With the IBU World Championships starting with the Mixed Relay on Wednesday, 12 February 2025, we analysed whose form was trending upwards after Trimester 2, who passed a high-altitude test in Antholz-Anterselva and whose historical success at the World Championships could boost their confidence in Lenzerheide 2025.

Form trend - men

The season’s biggest decision came at Christmas in Johannes Thingnes Boe’s home—he realised he lacked the energy and motivation to prepare for Milano Cortina 2026. After struggling in Oberhof and Ruhpolding, he announced his retirement at season’s end. His emotional turmoil likely contributed to his Trimester 2 form drop, while Sturla Holm Laegreid surged ahead. Laegreid amassed 400 points in Trimester 2, Tarjei 321, and Johannes 237. Quentin Fillon Maillet outscored Johannes by 20 points, ranking as the third-best performer of 2025.

Laegreid dominated the Sprint in Trimester 2 with 120 points, followed by Tarjei Boe (115) and Martin Uldal (105). He also leads the Sprint Score (279 points). In the Pursuit, Laegreid claimed 180 points after winning both 2025 races, with Tarjei (150) and Johannes (110) trailing. Sturla and Johannes co-lead the Pursuit Score (290 points each). He also tops the Mass Start Score (195 points) over Johannes (164) and Tarjei (156).

At high-altitude Antholz-Anterselva, Laegreid and Tarjei each won once and finished second once, while Tommaso Giacomel took third twice. Johannes, Uldal, Fak, and Perrot made the Top 10 in Sprint and Pursuit, but Jacquelin and Samuelsson finished outside.

World Championships stats overview - men

Sebastian Samuelsson struck gold in the Mass Start in Oberhof 2023, claiming his first and only World Championship title. That wasn’t all—he also grabbed bronze medals in the Individual and Pursuit, making it his best championship yet. His first individual podium at Worlds came in Pokljuka 2021, where he powered to silver in the Pursuit. Martin Ponsiluoma had his golden moment in the Sprint at Pokljuka 2021. He kept the momentum going in Oberhof 2023, adding a Mass Start silver to his collection.

Despite being a two-time Olympic champion and a Total Score winner, Quentin Fillon Maillet is still chasing that elusive World Championship gold. His best Worlds so far? Antholz-Anterselva 2020, where he bagged silver in the Sprint and Mass Start. He’s also got Mass Start bronzes from Pokljuka 2021 and Nove Mesto 2023. Emilien Jacquelin, the ultimate wildcard, is a two-time Pursuit World Champion. His legendary showdown with JT Boe in Antholz-Anterselva 2020 is still talked about today. And who could forget his masterclass in Pokljuka 2021, where he also snatched a Sprint bronze?

A veteran of 11 World Championships, Tarjei Boe has been on the podium plenty of times. His two golds came in the Sprint (Khanty-Mansiysk 2011) and Mass Start (Nove Mesto 2013). He’s also got two silvers, including one from the Individual in Nove Mesto 2024, and a whopping seven bronze medals, cementing his legacy as one of biathlon’s greats.

Lenzerheide 2025 will be just the fourth World Championships for Sturla Holm Laegreid, but he’s already stacked up an impressive medal haul: three golds (Individual & Mass Start in Pokljuka 2021, Sprint in Nove Mesto 2024), three silvers (Individual & Pursuit in Oberhof 2023, Pursuit in Nove Mesto 2024), and a bronze (Sprint in Oberhof 2023).

And then there’s Johannes Thingnes Boe—the man whose level of excellence is known only to Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Martin Fourcade. His gold tally spans every discipline: two Individual titles (Oberhof 2023, Nove Mesto 2024), three Sprint wins (Kontiolahti 2015, Oestersund 2019, Oberhof 2023), two Pursuit victories (Oberhof 2023, Nove Mesto 2024), and three Mass Start triumphs (Oslo-Holmenkollen 2016, Antholz-Anterselva 2020, Nove Mesto 2024). And - Johannes did back-to-back 7/7 in Oberhof 2023 and Nove Mesto 2024.

Looking for their first-ever medal - men

Philipp Nawrath, Eric Perrot, Tommaso Giacomel, Endre Stroemsheim, Vebjoern Soerum, and Martin Uldal have all scored a World Cup win but are yet to win an individual medal. Home shooting star Niklas Hartweg will dream of the same achievement.

Form trend - women

Lou Jeanmonnot won for the fifth and sixth time in Antholz-Anterselva in 2024/2025, yet, she still trails Franziska Preuss, who won two races but has eighth further podiums (including two third places in Antholz), by 92 points in the Total Score. Jeanmonnot won 435 World Cup points in Trimester 2 to Preuss’ 314. Oceane Michelon scored 283 as the third most successful in Trimester 2. Jeanmonnot collected the most points in the Sprint in January 2025 - 131, Selina Grotian 106, and Maren Kirkeeide 104, but Preuss leads in the Sprint Score with 298 points.

With winning both Pursuits in Trimester 2, Jeanmonnot scored 180 points to Julia Simon’s 106 and Ocean Michelon’s 105. Jeanmonnot also leads in the Pursuit Score with 293 points.

Preuss leads in the Mass Start Score with 215 points, one ahead of Ruhpolding winner Elvira Oeberg, who got sick in Antholz-Anterselva and couldn’t check her form and her body’s readiness for the high-altitude battles in Lenzerheide. Jeanne Richard is third with 149 points.

As for the Individual, Jeanmonnot has won both editions in 2024/2025 and is a heavy favourite for Lenzerheide.

World Championships stats overview - women

A decade has passed since Franziska Preuss claimed her only individual World Championship medal—a silver in the Mass Start at Kontiolahti 2015. Lou Jeanmonnot stepped onto the podium for the first time last year in Nove Mesto, securing bronze in both the Sprint and Mass Start.

Julia Simon boasts an impressive collection, with Pursuit golds from Oberhof 2023 and Nove Mesto 2024, Sprint gold from Nove Mesto, plus bronze medals from the Mass Start and Individual in Oberhof. Justine Braisaz-Bouchet celebrated her first World Championship title last winter in Nove Mesto, adding to her Sprint silver and bronze medals in the Pursuit (Nove Mesto 2024) and Individual (Oestersund 2019).

Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold has shown remarkable World Championships consistency, earning silver in the Sprint (Oestersund 2019) and Mass Start (Pokljuka 2021, Oberhof 2023), along with an Individual bronze from Pokljuka 2021.

Surprisingly, Elvira Oeberg is still chasing her first individual World Championship medal, while her sister Hanna Oeberg stands as one of the event’s most decorated still-active stars. Hanna holds three golds - Individual titles (Oestersund 2019, Oberhof 2023) and Mass Start gold (Oberhof 2023) - along with multiple silver and bronze medals. Dorothea Wierer matches Hanna’s three world titles, winning Mass Start gold in Oestersund 2019 and a golden double in the Pursuit and Individual at Antholz-Anterselva 2020, while also collecting two silvers.

Looking for their first-ever medal

U23 stars of women’s biathlon - Jeanne Richard, Oceane Michelon, Selina Grotian, Maren Kirkeeide and also Julia Tannheimer are ready to their World Championships’ breakthrough and will want to open their medal account.