Biathlon World Cup
 | For current information on this topic, see 2006-07 Biathlon World Cup. |
The Biathlon World Cup (BWC) has been held since the winter seasons of 1977/78 and 1982/83, for men and women, respectively (for women, the seasons through 1986/87 were called the European Cup, although participation was not restricted to Europeans).
The BWC season lasts from December to March, with contests in a different venue every week excluding some holidays and a couple of weeks before the season's major championship (World Championship or Winter Olympics). All in all, the season comprises nine to ten contest weeks, with events taking place from Wednesday/Thursday through Sunday. Relay competitions are held four to six times per season. Also counting as World Cup events are World Championships and Winter Olympics events.
The tables given below provide an overview of the highest-ranking biathletes and nations of each WC season. For each event, a first place gives 50 points, a 2nd place 46 pts, a 3rd place 43 pts, a 4th place 40 pts, a fifth place 37 pts, a 6th place 34 pts, then further decreasing by two pts down to the 15th place (16 pts), then linearly decreasing by one point down to the 30th place. Equal placings (ties) give an equal number of points. The sum of all WC points of the season, less the points from an IBU-predetermined number of events (e.g. 3), gives the biathlete's total WC score.
(From 1985 to 2000, WC points were awarded so that the first four places gave 30, 26, 24, and 22 points, respectively, and then the 5th to 25th place gave 21, 20, ..., down to 1 point. Before this, points were simply awarded linearly from 25 to 1.)
Men
Romanization of Cyrillic alphabet-based names follows the IBU's athlete records.
See the List of IOC country codes for expansions of country abbreviations.
Overall
(¹ Vladimir Dratchev changed his citizenship from Russian to Belarusian in 2002)
Relay
| Season | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992/93 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1993/94 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1994/95 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1995/96 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1996/97 |  Germany
|
 Norway
|
 Russia
|
| 1997/98 | GER & NOR
|
– | Russia
|
| 1998/99 | Germany
|
Russia
|
Norway
|
| 1999/00 | Norway
|
Russia
|
Germany
|
| 2000/01 | Norway
|
Russia
|
 Czech Republic
|
| 2001/02 | Norway
|
Germany
|
 Belarus
|
| 2002/03 | Belarus
|
Russia
|
Norway
|
| 2003/04 | Norway
|
Germany
|
 France
|
| 2004/05 | Norway
|
Germany
|
Russia
|
| 2005/06 | Germany
|
Russia
|
France
|
| 2006/07 | Russia
|
Norway
|
Germany
|
Women
Romanization of Cyrillic alphabet-based names follows the IBU's athlete records.
See the List of IOC country codes for expansions of country abbreviations.
Overall
The women's BWC seasons through 1986/87 were actually called the European Cup, although participation was open to biathletes of all nationalities.
(¹ Petra Schaaf married XC skier and later German national XC ski team coach Jochen Behle)
Relay
| Season | Winner | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992/93 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1993/94 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1994/95 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1995/96 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1996/97 | Russia
|
Norway
|
Germany
|
| 1997/98 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 1998/99 | Germany
|
Russia
|
 Ukraine
|
| 1999/00 | GER & RUS
|
– | Ukraine
|
| 2000/01 | Norway
|
Germany
|
Russia
|
| 2001/02 | Germany
|
NOR & RUS
|
– |
| 2002/03 | Russia
|
Germany
|
Belarus
|
| 2003/04 | Norway
|
Russia
|
Germany
|
| 2004/05 | Russia
|
Germany
|
Norway
|
| 2005/06 | Russia
|
Germany
|
France
|
| 2006/07 | France
|
Germany
|
Russia
|