shooting penalty work?
It depends on the format. In the individual race each miss adds a full minute to the finishing time; in every other format a miss sends the athlete round a 150 m penalty loop — 75 m in the single mixed relay. Relay legs carry three spare rounds per bout before the loop applies. The pursuit is started by the top 60 from the sprint at their sprint deficits; the mass start is a field of 30.[2] [3]
Who is winning now?
France. Identical hauls of 13 medals and six golds at Nové Město 2024 and Lenzerheide 2025 ended a long Norwegian era; Julia Simon was the only four-gold athlete of the 2025 championships. Johannes Thingnes Bø closed his career at Lenzerheide on 23 world championship golds and 12 individual golds, both records, and retired with his brother after that season.[1] [4]
References
- IBU — biathlonworld.com. Accessed August 2026.
- IBU — Event and Competition Rules. Accessed August 2026.
- IBU — World Championships quota rules explained. Accessed August 2026.
- IBU — World Cup and World Championship calendar. Accessed August 2026.