The 2006−07 Biathlon World Cup (BWC) was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the International Biathlon Union. The season lasted from 29 November 2006 to 18 March 2007.
This article contains the top ten result listings and concise summary comments for each of the season's twenty-seven individual races and five relays for both genders, arranged by World Cup meet 1 through 9 (denoted WC 1–9), accompanied by the top ten Total Cup rankings after each of the meets plus the 2007 World Championships (held between WC 6 and 7, and in the usual way counted as a World Cup meet towards the accumulated scores).
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Retired after the previous season:
Changing surname due to marriage:
Changing nation since the previous season:
Passing over this season due to pregnancy: [4]
Planning to make this season their last:
Yellow and red bib markings for the first races indicate the final standings (overall and of each race format) from the previous season.
| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Nov | Women 15 km IN IBU report |
1. Irina Malgina (RUS) 50:41.2 (2) | 4. Andrea Henkel (GER); 5. Ekaterina Iourieva (RUS); =6. Tora Berger (NOR); =6. Sabrina Buchholz (GER); 8. Kong Yingchao (CHN); 9. Anna Boulygina (RUS); 10. Liu Xianying (CHN) |
| 2. Liv Kjersti Eikeland (NOR) +3.6 (1) | |||
| 3. Zina Kocher (CAN) +23.3 (1) | |||
| First time on the WC podium for surprise winner Malgina and runners-up Eikeland and Kocher. Malgina's best Individual result before today's victory was a 14th place in Antholz-Anterselva in the 2001–02 season. Kocher was the first Canadian on a BWC podium since Myriam Bédard placed 2nd in Hochfilzen ten years ago. | |||
| 30 Nov | Men 20 km IN IBU report |
1. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 51:38.6 (2) | 4. Michal Šlesingr (CZE); 5. Halvard Hanevold (NOR); 6. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 7. Raphaël Poirée (FRA); 8. Björn Ferry (SWE); 9. Michael Rösch (GER); 10. Friedrich Pinter (AUT) |
| 2. Andreas Birnbacher (GER) +14.3 (0) | |||
| 3. Michael Greis (GER) +32.7 (1) | |||
| Bjørndalen followed up his XC skiing World Cup victory at Gällivare last week with the fastest course time on each of today's five laps. Birnbacher scored his best result to date, and last season's Sprint Cup winner Greis took the last spot on the podium. | |||
| 01 Dec | Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
1. Magdalena Gwizdoń (POL) 24:05.0 (0) | 4. Tatiana Moiseeva (RUS); 5. Sandrine Bailly (FRA); 6. Linda Grubben (NOR); 7. Tora Berger (NOR); 8. Andrea Henkel (GER); 9. Natalya Sokolova (BLR); 10. Teja Gregorin (SLO) |
| 2. Kati Wilhelm (GER) +21.4 (1) | |||
| 3. Martina Glagow (GER) +35.2 (1) | |||
| Gwizdoń got the first BWC victory of her career, shooting no misses; the two runners-up missed one shot each. Overall and Sprint Cup winner of last season, Kati Wilhelm, followed Gwizdoń, while Glagow, on third, beat Tatiana Moiseeva to the podium with one tenth of a second. | |||
| 02 Dec | Men 10 km SP IBU report |
1. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 24:16.2 (1) | 4. Sergei Rozhkov (RUS); 5. Zdenek Vitek (CZE); 6. Ilmars Bricis (LAT); 7. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 8. Sven Fischer (GER); 9. Maxim Tchoudov (RUS); 10. Raphaël Poirée (FRA) |
| 2. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS) +15.5 (0) | |||
| 3. Michael Greis (GER) +17.2 (1) | |||
| Bjørndalen again the victor, having again the fastest course time, although this time only 15 seconds faster than the second fastest skier, Greis. Iarochenko, shooting flawlessly, enters the podium for the first time. | |||
| 03 Dec | Women 10 km PU IBU report |
1. Linda Grubben (NOR) 31:07.47 (1) | 4. Kati Wilhelm (GER); 5. Martina Glagow (GER); 6. Andrea Henkel (GER); 7. Magdalena Neuner (GER); 8. Tora Berger (NOR); 9. Sandrine Bailly (FRA); 10. Natalya Sokolova (BLR) |
| 2. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) +23.3 (1) | |||
| 3. Magdalena Gwizdoń (POL) +59.7 (3) | |||
| Grubben finished her 20 shots a whole 25 seconds faster than runner-up Olofsson, and won the race by roughly the same time difference. Gwizdoń entered the podium for the second time this weekend, beating Kati Wilhelm by one second. | |||
| Men 12.5 km PU IBU report |
1. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 34:33.23 (4) | 4. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR); 5. Ricco Groß (GER); 6. Ilmars Bricis (LAT); 7. Maxim Tchoudov (RUS); 8. Vincent Defrasne (FRA); 9. Michael Greis (GER); 10. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS) | |
| 2. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS) +19.7 (0) | |||
| 3. Raphaël Poirée (FRA) +.29.2 (1) | |||
| Bjørndalen completed his Östersund performance with the third win in a row, despite having missed four shots of 20. Iarochenko finished second, as in the Sprint, while Poirée entered the podium for the first time this season. | |||
Standings from the previous WC season shown in parentheses.
