The first
Biathlon World Championships (BWCH) was held in 1958, with individual (official) and relay (unofficial) contests for men. The number of events has grown significantly over the years. Beginning in 1984, women biathletes had their own World Championships, and finally, from 1989, both genders have been participating in joint BWCHs.
BWCH venues
The season's BWCHs takes place during February or March. Some years it has been necessary to schedule parts of the Championships at other than the main venue because of weather and/or snow conditions. Full, joint BWCHs have never been held in
Olympic Winter Games seasons. BWCHs in non-IOC events, however, have been held in Olympic seasons. In 2005, the then new event of Mixed Relay (two legs done by women, two legs by men) was arranged separately from the ordinary Championships.
Arranged Championships:
- 1958 Saalfelden, Austria
- 1959 Courmayeur, Italy
- 1961 Umeå, Sweden
- 1962 Hämeenlinna-Tavastehus, Finland
- 1963 Seefeld, Austria
- 1965 Elverum, Norway
- 1966 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany
- 1967 Altenberg, East Germany
- 1969 Zakopane, Poland
- 1970 Östersund, Sweden
- 1971 Hämeenlinna-Tavastehus, Finland
- 1973 Lake Placid, New York, USA
- 1974 Minsk, USSR
- 1975 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy
- 1976 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy (Sprint)
- 1977 Lillehammer, Norway
- 1978 Hochfilzen, Austria
- 1979 Ruhpolding, West Germany
- 1981 Lahti, Finland
- 1982 Minsk, USSR
- 1983 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy
- 1984 Chamonix, France (Women)
- 1985 Ruhpolding, West Germany (Men) and Egg am Etzel (near Einsiedeln), Switzerland (Women)
- 1986 Oslo, Norway (Men) and Falun, Sweden (Women)
- 1987 Lake Placid, New York, USA (Men) and Lahti, Finland (Women)
- 1988 Chamonix, France (Women)
- 1989 Feistritz an der Drau, Austria (first joint Men+Women BWCH)
- 1990 Minsk, USSR; Oslo, Norway; and Kontiolahti, Finland
- 1991 Lahti, Finland
- 1992 Novosibirsk, Russia (Team)
- 1993 Borovets, Bulgaria
- 1994 Canmore, Canada (Team)
- 1995 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy
- 1996 Ruhpolding, Germany
- 1997 Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia
- 1998 Pokljuka, Slovenia (Pursuit) and Hochfilzen, Austria (Team)
- 1999 Kontiolahti, Finland and Oslo, Norway
- 2000 Oslo, Norway and Lahti, Finland
- 2001 Pokljuka, Slovenia
- 2002 Oslo, Norway (Mass start)
- 2003 Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia
- 2004 Oberhof, Germany
- 2005 Hochfilzen, Austria, and Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia (K-M: Mixed Relay)
- 2006 Pokljuka, Slovenia (Mixed Relay)
- 2007 Antholz-Anterselva, Italy
- 2008 Östersund, Sweden
Upcoming:
Men
Individual (20 km)
This event was first held in 1958.
| Year
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| Bronze
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| 1958
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| 1959
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| 1961
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| 1962
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| 1963
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| 1965
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| 1966
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| 1967
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| 1969
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| 1970
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| 1971
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| 1973
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| 1974
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| 1975
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| 1977
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| 1978
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| 1979
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| 1981
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| 1982
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| 1983
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| 1985
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| 1986
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| 1987
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| 1989
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| 1990
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| 1991
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| 1993
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| 1995
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| 1996
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| 1997
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| 1999
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| 2000
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| 2003
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| 2004
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| 2005
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| 2007
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| 2008
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Sprint (10 km)
This event was first held in 1974.
| Year
| Gold
| Silver
| Bronze
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| 1974
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| 1975
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| 1976
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| 1977
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| 1978
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| 1979
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| 1981
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| 1982
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| 1983
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| 1985
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| 1986
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| 1987
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| 1989
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| 1990
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| 1991
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| 1993
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| 1995
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| 1996
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| 1997
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| 1999
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| 2000
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| 2001
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| 2003
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| 2004
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| 2005
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| 2007
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Pursuit (12.5 km)
This event was first held in 1997.
| Year
| Gold
| Silver
| Bronze
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| 1997
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| 1998
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| 1999
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| 2000
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| 2001
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| 2003
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| 2004
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| 2005
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| 2007
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| 2008
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Mass start (15 km)
This event was first held in 1999.
| Year
| Gold
| Silver
| Bronze
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| 1999
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| 2000
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| 2001
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| 2002
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| 2003
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| 2004
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| 2005
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| 2007
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| 2008
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Relay (4 × 7.5 km)
This event was first held unofficially in 1958 and officially in 1966. The 1959 to 1965 contests were three legs only.
Team
This event was held from 1989 to 1998.
Women
Individual (15 km)
This event was first held in 1984. Through 1988 the distance was 10 km.
| Year
| Gold
| Silver
| Bronze
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| 1984
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| 1985
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| 1986
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| 1987
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| 1988
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| 1989
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| 1990
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| 1991
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| 1993
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| 1995
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| 1996
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| 1997
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| 2004
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| 2005
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| 2007
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| 2008
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Sprint (7.5 km)
This event was first held in 1984. Through 1988 the distance was 5 km.
| Year
| Gold
| Silver
| Bronze
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| 1984
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| 1985
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| 1986
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| 1987
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| 1988
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| 1989
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| 1990
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| 1991
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| 1993
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| 1995
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| 1996
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| 2007
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| 2008
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Pursuit (10 km)
This event was first held in 1997.
| Year
| Gold
| Silver
| Bronze
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| 1997
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| 1998
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| 1999
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| 2000
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| 2004
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| 2005
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| 2007
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| 2008
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Mass start (12.5 km)
This event was first held in 1999. In 2002, the distance was 15 km.
| Year
| Gold
| Silver
| Bronze
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| 1999
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| 2000
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| 2001
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| 2002
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| 2003
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| 2004
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| 2005
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| 2007
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| 2008
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Relay (4 × 7.5/6 km)
This event was first held in 1984. Through 1991, the event was 3 × 5 km. In 2003, leg distance was set to 6 km.
Team
This event was held from 1989 to 1998.
Mixed
Relay (4 × 6 km)
This event was first held in 2005, at the
Biathlon World Cup finals in
Khanty-Mansiysk. In 2005 the women biathletes did the first two legs, and the men did the following two, while in 2006 the sequence was woman–man–woman–man. At the
Biathlon World Championships 2007 in
Antholz, the sequence was women–women–man–man.
See also
References
