Press releases

The International Biathlon Union is deeply saddened to learn that former Olympic and World Champion Laura Dahlmeier has passed away at the age of 31 following a tragic mountaineering accident in Pakistan.

The IBU Executive Board (EB) this week in Salzburg confirmed the athletes who will receive reallocated medals following the Swiss Federal Tribunal’s decision to reject Russian biathlete Evgeny Ustyugov’s final appeal and uphold the disqualification of all his results between 2010 and 2014 due to anti-doping rule violations.

Salzburg, Austria – May 22, 2025 – The International Biathlon Union (IBU) and the Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU) welcome the decision of the Swiss Federal Tribunal to reject the appeals of former Russian biathlete Evgeny Ustyugov. These final rulings uphold the previous decisions of the IBU Anti-Doping Hearing Panel and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), confirming sanctions for anti-doping rule violations.

The unforgettable 2024/2025 biathlon season comes to a close in Holmenkollen, Norway tomorrow and is set to be marked by thrilling races and an emotional farewell to two legends of the sport: Johannes Thingnes and Tarjei Boe.

The Biathlon Integrity Unit (BIU) acknowledges the award issued by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in the case concerning former International Biathlon Union (IBU) President, Anders Besseberg. The CAS ruling imposes a lifetime ban from all future elected or appointed positions within the sport due to severe breaches of integrity.

After consulting with the Athletes' Committee, the IBU decided to switch the Mass Start competitions on Sunday, 23 March, at Oslo-Holmenkollen. The women compete first now and start at 13:15 CET, the Men’s Mass Start is now scheduled for 15:40 CET. The change has been agreed to maximize the attention for the Women’s Mass Start and the fights for the Globes and to guarantee a worthy farewell to Tarjei and Johannes Thingnes Boe after their last World Cup competition.

Due to the bad weather conditions in Pokljuka, Slovenia, with warm temperatures and heavy rainfalls in the past two days and forecasted for the upcoming days, the competition schedule for the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon has been changed. Both Individual competitions will be held as Short Individuals on Thursday, 13 March. Friday is a spare day used for venue maintenance and as a fallback option if no competitions can be held on Thursday. The Mass Starts are moved to Saturday and the Single Mixed and Mixed relays will be held on Sunday.

The IBU has published its Sustainability Report 2024 and Climate Transition Action Plan (CTAP) as the federation continues to receive international recognition as a leader in sustainability in sport.

The International Biathlon Union today announced its 2026-2030 World Cup calendar featuring a number of exciting innovations to maximise fan engagement, to future-proof the sport and safeguard athlete welfare whilst keeping the traditions that have been fundamental in biathlon’s rise to Europe’s most watched TV wintersport.

Johannes Thingnes Boe has officially etched his name in the history books as the most decorated biathlete in World Championships history. With his latest gold medal in the Sprint at the BMW IBU World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, the Norwegian superstar surpasses Ole Einar Bjoerndalen’s long-standing record, cementing his legacy as the greatest athlete the World Championships have ever seen.