| Men | Women | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. (1.) | Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) | 150 | 1. (7.) | Andrea Henkel (GER) | 104 | |
| 2.(10.) | Michael Greis (GER) | 114 | 2.(35.) | Magdalena Gwizdoń (POL) | 103 | |
| 3.(61.) | Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS) | 112 | 3.(14.) | Linda Grubben (NOR) | 102 | |
| 4. (2.) | Raphaël Poirée (FRA) | 101 | 4.(22.) | Tora Berger (NOR) | 96 | |
| 5.(15.) | Ivan Tcherezov (RUS) | 84 | 5. (1.) | Kati Wilhelm (GER) | 94 | |
| 6.(13.) | Maxim Tchoudov (RUS) | 78 | 6. (2.) | Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) | 81 | |
| 7.(21.) | Sergei Rozhkov (RUS) | 77 | 7. (3.) | Martina Glagow (GER) | 80 | |
| 8. (7.) | Halvard Hanevold (NOR) | 70 | 8. (4.) | Sandrine Bailly (FRA) | 79 | |
| 9.(25.) | Björn Ferry (SWE) | 70 | 9. (−) | Sabrina Buchholz (GER) | 68 | |
| 10.(3.) | Sven Fischer (GER) | 69 | 10.(−) | Tatiana Moiseeva (RUS) | 60 | |
| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08 Dec | Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
1. Andrea Henkel (GER) 24:22.6 (0) | 4. Kati Wilhelm (GER); 5. Darya Domracheva (BLR); 6. Zina Kocher (CAN); 7. Dong Xue (CHN); 8. Linda Grubben (NOR); 9. Sandrine Bailly (FRA); =10. Liu (CHN); =10. Olofsson (SWE); |
| 2. Magdalena Gwizdoń (POL) +30.6 (0) | |||
| 3. Kong Yingchao (CHN) +37.4 (1) | |||
| Overall WC leader Henkel took her first win of the season, beating Gwizdoń by half a minute in the race course (they both had no misses). Kong raced in to get China's first ever podium finish. Only former XC skier Wang Chunli (CHN) was faster than Henkel, but missed six times and finished on 27th place. | |||
| Men 10 km SP IBU report |
1. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 26:27.9 (0) | 4. Friedrich Pinter (AUT); 5. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 6. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS); 7. Andreas Birnbacher (GER); 8. Zhang Chengye (CHN); 9. Lars Berger (NOR); 10. Tim Burke (USA) | |
| 2. Michael Greis (GER) +39.2 (1) | |||
| 3. Matthias Simmen (SUI) +46.5 (2) | |||
| Bjørndalen extended his World Cup lead after flawless shooting. Simmen became the first Swiss biathlete on a WC podium; he had the second best course time but missed twice on the prone shoot. | |||
| 09 Dec | Women 10 km PU IBU report |
1. Andrea Henkel (GER) 32:29.28 (1) | 4. Kati Wilhelm (GER); 5. Martina Glagow (GER); 6. Kong Yingchao (CHN); 7. Katrin Apel (GER); 8. Magdalena Neuner (GER); 9. Darya Domracheva (BLR); 10. Liu Xianying (CHN) |
| 2. Linda Grubben (NOR) +37.4 (1) | |||
| 3. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) +39.9 (1) | |||
| Henkel, who started half a minute ahead of her competitors, shot 19 targets before missing her final shot. Grubben and Olofsson were half a minute faster on the day, but could not catch up with their deficit from the sprint. | |||
| Men 12.5 km PU IBU report |
1. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 39:50.91 (2) | 4. Sergei Rozhkov (RUS); 5. Friedrich Pinter (AUT); 6. Sven Fischer (GER); 7. Andreas Birnbacher (GER); 8. Rene Laurent Vuillermoz (ITA ); 9. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS); 10. Björn Ferry (SWE) | |
| 2. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS) +2:08.1 (2) | |||
| 3. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS) +2:20.0 (1) | |||
| Bjørndalen's eighth successive World Cup victory, counting his three wins from last season. His course time was over a minute faster than any other in the heavy Hochfilzen snow drift. Iarochenko came in second for the third time. | |||
| 10 Dec | Women 4×6 km RL IBU report |
1. Russia (Bogaliy-Titovets, Anisimova, Malgina, Guseva) 1:18:24.71 (0+2) | 4. Sweden (0+13); 5. France (0+9); 6. Belarus (0+7); 7. China (0+12); 8. Ukraine (0+14); 9. Slovenia (0+8); 10. Poland (0+10) |
| 2. Germany (Glagow, Henkel, Neuner, Wilhelm) +0.7 (1+7) | |||
| 3. Norway (Berger, Flatland, Mørkve, Grubben) +1:50.4 (0+7) | |||
| Neuner missed four shots on the standing shooting in the third leg, which brought Russia back into the relay, and Guseva beat Wilhelm in the final dash. | |||
| Men 4×7.5 km RL IBU report |
1. Russia (Tcherezov, Iarochenko, Tchoudov, Rozhkov) 1:25:18.45 (0+3) | 4. Austria (0+13); 5. Norway (2+13); 6. Ukraine (0+5); 7. Sweden (2+13); 8. Czech Republic (1+14); 9. Italy (0+8); 10. Switzerland (0+12) | |
| 2. Germany (Rösch, Wolf, Fischer, Birnbacher) +32.8 (0+7) | |||
| 3. France (Robert, Defrasne, Cannard, Poirée) +1:03.1 (0+11) | |||
| The first three Russian skiers all completed their shootings without missing; Rozhkov missed three shots but still finished well ahead, in a relay race where neither Bjørndalen nor Greis took part on their respective teams. | |||
Individual biathletes:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
| Men | Women | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. (1.) | Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) | 250 | 1. (1.) | Andrea Henkel (GER) | 204 | |
| 2. (3.) | Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS) | 192 | 2. (3.) | Linda Grubben (NOR) | 178 | |
| 3. (2.) | Michael Greis (GER) | 180 | 3. (5.) | Kati Wilhelm (GER) | 174 | |
| 4. (5.) | Ivan Tcherezov (RUS) | 164 | 4. (2.) | Magdalena Gwizdoń (POL) | 171 | |
| 5.(11.) | Friedrich Pinter (AUT) | 141 | 5. (6.) | Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) | 150 | |
| 6.(13.) | Andreas Birnbacher (GER) | 125 | 6. (7.) | Martina Glagow (GER) | 133 | |
| 7. (7.) | Sergei Rozhkov (RUS) | 118 | 7.(13.) | Kong Yingchao (CHN) | 126 | |
| 8.(10.) | Sven Fischer (GER) | 117 | 8. (4.) | Tora Berger (NOR) | 117 | |
| 9. (9.) | Björn Ferry (SWE) | 111 | 9. (8.) | Sandrine Bailly (FRA) | 107 | |
| 10.(4.) | Raphaël Poirée (FRA) | 101 | 10.(16.) | Dong Xue (CHN) | 102 | |
Relay teams:
Standings from the previous WC season shown in brackets.
| Men | Women | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. (2.) | Russia | 50 | 1. (1.) | Russia | 50 | |
| 2. (1.) | Germany | 46 | 2. (2.) | Germany | 46 | |
| 3. (3.) | France | 43 | 3. (4.) | Norway | 43 | |
| 4. (6.) | Austria | 40 | 4.(20.) | Sweden | 40 | |
| 5. (4.) | Norway | 37 | 5. (3.) | France | 37 | |
This WC meet was moved to Hochfilzen due to warm weather and lack of snow in Osrblie. For the same reason, the men's Individual competition was changed to a Sprint, which could be arranged on the smaller 3.3 km loop. Despite the move, all events were arranged by the Osrblie staff.
World Cup leader Ole Einar Bjørndalen did not take part, instead competing in the cross-country skiing World Cup. Also absent was Linda Grubben, who before the WC 3 races ranked no. 2 in the women's World Cup.
| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Dec | Women 15 km IN IBU report |
1. Andrea Henkel (GER) 45:27.7 (1) | 4. Helena Jonsson (SWE); 5. Eveli Saue (EST); 6. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE); 7. Valj Semerenko (UKR); 8. Yin Qiao (CHN); 9. Kathrin Hitzer (GER); 10. Michela Ponza (ITA) |
| 2. Martina Glagow (GER) +50.4 (1) | |||
| 3. Oksana Khvostenko (UKR) +1:02.8 (0) | |||
| Henkel took her third victory in a row, consolidating her WC lead. Only two of the 101 biathletes who completed the race finished with no misses; Ukrainians Khvostenko, on third place, and Valj Semerenko, on seventh. It was Khvostenko's first podium place in eight years. | |||
| 14 Dec | Men 10 km SP IBU report |
1. Michael Greis (GER), 25:03.7 (1) | 4. Sergei Rozhkov (RUS); 5. Lars Berger (NOR); 6. Sven Fischer (GER); 7. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS); 8. Friedrich Pinter (AUT); 9. Halvard Hanevold (NOR); 10. Andreas Birnbacher (GER) |
| 2. Maxim Tchoudov (RUS), +3.5 (1) | |||
| 3. Björn Ferry (SWE), +6.1 (0) | |||
| The fastest skier, Greis, was also the winner, beating runner-up Tchoudov with five seconds on the final 3.3 km lap to take the lead in the Sprint standings. Both Tchoudov and third man Ferry entered the podium for the first time this season. Overall WC no. 2, Dmitri Iarochenko, out with fever, lost his ranking to Greis. | |||
| 15 Dec | Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
1. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE), 22:06.9 (0) | 4. Kathrin Hitzer (GER); 5. Tadeja Brankovič (SLO); 6. Liu Xianying (CHN); 7. Kati Wilhelm (GER); 8. Helena Jonsson (SWE); 9. Magdalena Neuner (GER); 10. Natalya Sokolova (BLR) |
| 2. Sandrine Bailly (FRA), +32.0 (0) | |||
| 3. Andrea Henkel (GER) , +41.6 (1) | |||
| Olofsson completed her first race without misses this season, which was enough to win by the largest margin in a sprint this season. Henkel took over the Sprint World Cup lead from Gwizdoń, 20th, who was also passed by Wilhelm in the Sprint rankings. Twenty-year-old Hitzer, fourth, was only a "cartridge fumble" away from the podium. | |||
| 16 Dec | Men 10 km SP IBU report |
1. Raphaël Poirée (FRA) 24:34.0 (0) | 4. Carl Johan Bergman (SWE); 5. Halvard Hanevold (NOR); 6. Zdenek Vitek (CZE); 7. Christoph Sumann (AUT); 8. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 9. Michael Greis (GER); 10. Björn Ferry (SWE) |
| 2. Michael Rösch (GER) +0.9 (0) | |||
| 3. Sven Fischer (GER) +5.5 (0) | |||
| All top five shot down all ten targets. Poirée, who started four minutes after Rösch, beat the German to the victory by less than a second; Poirée's previous three races had given him 19th place as best. Fischer and Rösch entered the podium for their first times of the season. Greis, 9th today, took over the Overall WC lead from absentee Bjørndalen. | |||
| 17 Dec | Women 4×6 km RL IBU report |
1. France (Baverel-Robert, Peretto, Becaert, Bailly) 1:12:46.76 (0+3) | 4. Germany (3+8); 5. Sweden (0+11); 6. Belarus (0+10); 7. Italy (0+7); 8. Norway (1+13); 9. Poland (1+12); 10. Czech Republic (1+13) |
| 2. Russia (Bogaliy-Titovets, Moiseeva, Boulygina, Guseva) +13.8 (0+9) | |||
| 3. China (Dong, Kong, Yin, Liu) +30.5 (1+9) | |||
| An unchanged France squad improved four places on last week's performance, after missing six fewer times. Germany fell out of contention on the third leg, when Katrin Apel missed six times for three penalty loops, and China placed on a relay podium for the first time in nine years. | |||
| Men 4×7.5 km RL IBU report |
1. Norway (Svendsen, Andresen, Berger, Hanevold) 1:20:45.56 (0+11) | 4. Czech Republic (0+11); 5. Austria (2+8); 6. France (1+6); 7. Sweden (3+17); 8. Ukraine (0+8); 9. Italy (0+17); 10. Poland (1+9) | |
| 2. Russia (Tcherezov, Tchoudov, Iarochenko, Nikolay Kruglov, Jr.) +5.6 (0+7) | |||
| 3. Germany (Groß, Rösch, Fischer, Greis) +32.5 (0+6) | |||
| Norway changed two members from the team that finished fifth the past week, and despite 11 misses they were in the lead along with Russia out from the final shooting. Hanevold, anchorman in Bjørndalen's absence, then pulled away from Kruglov in the last climb before the finish. | |||
Individual biathletes:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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Relay teams:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Jan | Women 4×6 km RL IBU report |
1. France (Baverel-Robert, Peretto, Becaert, Bailly), 1:20:58.4 (3+15) | 4. Norway (2+12); 5. Belarus (1+12); 6. Russia (4+17); 7. Slovenia (2+13); 8. Ukraine (2+8); 9. Slovakia (1+16); 10. Poland (7+14) |
| 2. Germany (Glagow, Henkel, Hitzer, Wilhelm), +6.8 (3+17) | |||
| 3. China (Kong, Dong, Yin, Liu), +20.4 (1+11) | |||
| In a race where the heavy wind gave all the teams an extra challenge at the shooting range, France won their second relay in a row, Bailly outskiing Wilhelm in the final lap after they both missed five shots at their final shooting. | |||
| 4 Jan | Men 4×7.5 km RL IBU report |
1. Russia (Tcherezov, Tchoudov, Iarochenko, Kruglov), 1:26:09.8 (0+8) | 4. Austria (4+20); 5. Czech Republic (2+14); 6. Switzerland (2+13); 7. Slovenia (2+12); 8. Ukraine (1+12); 9. United States (4+17); 10. Estonia (2+14) |
| 2. Germany (Rösch, Fischer, Birnbacher, Greis), +41.8 (0+12) | |||
| 3. Norway (Bjørndalen, Berger, Svendsen, Hanevold), +2:45.2 (4+15) | |||
| Russia and Germany fought for the victory for the final two legs, with all other teams distanced by over a minute after two legs. In the second half of the race, the Russians won out due to better shooting. Norway's experimental team setup, with Bjørndalen on the first leg, misfired badly. | |||
| 5 Jan | Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
1. Magdalena Neuner (GER) 24:18.4 (2) | 4. Linda Grubben (NOR); 5. Sandrine Bailly (FRA); 6. Dong Xue (CHN); 7. Florence B.-Robert (FRA); 8. Kong Yingchao (CHN); 9. Kati Wilhelm (GER); 10. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) |
| 2. Andrea Henkel (GER) +17.3 (1) | |||
| 3. Martina Glagow (GER) +19.7 (0) | |||
| Nineteen-year-old Neuner scored her first WC victory with the quickest skiing of the day, beating Henkel, the second-quickest, by 33 seconds over the 7.5 km course. Henkel extended her lead both in the Sprint and Overall WC. | |||
| 6 Jan | Men 10 km SP IBU report |
1. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS) 28:38.4 (1) | 4. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 5. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS); 6. Christian De Lorenzi (ITA); 7. Maxim Tchoudov (RUS); 8. Sergei Rozhkov (RUS); 9. Björn Ferry (SWE); 10. Andreas Birnbacher (GER) |
| 2. Michael Greis (GER) +3.5 (1) | |||
| 3. Rene Laurent Vuillermoz (ITA) +3.6 (2) | |||
| On a day where only five of the 112 finishers shot flawlessly, and only 17 made due with one error, Kruglov, ranked 15th in the Overall WC, beat Greis by a few seconds. Vuillermoz entered the podium for the first time in two years, and the second time of his career. | |||
