Biathlon – Champions
There are many athletes who take part in various competitions of some or all the events of biathlon. Let us take a look at some of the champions of Biathlon and their careers −
Martin Fourcade
Martin Fourcade is a biathlete from France who has won overall world cup five times and he is the only biathlete to do so. Along with this he also won Olympics two times. Martin started his career in 2002 and in 2006 he started participating at international level.
He won bronze medal in junior championship in 2007. Since 2007 he kept participating and improving his rank. After 2010 winter Olympics he took part in world cup and won a silver medal. He won 2009-2010 Pursuit world cup.
In 2011, world championship he took part in mixed relay and finished 3rd. He also won a silver medal in sprint event of biathlon. After that he took part in pursuit event and won gold. In 2012-2013 session he won silver in world championships in sprint and pursuit and a gold in individual. In 2013-2014 session he won a gold in mass start event in world championship and 2014 Olympics.
Jakov Fak
Jakov Fak is a Slovenian biathlete born in Croatia. In 2009 world championship he won a bronze medal. He also got a bronze medal in 2010 winter Olympics. He won this when he was a member of Croatia team.
After the 2010 Olympics, he joined Slovenian team and won a gold in 20km event and silver in mixed relay. In 2012 world cup he won a silver medal in mixed relay and a gold medal in individual event. In 2015 he won a gold medal in mass start event.
Targei Bo
Targei Bo is a biathlete from Norway got his first world cup victory in 2010. He started his career in 2006 and won a gold in individual event and a silver medal in pursuit event. In 2010 Olympics he claimed a gold in relay event.
In 2011, he won a sprint race in the world cup. He also won gold in relay and mixed relay events. In 2012 world cup he won a gold and in 2013 world cup he won three golds in different events. In 2015 he won four bronze medals and one silver medal in different events while in 2016 he won a gold and a bronze.
Ole Einar Bjorndalen
Ole Einar Bjorndalen is a biathlete from Norway who has got the nick name of king of biathlon as he is the winner of most of the medals in this game. He won world cup title six times.
He won his first medal in 1992 in junior championships and three medals the next year. Till Feb 2014 he won eight gold four silver and one bronze in Olympics and 20 gold medals in world championships. He has won sprint race nine times and pursuit event five times.
Emil Hegle Svendsen
Emil Hegle Svendsen is a biathlete from Norway who has won two gold medals and one silver medal in 2010 Olympics. In world championship also he is very successful as he is the winner of five gold medals in individual event and six gold medals in relay event.
In 2007, he won 20km event and two gold medals in 2008 world championships. In total he has won four golds and one silver in Olympics and twelve gold, 6 silver, and three bronze in world cups.
Marie Dorin Habert
Marie Dorin Habert is a biathlete from France who took part in 2010 winter Olympics. She won a bronze medal in 2009 world championship and a bronze in sprint and silver in relay in 2010 world championship.
In 2015 World Cup, she won sprint event and pursuit event which were her first and second victory respectively. In 2016 World Championship, she won one gold each in individual, mass start, and mixed relay events, one silver each in sprint and relay events and one bronze in pursuit event.
Tora Berger
Tora Berger is a biathlete from Norway who is now retired. She joined the biathlon team in 1999. In 2008, she won a silver medal in mass start. In 2010 Winter Olympics, she won a gold medal in 15km event.
In 2013 World Championship, she won a gold in mixed relay and gold in pursuit. In 2014 Winter Olympics also she won one gold, one silver, and one bronze in mixed relay, pursuit, and relay events respectively.
Ekaterina Iourieva
Ekaterina Iourieva is a Russian biathlete who started her career in 2005 but could not win any medal. In 2007-2008 season, she won her first medal in world championships. She also won a gold medal in individual event and a silver medal in pursuit.
In 2008-2009 session, she won sprint and mass races. Then she took part in individual race and won that too. In this season she was tested for doping and the results were positive which led to her disqualification.
Andrea Henkel
Andrea Henkel is a biathlete from Germany who became the permanent member of the country’s team in 1998. She won her first medal in 1999. In her full career she won a gold in 2002 Olympic in individual event and a gold in relay.
In 2006 Winter Olympics, she won a silver in the relay race. In 2010 Olympics, she won a bronze medal in relay. Total number of medals in world championship include eight gold, six silver, and two bronze medals.
Magdalena Forsberg
Magdalena Forsberg is a biathlete from Sweden. She is the six times world championship winner and she also won bronze medals two times in Olympics. She had started her career as a cross country skiing player.
She took part in 1992 Winter Olympics and attained seventh position. She was in skiing team from 1988 to 1996. Later she joined biathlon team and won six medals in world cup held from 1997 to 2002.