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The Short Individual races at the season’s final IBU Cup in Otepaa, Estonia saw Sivert Guttorm Bakken win for Norway and Susan Kuelm for Estonia. Kuelm, to great delight of the OC and local fans, brought Estonia the first-ever IBU Cup win. Voldiya Galmace Paulin of France and Isak Frey of Norway won the Individual Cup Score.

Tuesday’s Sprint Pursuit in Torsby delivered plenty of drama, serving as a fitting climax to the first-ever IBU Para Biathlon World Cup season. Three Crystal Globe winners were already known heading into this final event, while three more still needed to secure their titles. The Nations Cup, too, remained undecided until the very end.

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.

Oceane Michelon’s last 15 days of biathlon have been something special: IBU World Championships Relay Gold medal and Mass Start Silver, followed by a stunning third place in the Nove Mesto Women’s Pursuit, capped by the Nove Mesto Women’s Relay win that vaulted France to the World Cup Relay Score Crystal Globe.

Johannes Thingnes Boe reclaimed the yellow bib from Sturla Holm Laegreid after two third-place finishes in Nove Mesto na Morave. Meanwhile, Lou Jeanmonnot inched even closer to Franziska Preuss in the Total Score standings, increasing the pressure as the competition tightens. At the same time, the U23 battle is becoming increasingly entertaining, with Jeanne Richard, Oceane Michelon, Selina Grotian, and Maren Kirkeeide pushing their limits - and each other.

Time to vote for your athlete of the week - Ingrid Landmark Tandrevold, Sebastian Samuelsson, the Ukrainian Men Relay and Hanna Oeberg are this week's nominees!

France’s Julia Simon cleaned her standing quickly to secure victory in the Nove Mesto na Morave Women’s 4 X 6 km Relay in 1:11:11.1, giving France a relay sweep after the men won earlier this afternoon. Simon and teammates Lou Jeanmonnot, Oceane Michelon and Justine Braisaz-Bouchet used five spares in their second victory of the season, after taking the IBU World Championships title in Lenzerheide. Today’s win gave the French women the World Cup Relay Score Crystal Globe, matching the men’s seasonal win.

Sunny weather marked the second day of the Para Biathlon World Cup in Torsby, where Sunday’s individual races served as the season’s ninth and penultimate race. Yerbol Khamitov, Kendall Gretsch, and Nathalie Wilkie each carried over their strong form from Saturday, notching their second victories, while three other categories saw new winners.

When the pressure was on in the final standing stage of this afternoon’s Nove Mesto na Morave Men’s 4 X 7.5 km Relay, France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet delivered a clutch performance of five blindingly fast shots, sealing victory in 1:16:24.3. Fillon Maillet’s brilliant last stage came as he shot side-by-side with Norway’s Johannes Thingnes Boe, who faltered with shaking legs, ending up with a penalty, setting for second place, 1:26.6 back. France’s win gave them a sweep of the World Cup Relays this season and the World Cup Relay Score title. Their only blemish was a loss to Norway at the IBU World Championships.

Kristyna Otcovska of Czechia and Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen won the Mass Start 60 at the end of first week at the IBU Cup in Otepaa. Otcovska’s perfect shooting made the difference, allowing her to maintain control throughout the race and collect her first-ever IBU Cup win. French women and Norwegian men placed four athletes in the top five.