And the most winning star sign is . . . .

Three biathlon greats won six or more Total Score titles. Magdalena Forsberg was born under the star sign of Leo, Martin Fourcade under Virgo, and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen under Aquarius.

Has the characteristics of their star sign given them an edge? We analysed the zodiac sign of the Total Score winners from 1993-2022. There are 12 zodiac signs, and only the athletes born under one - libra - have not yet won the Crystal globe. But let’s look at the three most victorious zodiac signs, their main characteristic, and the Total Score winners born within them.

LEO (23 July - 22 August); 16 Total Score titles

DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC: vivacious, fiery, theatrical

TOTAL SCORE WINNERS MEN (7): Raphael Poiree, France (4), Michael Greis, Germany (1); Tarjei Boe, Norway (1); Quentin Fillon Maillet, France (1)

TOTAL SCORE WINNERS WOMEN (9): Magdalena Forsberg, Sweden (6), Kati Wilhelm, Germany (1), Darya Domracheva, Belarus (1); Laura Dahlmeier, Germany (1)

MOST NOTABLE LEO CHAMPIONS FROM OTHER SPORTS

Roger Federer, Switzerland, tennis; Usain Bolt, Jamaica, athletics

BI21 - Star sign winners - Leo

With 16 wins, Leo is the most successful zodiac sign related to the BMW IBU World Cup Total Score titles. Magdalena Forsberg first collected the Total Score in the 1996/1997 season and started the run of six consecutive wins, a record for women. Three other Leo women achieved a Total Score win: Kati Wilhelm, Darya Domracheva, and Laura Dahlmeier, who finished her career at 25. Early, but not unexpected for a two-time Olympic and four-time world champion. Raphael Poiree and Quentin Fillon Maillet are French, Leo-born athletes who won five Total Score titles between them. Michael Greis was the last German man to achieve a Total Score. Tarjei Boe’s win seems like an announcement of the arrival of his even stronger brother Johannes Thingnes.

VIRGO (23 August - 22 September); 9 Total Score titles

DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC: logical, practical, systematic

TOTAL SCORE WINNERS MEN (7): Martin Fourcade, France (7)

TOTAL SCORE WINNERS WOMEN (2): Martina (Beck) Glagow, Germany (1); Helena Ekholm, Sweden (1)

MOST NOTABLE VIRGO CHAMPIONS FROM OTHER SPORTS

Jesse Owens, USA, athletics; Kobe Bryant, USA, basketball

BI21 - Star sign winners - Virgo

Martin Fourcade won unpaired seven consecutive Total Score titles, starting in 2011/2012 and finishing in the 2017/2018 season. His approach to training and competitions was systematic and practical, and his focus never wavered. Fourcade famously said that his absolute commitment to biathlon lasted from the first day of the summer camp to the last day of the season and that he could sense how everybody around him lapsed in the commitment at some stage. Martina Glagow and Helena Ekholm added one Total Score each to Virgo’s balance sheet.

AQUARIUS (20 January - 18 February): 9 Total Score titles

DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC: revolutionary

TOTAL SCORE WINNERS MEN: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, Norway (6)

TOTAL SCORE WINNERS WOMEN (3): Magdalena Neuner, Germany (3)

MOST NOTABLE AQUARIUS CHAMPIONS FROM OTHER SPORTS

Michael Jordan, USA, basketball; Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, football

BI21 - Star sign winners - Aquarius

Ole Einar Bjoerndalen won six Total Score titles. First in the 1997/1998 season, when he was 24. Sixth in the 2008/2099 season, when he was 35. He finished his career with 44, still competitive in the BMW IBU World Cup. Bjoerndalen used his inner vision, quite typical for Aquarius, to keep adapting his training methods to his body’s changing capabilities. Bjoerndalen won 15km freestyle in the cross-country world cup in Gallivare, Sweden, in 2006, another testimony of his revolutionary approach to the sport. Magdalen Neuner took biathlon’s world by the storm, won three Total Score titles, became an Olympic and world champion, and said goodbye at 25.

Just like Bjoerndalen and Neuner, Regina (Oja) Ermits is an Aquarius. She is not quite sure what to make of them, but reads them anyway: "Generally, I don't believe in horoscopes. I do read them sometimes if I come across them in newspapers. I always read all of my family members' horoscopes, and I often make fun of them. If the horoscope is positive, I believe it. I could believe it if I went to a professional and had a proper chart created. I know that I am an Aquarius. I think the characteristics can apply to everyone. There is always something that applies to someone."

Photo: IBU Archive