| 7 Jan | Men 12.5 km PU IBU report |
1. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS) 28:38.4 (1) | 4. Halvard Hanevold (NOR); 5. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR); 6. Andreas Birnbacher (GER); 7. Vincent Defrasne (FRA); 8. Svendsen (NOR); 9. Björn Ferry (SWE); 10. De Lorenzi (ITA) |
| 2. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS) +28.6 (2) | |||
| 3. Maxim Tchoudov (RUS) +30.1 (3) | |||
| Kruglov started first and missed one shot on the first loop, before shooting flawlessly and leading from the third lap onwards. By virtue of his second place, Iarochenko took the lead in the Pursuit Cup, passing Bjørndalen by one point. Greis, Overall WC leader and runner-up from Friday, finished 15th. | |||
| Women 10 km PU IBU report |
1. Linda Grubben (NOR) 35:33.7 (2) | 4. Kong Yingchao (CHN); 5. Kati Wilhelm (GER); 6. Sylvie Becaert (FRA); 7. Simone Denkinger (GER); 8. Martina Glagow (GER); 9. Andrea Henkel (GER); 10. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) | |
| 2. Sandrine Bailly (FRA), +29.6 (3) | |||
| 3. Magdalena Neuner (GER), +30.9 (6) | |||
| Sprint winner Neuner failed to prepare her ammunition properly, and had to be supplied with new ammunition from the host on the second prone shoot where she subsequently missed three times. Pursuit Cup leader Grubben thus won the race, her third of three possible top-two placings in this format so far in the season. | |||
Individual biathletes:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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Relay teams:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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Many German biathletes were down with a cold; World Cup leaders Henkel and Greis, as well as last season's Mass start Cup winner Martina Glagow, missed the first two races due to this. Sven Fischer was out with a bruised rib.[6]
| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Jan | Women 4×6 km RL IBU report |
1. Russia (Bogaliy-Titovets, Anisimova, Malgina, Guseva), 1:20:18.11 (0+1) | 4. Norway (0+5); 5. China (0+11); 6. Sweden (0+10); 7. Slovakia (0+8); 8. Czech Republic (2+10); 9. Ukraine (1+7); 10. Italy (0+4) |
| 2. Germany (Hitzer, Neuner, Denkinger, Wilhelm), +7.9 (0+9) | |||
| 3. France (Baverel-Robert, Peretto, Becaert, Bailly), +2:14.4 (0+11) | |||
| The Russian team's nigh impeccable shooting secured their second Relay victory of the season. Runners-up were the illness-hit Germany, the only ones who followed close behind, while all other teams finished several minutes later. Norway left out Grubben for this relay, in order to let her rest until the upcoming Sprint. | |||
| 11 Jan |
Men 4×7.5 km RL IBU report |
1. Norway (Svendsen, Hanevold, Andresen, Bjørndalen) 1:29:17.01 (2+7) | 4. Sweden (1+4), 5. Austria (0+6), 6. France (0+5), 7. United States (0+13), 8. Czech Republic (3+13), 9. Ukraine (0+7), 10. Italy (1+11) |
| 2. Russia (Tcherezov, Tchoudov, Iarochenko, Kruglov) +4.6 (0+9) | |||
| 3. Germany (Groß, Rösch, Birnbacher, Wolf) +37.7 (2+7) +37.7 (0+10) | |||
| Norway took the lead after the first leg, and remained in the lead until Andresen got two penalty loops on his standing shoot. Bjørndalen, despite one miss on each shoot, managed to catch Kruglov during the final lap after leaving the range ten seconds behind the Russian. | |||
| 12 Jan | Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
1. Sandrine Bailly (FRA) 24:24.0 (0) | 4. Irina Malgina (RUS); 5. Tadeja Brankovič (SLO); 6. Linda Grubben (NOR); 7. Kathrin Hitzer (GER); 8. Zina Kocher (CAN); 9. Olga Anisimova (RUS); 10. Kati Wilhelm (GER) |
| 2. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) +8.5 (1) | |||
| 3. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA) +37.0 (0) | |||
| With Henkel out, Bailly took over the lead in the Sprint Cup after a faultless shoot and the third-quickest race of the day; Olofsson, Wilhelm and Neuner were faster, but all shot penalties. Olympic Sprint winner in Torino 2006, Baverel-Robert, took her first podium place of the season. | |||
| 13 Jan | Men 10 km SP IBU report |
1. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 23:34.9 (0) | 4. Raphaël Poirée (FRA); 5. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS); 6. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 7. Vincent Defrasne (FRA); 8. Tomasz Sikora (POL); 9. Björn Ferry (SWE); 10 Andreas Birnbacher (GER) |
| 2. Halvard Hanevold (NOR) +37.2 (0) | |||
| 3. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) +41.7 (1) | |||
| In what he described as one of his most successful competitions both ski- and shooting wise, Bjørndalen raced in with more than half a minute to spare on runner-up Hanevold (also no misses); youngster Svendsen (one miss) entered a BWC podium for the first time. The 2nd to 9th contestants finished within just 20 seconds of each other. | |||
| 14 Jan | Women 12.5 km MS IBU report |
1. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) 44:32.01 (4) | 4. Teja Gregorin (SLO); 5. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA); 6. Irina Malgina (RUS); 7. Kathrin Hitzer (GER); 8. Oksana Khvostenko (UKR); 9. Olga Anisimova (RUS); 10. Sylvia Becaert (FRA) |
| 2. Kati Wilhelm (GER) +20.0 (3) | |||
| 3. Linda Grubben (NOR) +37.3 (1) | |||
| Wilhelm left the final shooting first, 4.7 seconds before Olofsson, but the Swede skied a much faster last lap (25 secs) and won her second race of the season, as well as taking over the WC lead from non-participating Henkel. Slovenia's Gregorin, finishing 4th, was the only zero-miss shooter among the 30 contestants. | |||
| Men 15 km MS IBU report |
1. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 40:58.12 (0) | 4. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 5. Michael Rösch (GER); 6. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS); 7. Michal Šlesingr (CZE); 8. Raphaël Poirée (FRA); 9. Michael Greis (GER); 10. Halvard Hanevold (NOR) | |
| 2. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) +47.7 (1) | |||
| 3. Christoph Sumann (AUT) +49.4 (1) | |||
| One of only two contestants with no misses (Šlesingr, on 7th, being the other one), Bjørndalen grabbed his 70th BWC victory, as well as regaining the Overall WC lead. Svendsen climbed one step since the day before, and Sumann beat Tcherezov to the podium by 4/10 sec. Ricco Groß finished no. 11 in his last BWC race in hometown Ruhpolding. | |||
Individual biathletes:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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Relay teams:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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No Asian nations were present at the meet, with the 2007 Asian Winter Games starting in Changchun the following weekend. Overall WC leader after WC 5, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, spent the week at home in South Tirol, practicing for the upcoming World Championships.
| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jan | Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
1. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) 21:45.2 (1) | 4. Florence B.-Robert (FRA); 5. Natalya Sokolova (BLR); 6. Linda Grubben (NOR); 7. Olga Anisimova (RUS); 8. Teja Gregorin (SLO); 9. Katrin Apel (GER); 10. Magdalena Neuner (GER) |
| 2. Tatiana Moiseeva (RUS) +6.8 (0) | |||
| 3. Kati Wilhelm (GER) +17.4 (1) | |||
| Despite a miss on the standing shoot, WC leader Olofsson got her third win of the season. Moiseeva, shooting perfectly, entered the WC podium for the first time of her career; her previous best was the 4th place in the Sprint in Östersund. Germans Henkel and Glagow were still out due to sickness. | |||
| 18 Jan | Men 10 km SP IBU report |
1. Alexander Wolf (GER) 22:41.4 (0) | 4. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS); 5. Zdeněk Vítek (CZE); 6. Sven Fischer (GER); 7. Vincent Defrasne (FRA); 8. Wilfried Pallhuber (ITA); 9. Ludwig Gredler (AUT); 10. Sergei Rozhkov (RUS) |
| 2. Björn Ferry (SWE) +6.6 (0) | |||
| 3. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) +8.7 (1) | |||
| Wolf, who had a shooting percentage of 73 thus far in the season and no top-ten placings in five starts, now completed two faultless shootings on the way to his third career victory. Ferry beat Wolf by 14 seconds on the last loop, but still finished behind. Young Norwegian Svendsen placed on the podium for the fourth time in a row. | |||
| 19 Jan | Women 10 km PU IBU report |
1. Kati Wilhelm (GER) 35:05.73 (1) | 4. Linda Grubben (NOR); 5. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE); 6. Teja Gregorin (SLO); 7. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA); 8. Olga Kudrashova (BLR); 9. Magdalena Neuner (GER); 10. Olga Anisimova (RUS) |
| 2. Tatiana Moiseeva (RUS) +51.5 (2) | |||
| 3. Natalya Sokolova (BLR) +58.2 (2) | |||
| Wilhelm was the only one of the top thirty to complete the standing shoot without misses, after arriving alone to the final shooting. Sokolova finished third, her first BWC podium, at the age of 33. Olofsson remained nine points ahead of Wilhelm in the overall standings. | |||
| 20 Jan | Men 12.5 km PU IBU report |
1. Christoph Sumann (AUT) 34:25.98 (1) | 4. Daniel Mesotitsch (AUT); 5. Sergei Rozhkov (RUS); 6. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS); 7. Sven Fischer (GER); 8. Andreas Birnbacher (GER); 9. Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR); 10. Björn Ferry (SWE) |
| 2. Alexander Wolf (GER) +15.7 (2) | |||
| 3. Vincent Defrasne (FRA) +27.6 (2) | |||
| Despite starting 17th, nearly a minute behind Sprint winner Wolf, Sumann got through the field thanks to good shooting, and with Wolf missing once on the final shoot and Sumann the only one of the leaders hitting all five final targets, the Austrian got his second WC win of his career (the first one took place five years ago). | |||
| 21 Jan |
Women 12.5 km MS IBU report |
1. Oksana Khvostenko (UKR) 41:55.96 (0) | 4. Natalya Sokolova (BLR); 5. Tatiana Moiseeva (RUS); 6. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE); 7. Kaisa Mäkäräinen (FIN); 8. Florence B.-Robert (FRA); 9. Helena Jonsson (SWE); 10. Zina Kocher (CAN) |
| 2. Kati Wilhelm (GER) +13.4 (3) | |||
| 3. Tadeja Brankovič (SLO) +23.5 (2) | |||
| One of only two contestants hitting all 20 targets of the race (Helena Jonsson was the other, at 9th), Khvostenko got her first BWC victory, and the first one for Ukraine since Nina Lemesh in 1998. To great rejoice, home favourite Brankovič grabbed the final place on the podium, with a 'faster-than-herself' final lap. Grubben did not participate. | |||
| Men 15 km MS IBU report |
1. Christoph Sumann (AUT) 38:24.18 (0) | 4. Michael Rösch (GER); 5. Frode Andresen (NOR); 6. Tim Burke (USA); 7. Daniel Mesotitsch (AUT); 8. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS); 9. Raphaël Poirée (FRA); 10. Stian Eckhoff (NOR) | |
| 2. Vincent Defrasne (FRA) +28.1 (0) | |||
| 3. Andreas Birnbacher (GER) +49.3 (1) | |||
| Sumann skied fastest and shot perfectly; a great recipe for victory, his second straight. American Tim Burke continued his steady progress in Pokljuka with an impressive career best at 6th. The Overall WC lead finally went from non-participating Bjørndalen to Michael Greis, who finished at no. 20. | |||
Individual biathletes:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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As usual in biathlon, the World Championship races counted in the World Cup; regular scores were awarded and added to the Total and format-wise rankings.
No teams from Asian nations took part during the opening weekend, since they had participated in the Asian Winter Games as recently as the Friday before; the biathletes had to travel the 8000+ km to Italy and then acclimatise themselves before being able to compete in Antholz.
| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Feb | Men 10 km SP IBU report |
Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 26:18.8 (1) | 4. Björn Ferry (SWE); 5. Tomasz Sikora (POL); 6. Mattias Nilsson (SWE); 7. Emil H. Svendsen (NOR); 8. Raphaël Poirée (FRA); 9. Rene L. Vuillermoz (ITA); 10. Mattias Simmen (SUI) |
| Michal Šlesingr (CZE) +4.8 (0) | |||
| Andriy Deryzemlya (UKR) +25.8 (0) | |||
| Despite running the final lap 1.6 seconds faster than Bjørndalen, Šlesingr wasn't able to close the gap all the way; nevertheless, the Czech gave himself his first ever podium finish, and medal, for a present on his 24th birthday. Deryzemlya beat Ferry to the bronze by 8.6 seconds; it was the Ukrainian's first championship medal. | |||
| Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
Magdalena Neuner (GER) 22:46.9 (2) | 4. Helena Jonsson (SWE); 5. Ann Kristin Flatland (NOR); 6. Michela Ponza (ITA); 7. Kati Wilhelm (GER); 8. Tadeja Brankovič (SLO); 9. Sandrine Bailly (FRA); 10. Tora Berger (NOR) | |
| Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) +2.3 (2) | |||
| Natalia Guseva (RUS) +19.6 (1) | |||
| In her first ever senior World Championship start, 19-year old Neuner grabbed the victory just ahead of Olofsson, who lost a whole 15 seconds to the German during the standing shoot. Getting the first championship medal of her career, Guseva entered the podium for the first time since WC 2 of the 2005–06 season (Hochfilzen). | |||
| 4 Feb | Men 12.5 km PU IBU report |
Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 32:21.27 (2) | 4. Michal Šlesingr (CZE); 5. Emil H. Svendsen (NOR); 6. Raphaël Poirée (FRA); 7. Tomasz Sikora (POL); 8. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS); 9. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 10. Michael Rösch (GER) |
| Maxim Tchoudov (RUS) +1:09.8 (3) | |||
| Vincent Defrasne (FRA) +1:09.9 (1) | |||
| Bjørndalen put his head start after the Sprint to good use, and won the ninth World Championship gold of his career. Tchoudov and Defrasne, who had started the race 1:02 and 1:11 after Bjørndalen, respectively, fought it out all the way to a photo finish. The Russian and the Frenchman both got their first individual World Championship medals. | |||
| Women 10 km PU IBU report |
Magdalena Neuner (GER) 33:01.61 (4) | 4. Natalia Guseva (RUS); 5. Tadeja Brankovič (SLO); 6. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA); 7. Teja Gregorin (SLO); 8. Michela Ponza (ITA); 9. Kati Wilhelm (GER); 10. Andrea Henkel (GER) | |
| Linda Grubben (NOR) +7.1 (1) | |||
| Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) +7.6 (5) | |||
| Winner Neuner stayed in the lead through the entire race, hence secured her second gold medal in as many days. The fastest skiing by far was done by Grubben, however, who started as no. 18, more than one minute after Neuner and Olofsson, and nevertheless managed to grab the silver after a tight duel with the Swede on the last lap. | |||
| 6 Feb | Men 20 km IN IBU report |
Raphaël Poirée (FRA) 56:14.6 (0) | 4. Frode Andresen (NOR); 5. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS); 6. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 7. Tim Burke (USA); 8. Simon Fourcade (FRA); 9. Ricco Groß (GER); 10. Halvard Hanevold (NOR) |
| Michael Greis (GER) +26.8 (2) | |||
| Michal Šlesingr (CZE) +37.4 (2) | |||
| One of four contestants with perfect shooting, Poirée won his seventh World Championship title, and the 40th in the World Cup; after the race, the 32-year old Frenchman surprisingly announced his retirement. Greis got the silver by skiing some ten seconds faster than Šlesingr, who, for his part, beat Andresen by 1.9 seconds to the bronze. | |||
| 7 Feb | Women 15 km IN IBU report |
Linda Grubben (NOR) 46:24.3 (0) | 4. Tora Berger (NOR); 5. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE); 6. Andrea Henkel (GER); 7. Ekaterina Iourieva (RUS); 8. Kaisa Mäkäräinen (FIN); 9. Sandrine Bailly (FRA); 10. Oksana Khvostenko (UKR) |
| Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA) +1:06.5 (0) | |||
| Martina Glagow (GER) +1:35.6 (1) | |||
| In the women's Individual, like the men's, flawless shooting was needed for victory; Grubben did the job and won her second medal of the Championships, beating Baverel-Robert—who also hit all targets—by a good minute in the track. The decidedly fastest skier, Olofsson, lost her medal chances from shooting two misses on each standing bout. | |||
| 8 Feb | Mixed 4×6 km RL IBU report |
Sweden (Jonsson, Olofsson, Ferry, Bergman), 1:20:04.75 (0+13) | 4. Slovenia (2+11); 5. Germany (3+12); 6. Italy (0+11); 7. China (1+8); 8. Czech Republic (0+10); 9. Russia (0+11); 10. Ukraine (0+10) |
| France (Baverel-Robert, Bailly, Defrasne, Poirée), +27.6 (0+2) | |||
| Norway (Berger, Mørkve, Svendsen, Andresen), +36.4 (0+11) | |||
| The Swedish team had the fastest course time, which gave them the victory in the first Mixed Relay to be held as a part of the regular World Championships. France, on the other hand, secured the silver medal via their quick and good shooting, while Norway, finishing less than 10 sec behind the Frenchmen, had a critical ammunition failure. | |||
| 10 Feb | Men 4×7.5 km RL IBU report |
Russia (Tcherezov, Tchoudov, Iarochenko, Kruglov), 1:14:36.16 (0+1) | 4. Italy (0+7); 5. Czech Republic (1+8); 6. Austria (0+6); 7. Sweden (0+11); 8. Ukraine (1+9); 9. United States (0+15); 10. France (2+11) |
| Norway (Hanevold, Berger, Andresen, Bjørndalen), +1:00.5 (1+11) | |||
| Germany (Groß, Rösch, Fischer, Greis), +1:32.5 (2+13) | |||
| Hitting 39 out of 40 targets, the Russians took a very convincing victory, leaving it to the rest of the field to fight it out for the lower places on the podium. Norway held the second place for most of the race, competing mostly against Germany—a fight Bjørndalen ended by outshooting Greis in the nerve wracking final standing duel. | |||
| Women 12.5 km MS IBU report |
Andrea Henkel (GER) 37:13.1 (2) | 4. Natalia Guseva (RUS); 5. Ekaterina Iourieva (RUS); 6. Linda Grubben (NOR); 7. Kaisa Mäkäräinen (FIN); 8. Helena Jonsson (SWE); 9. Tadeja Brankovič (SLO); 10. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA) | |
| Martina Glagow (GER) +4.6 (1) | |||
| Kati Wilhelm (GER) +10.6 (2) | |||
| The Germans finished with all their four skiers in the top fourteen, making themselves large favourites before the Relay. Iourieva led ahead of Jonsson after the third shoot, but Henkel, Glagow, and Wilhelm all filled their final five targets, and though Iourieva was second exiting the shooting range, she tired and finished out of the podium. | |||
| 11 Feb | Women 4×6 km RL IBU report |
Germany (Glagow, Henkel, Neuner, Wilhelm), 1:14:19.13 (0+7) | 4. Slovenia (0+7); 5. Belarus (1+10); 6. China (0+9); 7. Russia (2+10); 8. Italy (0+4); 9. Ukraine (1+9); 10. Poland (1+9) |
| France (Baverel-Robert, Peretto, Becaert, Bailly), +1:07.8 (1+7) | |||
| Norway (Berger, Flatland, Mørkve, Grubben), +1:29.7 (1+6) | |||
| Germany dominated most of the women's Relay, leading the race from the second leg onwards. Both the French and Norwegian teams got one penalty loop, but the French women skied faster, and beat Norway to the silver medal. After the race, Linda Grubben announced her retirement from biathlon, effective immediately. | |||
| Men 15 km MS IBU report |
Michael Greis (GER) 37:52.1 (2) | 4. Ole E. Bjørndalen (NOR); 5. Sven Fischer (GER); 6. Frode Andresen (NOR); 7. Christoph Sumann (AUT); 8. Simon Fourcade (FRA); 9. Jay Hakkinen (USA); 10. Mattias Nilsson (SWE) | |
| Andreas Birnbacher (GER) +15.4 (0) | |||
| Raphaël Poirée (FRA) +28.1 (1) | |||
| Greis and Bjørndalen followed each other throughout the race, but the Norwegian missed twice in the final shoot, while Greis, Birnbacher (the only participant with perfect shooting) and Poirée shot down all five targets. Greis won his first individual World Championship gold, and Poirée, in his final championship race, got his 17th BWCH medal. | |||
Individual biathletes:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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(* Linda Grubben's final score, as she retired immediately after the World Championships.)
