Tarjei Boe won the individual Cup Score and made his Globe collection complete. German men’s form is rising just in time for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. Campbell Wright made history as the first athlete from New Zealand who made it to the mass start, Dorothea Wierer found her magic seemingly out of the blue, and Selina Grotian shone at the JOECH.

Tarjei Boe joins the Best of the best.

Competing in his 13th BMW IBU World Cup season, Tarjei Boe finished second in both individual competitions (Oestersund, Antholz-Anterselva) and won the Cup Score in biathlon’s pioneer discipline. That completed Tarjei’s collection of cup score trophies. He won the Total Score title and sprint and pursuit globes in the 2010/2011 season and was the best in the mass start last season. With this rare accomplishment, Tarjei joined Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, who also completed the set over many years, and his brother Johannes Thingnes, Raphael Poiree, and Martin Fourcade, who did that in one season. JT Boe won an entire batch of Cups in the phenomenal 2018/2019 season, Poiree in 2003/2004, whereas Fourcade swept the seasons 2012/2013, 2015/2016, 2016/2017, and 2017/2018.

Upon boarding a plane to China, German men hit the winning form.

German men no longer need to worry about their shape before departure for Beijing. Benedikt Doll’s superb performance and a high-altitude win in the mass start of Antholz-Anterselva rounded three fruitful weeks for Mark Kirchner’s men in 2022. Johannes Kuehn added a fourth place in the Oberhof sprint to his career-first win in Hochfilzen. Erik Lesser finished sixth in the sprint and pursuit of Ruhpolding, and Doll announced his podium streak with a second place in the sprint in Ruhpolding. Add two second place Ruhpolding-Antholz back-to-back finishes in the relay, and German men (again) look like contenders for medals in Beijing 2022. 

And just like that . . . Wierer found her magic again.

After less than stellar first three weeks of the season, two-time BMW IBU World Cup Total Score champion Dorothea Wierer found herself sitting in 22nd place with just 93 points to her name and 13th place in the pursuit from the second week of Oestersund as the best result. The cold Scandinavian weather affected her breathing, but the fighter she is, Wierer pushed on and started to emerge from the crisis in Annecy Le Grand Bornand. Wierer scored her first podium with third place in the sprint in Ruhpolding and won magnificently in the mass start on her home tracks in Antholz. Wierer has won 337 points since Hochfilzen, just 38 less than the Total Score winner Marte Olsbu Roeiseland.

Campbell Wright makes history for New Zealand.

Campbell Wright of New Zealand, still only 19 years old and thus eligible to compete at the IBU Junior World Championships for two more seasons, made history as the first athlete from his country in a mass start. Wright is a raw talent who can ski (very) fast and be volatile on the shooting range. He shot 10/10 in the Ruhpolding sprint, 18/20 in the pursuit in Ruhpolding, and an individual in Antholz-Anterselva for a career-high 15th place before he succumbed to the mass start’s ‘fast and furious ‘tempo and missed eight. “It was the first time that started shoulder-to-shoulder with Top 30 athletes, and the ski-speed is crazy,” reflected Wright, a skilled barista when needed.

Selina Grotian shines with two golds at the JOECH

Selina Grotian of Germany won in the sprint and pursuit in Pokljuka and was the most successful athlete of the Junior Open European Championships. Jeanne Richard won silver in the individual and pursuit. It was more unpredictable on the junior men side as eight different athletes won a medal. Otto Invenius of Finland was the only one with two trophies; he finished second in the sprint and pursuit. Seven different nations won he medals. France was the must successful nation with three top podium finishes and eight medals. 

Photo: IBU/C. Manzoni, V. Thibaut, B. Reichert