The IBU Para Biathlon World Cup 2025/26 season has gone down in history. On the final day in Jakuszyce, two fiercely contested Crystal Globe battles reached their dramatic conclusion. The weekend will also be remembered for Taras Rad's phenomenal performances.

Competing in the men’s sitting category, the 26-year-old Rad emerged as the standout athlete of the weekend. The Ukrainian opened the season with three third-place finishes in Canmore, did not start in Notschrei along with the rest of his team, and was simply unbeatable at the season finale in Poland, winning all three of his races. On Sunday in the 12.5km Individual race, Rad left no room for doubt. Shooting clean, he built a commanding lead of more than one minute over Aaron Pike. The American tried to stay in touch but missed his opening shot at the final visit to the shooting range. Instead of fighting for victory, Pike had to defend second place against Yerbol Khamitov. The Kazakh ultimately finished six seconds behind Pike and had to settle for third.

In the women’s sitting race, Oksana Masters claimed her fourth victory of the season. Despite skiing one penalty loop, she comfortably defeated a flawless Kendall Gretsch by one minute and five seconds. Third place went to Anja Wicker, who had already secured the Crystal Globe in this category.

This was just a prelude to the drama that unfolded in the afternoon, when the men’s standing athletes took to the course. Heading into the final race of the season, Benjamin Daviet held a six-point lead over Mark Arendz. To defend his Crystal Globe, the Canadian needed to finish at least two places ahead of the Frenchman. The Individual race delivered competition of the highest level. Both athletes shot flawlessly despite increasingly difficult wind conditions. Arendz was faster on the course, but his Crystal Globe triumph would not have been possible without an equally outstanding performance from Marco Maier. The German shot a perfect 20 out of 20 and crossed the finish line just three seconds behind Arendz. Crucially, Maier finished between Arendz and Daviet, tipping the overall standings in Arendz’s favour and securing his fifth Crystal Globe title.

The men’s vision-impaired competition proved just as thrilling. Heading into the final start of the season, Lennart Volkert held a 15-point advantage over Nico Messinger. The race remained finely balanced through the halfway point, with Messinger shooting clean and moving into the lead, while Volkert, with one penalty loop, sat in third and still protected his overall advantage. The decisive moments came during the third and fourth shooting bouts, when Volkert missed four targets and dropped to fifth place. Messinger maintained perfect shooting accuracy, won the final race of the season and, with it, secured the Crystal Globe. Joining him on the Sunday podium were Iaroslav Reshetynskyi and Maksym Murashkovskyi.

Two other races were less dramatic, with the winners in control from start to finish. In the standing women competition, Natalie Wilkie once again demonstrated flawless shooting to claim her sixth victory of the season, finishing 42 seconds ahead of Liudmyla Liashenko and one minute and 35 seconds clear of compatriot Brittany Hudak. In VI’s race for the second time in a row, the first place went to Carina Edlingerova, who was enjoying the best biathlon weekend of her life. Simona Bubencikova finished second, while Johanna Recktenwald, who secured the Total Score title, placed third. Her consistency throughout the season played a significant role in Germany winning the Para Biathlon Nations Cup, with Canada finishing second, 37 points behind.

Although this marked the final IBU Para Biathlon World Cup competition this winter, the season is far from over. Attention now turns to the Paralympic Games in Val di Fiemme, where the para biathlon events will take place on March 7, 8, and 13.

Photos: IBU | Wlaźlak