Relay teams:
Final standings. Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Lars Berger of Norway skipped the meet to take part in the Nordic skiing World Championships in Sapporo, Japan. While Bjørndalen only participated in one race, the 15 km Free technique, where he finished 16th, Berger took home two gold medals, one in the 15 km Free and one in the Relay. Andreas Birnbacher, ranked no. 5 in the Total World Cup before WC 7, missed the meet due to illness.[7]
| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 Feb | Women 15 km IN IBU report |
1. Andrea Henkel (GER) 49:27.2 (1) | 4. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE), 5. Liu Xianying (CHN), 6. Magdalena Neuner (GER), 7. Kathrin Hitzer (GER), 8. Eveli Saue (EST), 9. Kong Yingchao (CHN), 10. Magdalena Gwizdoń (POL) |
| 2. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA) +31.6 (0) | |||
| 3. Kati Wilhelm (GER) +55.1 (2) | |||
| The German women continued in their good form from Antholz; six of the nine fastest course times were set by Germans. Good shooting from Baverel-Robert brought her onto the podium, but Individual World Champion Henkel led virtually from start to finish, and with her race win secured her Individual Cup victory. | |||
| 1 Mar | Men 20 km IN IBU report |
1. Raphaël Poirée (FRA) 56:41.8 (1) | 4. Christoph Sumann (AUT), 5 Rustam Valiullin (BLR), 6. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS), 7. Tomasz Sikora (POL), 8. Michael Greis (GER), 9. Nikolay Kruglov (RUS), 10. Maxim Tchoudov (RUS) |
| 2. Simon Fourcade (FRA) +17.9 (1) | |||
| 3. Alexander Wolf (GER) +37.6 (2) | |||
| With the score from his victory, Poirée got himself the chance to win the Individual Cup by finishing in the top four in Oslo the following week. He trailed compatriot Fourcade exiting the final shoot, but came back strongly in the last stretch; Fourcade nevertheless achieved his first podium placement. Greis took the Total Cup lead from Bjørndalen. | |||
| 2 Mar | Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
1. Martina Glagow (GER) 21:18.3 (0) | 4. Andrea Henkel (GER), 5. Kathrin Hitzer (GER), 6. Kong Yingchao (CHN), 7. Tora Berger (NOR), 8. Simone Denkinger (GER), 9. Darya Domracheva (BLR), 10. Florence B.-Robert (FRA) |
| 2. Kati Wilhelm (GER) +4.0 (0) | |||
| 3. Ekaterina Iourieva (RUS) +5.9 (0) | |||
| Though Iourieva led after the first shooting, her finish was not good enough to prevail against the many Germans; nevertheless, she got her first WC podium appearance. Wilhelm, beating Iourieva by a whole 16 seconds on the final lap, took over the lead from Olofsson in both the Sprint and Overall Cup. Glagow won her first race of the season. | |||
| 3 Mar | Men 10 km SP IBU report |
1. Raphaël Poirée (FRA) 24:39.0 (1) | 4. Halvard Hanevold (NOR), 5. Michael Greis (GER), 6. Sven Fischer (GER), 7. Michael Rösch (GER), 8. Stian Eckhoff (NOR), 9. Janez Marič (SLO), =10. Deryzemlya (UKR) and Kruglov (RUS) |
| 2. Alexander Os (NOR) +5.3 (0) | |||
| 3. Hans Martin Gjedrem (NOR) +10.2 (0) | |||
| Poirée took his second victory in Lahti, advancing to third place in the Overall standings. With faultless shooting, Norwegians Os and Gjedrem entered the podium for the first time in their respective careers. Greis, on fifth, secured his Sprint Cup lead; a 22nd place or better in the final Sprint in Khanty-Mansiysk (WC 9) would be enough to win. | |||
| 4 Mar | Women 10 km PU IBU report |
1. Martina Glagow (GER) 28:48.70 (1) | 4. Andrea Henkel (GER), 5. Ekaterina Iourieva (RUS), 6. Florence B.-Robert (FRA), 7. Kong Yingchao (CHN), 8. Tadeja Brankovič (SLO), 9. Tora Berger (NOR), 10. Oksana Khvostenko (UKR) |
| 2. Kati Wilhelm (GER) +15.9 (1) | |||
| 3. Kathrin Hitzer (GER) +51.6 (4) | |||
| In a tight sprint for the final spot on the podium, 20-year old Hitzer beat Henkel with 0.3 seconds and Iourieva with another half second; a career best for Hitzer. Glagow scored her first two-in-a-row victory, with the tenth win of her career, while Wilhelm took over the Pursuit Cup lead from recently retired Linda Grubben. | |||
| Men 12.5 km PU IBU report |
1. Raphaël Poirée (FRA) 31:03.79 (0) | 4. Halvard Hanevold (NOR), 5. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS), 6. Alexander Os (NOR), 7. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS), 8. Michael Rösch (GER), 9. Nikolay Kruglov, Jr. (RUS), 10. Simon Fourcade (FRA) | |
| 2. Michael Greis (GER) +6.0 (1) | |||
| 3. Sven Fischer (GER) +6.4 (0) | |||
| World Cup leader Greis missed a shot in his final standing session, leaving perfect shooter Poirée with enough of a lead to get his third victory in Lahti, and his 100th podium placement. Of the 51 participants who finished the race, only Poirée, Fischer, and Tcherezov hit all 20 targets. The Russian slipped from 3rd to 5th place during the final lap. | |||
Individual biathletes:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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(* Linda Grubben's final score, as she retired after the World Championships.)
| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar | Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
1. Andrea Henkel (GER) 21:47.9 (0) | 4. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE); 5. Kong Yingchao (CHN); 6. Oksana Khvostenko (UKR); 7. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA); 8. Liudmila Ananko (BLR); 9. Darya Domracheva (BLR); 10. Kaisa Mäkäräinen (FIN) |
| 2. Ekaterina Iourieva (RUS) +24.8 (0) | |||
| 3. Magdalena Neuner (GER) +31.5 (1) | |||
| With the fastest skiing and perfect shooting, Henkel raced in to her second victory in a row, and her sixth of the season. Iourieva led by four seconds exiting the last shooting, but Henkel outran the Russian by almost half a minute on the final lap. Neuner got her fifth podium placement. Sprint and Total Cup leader Kati Wilhelm finished 19th. | |||
| Men 20 km IN[8] IBU report |
1. Raphaël Poirée (FRA) 56:51.7 (0) | 4. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR); 5. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 6. Friedrich Pinter (AUT); 7. Sergei Rozhkov (RUS); 8. Tomasz Sikora (POL); 9. Filipp Shulman (RUS); 10. Carsten Pump (GER) | |
| 2. Michael Greis (GER) +5.5 (1) | |||
| 3. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS) +28.9 (0) | |||
| Winning the last ever 20 km Individual WC competition of his career, Poirée also won the season's Individual Cup, with a perfect three victories out of three counting races. Greis, second in the race after passing Iarochenko in the last lap, also came second in the Individual Cup. Bjørndalen skied fastest, but three misses sent him to 4th place. | |||
| 10 Mar | Women 10 km PU IBU report |
1. Magdalena Neuner (GER) 31:58.73 (3) | 4. Ekaterina Iourieva (RUS); 5. Natalya Sokolova (BLR); 6. Liudmila Ananko (BLR); 7. Darya Domracheva (BLR); 8. Magdalena Gwizdon (POL); 9. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA); 10. Kong Yingchao (CHN) |
| 2. Andrea Henkel (GER) +0.6 (2) | |||
| 3. Kati Wilhelm (GER) +26.9 (2) | |||
| Defeating her teammate Henkel by roughly half a second at the finishing line, Neuner topped the all-German podium with her fourth victory of the season. The best shooters were Henkel, Wilhelm, and Sokolova with two misses each; seven others missed three times; the 43 additional finishing biathletes missed four or more targets. | |||
| Men 12.5 km PU IBU report |
1. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 31:03.6 (0) | 4. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 5. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS); 6. Sergei Rozhkov (RUS); 7. Friedrich Pinter (AUT); 8. Stian Eckhoff (NOR); 9. Sven Fischer (GER); 10. Michael Rösch (GER) | |
| 2. Raphaël Poirée (FRA) +46.9 (3) | |||
| 3. Michael Greis (GER) +55.5 (3) | |||
| Bjørndalen won his tenth race out of the fifteen he had participated in so far this season, by thoroughly outshooting the two closest runners-up. If finishing no. 6 or better in the remaining Pursuit, Bjørndalen would take that Cup from Iarochenko. Germany and Russia did the best team performances, each having three participants in the top 10. | |||
| 11 Mar | Women 12.5 km MS IBU report |
1. Magdalena Neuner (GER) 35:18.64 (2) | 4. Kong Yingchao (CHN); 5. Simone Denkinger (GER); 6. Kati Wilhelm (GER); 7. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA); 8. Liu Xianying (CHN); 9. Sandrine Bailly (FRA); 10. Andrea Henkel (GER) |
| 2. Kathrin Hitzer (GER) +7.5 (2) | |||
| 3. Ekaterina Iourieva (RUS) +18.0 (0) | |||
| The young roommates Neuner and Hitzer raced in to a German double, despite two missed shots each; they both passed Iourieva, who shot perfectly, during the final lap. Sylvie Becaert, finishing 16th, was the only other participant without misses. Hitzer's second podium placement put her in the BWC top 10 for the first time since December. | |||
| Men 15 km MS IBU report |
1. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR) 37:31.68 (2) | 4. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS); 5. Tomasz Sikora (POL); 6. Björn Ferry (SWE); 7. Vincent Defrasne (FRA); 8. Michael Rösch (GER); 9. Christoph Sumann (AUT); 10. Maxim Tchoudov (RUS) | |
| 2. Raphaël Poirée (FRA) +0.1 (1) | |||
| 3. Sven Fischer (GER) +3.4 (0) | |||
| Raphaël Poiree's final World Cup race ended with a millimeter-short loss behind archrival Bjørndalen; Fischer on third completed the all-Norwegian-speaking podium. Only Fischer and Tcherezov hit all twenty targets. World Cup leader Greis chose to quit the race in the fourth lap, slipping Bjørndalen as close as 62 pts behind in the Total rankings. | |||
Individual biathletes:
Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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( * Raphaël Poirée's final score, as he retired immediately after this WC meet.)
(** Linda Grubben's final score, as she retired after the World Championships.)
| Date | Event | Podium | Top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Mar | Women 7.5 km SP IBU report |
1. Magdalena Neuner (GER) 22:34.0 (0) | 4. Teja Gregorin (SLO); 5. Oksana Khvostenko (UKR); 6. Florence Baverel-Robert (FRA); 7. Katrin Apel (GER); 8. Helena Jonsson (SWE); 9. Olga Kudrashova (BLR); 10. Tora Berger (NOR) |
| 2. Andrea Henkel (GER) +56.8 (1) | |||
| 3. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) +1:03.0 (1) | |||
| Perfect shooting and next-to-fastest skiing put Neuner on the top spot for the third time in a row; her teammate Henkel was 0.2 sec faster in the track, but shot worse and slower. Olofsson secured the season's Sprint Cup title in front of Total Cup leader Kati Wilhelm, who disappointingly finished 11th with a slight cold to contend with. | |||
| Men 10 km SP IBU report |
1. Michael Rösch (GER) 27:00.5 (1) | 4. Christoph Sumann (AUT); 5. Friedrich Pinter (AUT); 6. Sven Fischer (GER); 7. Carl Johan Bergman (SWE); 8. Björn Ferry (SWE); 9. Christian De Lorenzi (ITA); 10. Lars Berger (NOR) | |
| 2. Maxim Tchoudov (RUS) +8.8 (0) | |||
| 3. Andrei Makoveev (RUS) +13.4 (0) | |||
| Rösch got his first win of the season and the second of his career, by outskiing the two Russian runners-up; he missed one shot and they shot clean, as did the Austrians on 4th and 5th. Ole Einar Bjørndalen missed six times and finished 48th—his worst World Cup Sprint result since 1993(!). Michael Greis, on 16th, won the Sprint Cup. | |||
| 17 Mar | Women 10 km PU IBU report |
1. Magdalena Neuner (GER) 34:18.72 (4) | 4. Tadeja Brankovič (SLO); 5. Florence B.-Robert (FRA); 6. Darya Domracheva (BLR); 7. Simone Denkinger (GER); 8. Katrin Apel (GER); 9. Tora Berger (NOR); 10. Teja Gregorin (SLO) |
| 2. Anna Carin Olofsson (SWE) +25.3 (2) | |||
| 3. Andrea Henkel (GER) +25.5 (2) | |||
| Neuner used her huge time advantage and third best course time to win the race; she could afford four misses, which was more than any of the next 14 finishers. Due to the tally rules (result scratch), Olofsson took over the yellow bib from Kati Wilhelm (20th place), despite Henkel's getting the actual lead. Wilhelm won the Pursuit Cup. | |||
| Men 12.5 km PU IBU report |
1. Maxim Tchoudov (RUS) 36:54.43 (2) | 4. Christoph Sumann (AUT); 5. Carl J. Bergman (SWE); 6. Halvard Hanevold (NOR); 7. Michael Rösch (GER); 8. Michal Slesingr (CZE); 9. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR); 10. Sergei Rozhkov (RUS) | |
| 2. Björn Ferry (SWE) +0.6 (2) | |||
| 3. Stian Eckhoff (NOR) +2.1 (2) | |||
| With a victory margin of 0.6 sec in a three-man dash to the finish line, Tchoudov got his first World Cup win. Eckhoff, starting in position 12, entered the podium for the first time of the season. By far the fastest was Bjørndalen, who ascended from 48th to 9th place. Michael Greis, 16th, won the Total Cup; Dmitri Iarochenko, 21st, the Pursuit Cup. | |||
| 18 Mar | Women 12.5 km MS IBU report |
1. Helena Jonsson (SWE) 39:26.11 (1) | 4. Anna Boulygina (RUS); 5. Sandrine Bailly (FRA); 6. Ekaterina Iourieva (RUS); 7. Tadeja Brankovič (SLO); 8. Magdalena Neuner (GER); 9. Teja Gregorin (SLO); 10. Natalya Sokolova (BLR) |
| 2. Oksana Khvostenko (UKR) +3.2 (1) | |||
| 3. Kathrin Hitzer (GER) +16.4 (3) | |||
| In tricky wind gusts, 25 of 30 runners missed three or more shots; only winner Jonsson, first time on the podium, and runner-up Khvostenko, made due with one miss. The Total Cup contenders, Henkel (15th), Wilhelm (17th), and Olofsson (20th), missed 6, 5, and 7 times, resp. In the end, Henkel won the Total Cup, Wilhelm the Mass start Cup. | |||
| Men 15 km MS IBU report |
1. Ivan Tcherezov (RUS) 42:29.75 (2) | 4. Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR); 5. Vincent Defrasne (FRA); 6. Dmitri Iarochenko (RUS); 7. Stian Eckhoff (NOR); 8. Rene Laurent Vuillermoz (ITA); 9. Björn Ferry (SWE); 10. Andreas Birnbacher (GER) | |
| 2. Michael Greis (GER) +12.7 (4) | |||
| 3. Sven Fischer (GER) +14.0 (3) | |||
| First-time winner Tcherezov was one of three shooters with only two misses. Bjørndalen came to the final shooting alone, but missed three shots and exited the range just behind Greis and ahead of Fischer; they outskied the Norwegian in the end loop. Nevertheless, Bjørndalen snatched the Mass start Cup from Sumann, who finished 14th. | |||
Individual biathletes:
Final standings. Standings from the previous WC meet shown in brackets.
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( * Raphaël Poirée retired after WC 8 in Holmenkollen, and did not take part in WC 9 in Khanty-Mansiysk.)
(** Linda Grubben retired after the World Championships in Antholz, and did not take part in WC meets 7, 8, and 9.)
First World Cup career victory:
First podium placement:
Retired during the season:
Retired at the end of the season:
(* As of the end of March 2007, Gredler and Santer-Bjørndalen's final decisions of retirement were still not taken, despite the indications that had been given before the beginning of the season. 36-year-old Sven Fischer (GER) told reporters that he might make a retirement decision in April.[9])
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