After 10 competitive weeks in the BMW IBU World Cup and two additional weeks at the IBU World Championships Pokljuka 2021 the season 2020/2021 finished with a first-ever Total Score title for Tiril Eckhoff and third Total Score title in a row for JT Boe. Marte Olsbu Roeiseland and Sturla Holm Laegreid finished second for the first time in their careers. Franziska Preuss finished third for the first time and Quentin FIllon Maillet for the third time.

BMW IBU World Cup Winner Women: Tiril Eckhoff, Norway

Tiril Eckhoff won a Total Score title for the first time in her career in what was one of the best season’s ever done by a biathlete. In doing so Eckhoff won 13 competitions, an achievement that fell just one win short of Magdalena Forsberg’s record 14 wins in the 2000/20021 season. She won 52,4 points per competition which translates into second to third place on average in every of the 22 competitions that counted at the end of the season; this was more than any man this season, including the great JT Boe and Sturla Holm Laegreid.

BMW IBU World Cup Winner Men: JT Boe, Norway

On the most important day of the season, when he was unsure of his riffle and felt unsettled in his shooting routine and when the winds were blowing relentlessly in the Oestersund stadium JT Boe kept his composure and Sturla Holm Laegreid at bay to win third Total Score title in a row. JT struggled was unsteady in his shooting form for most parts of the season but his skiing and the incredible depth of his energy reserves carried him over the finish line in the last completion of the season, just like a year ago when he got the better of Martin Fourcade. He has now won three Total Score titles in a row, a rare feat that only Frank Ullrich (1979/1980-1981/1982), Raphael Poiree (1999/2000- 2001/2002) did before Fourcade managed to do that unthinkable seven times in a row (2011/2012-2017/2018).

BMW IBU World Cup 2nd Women: Marte Olsbu Roeiseland, Norway

Marte Olsbu Roeiseland finished in the Top 3 in the BMW IBU World Cup Total Score for the first time in her career. She won three times in the 2020/2021 season, just like in the seasons 2019/2020 and 2018/2019. Her eight podiums represent a career-high for the season. She also won two gold medals in relays at the IBU World Championships Pokljuka 2021.

BMW IBU World Cup 2nd Men: Sturla Holm Laegreid, Norway

Sturla Holm Laegreid brought shooting accuracy to rarely seen high level of consistency (92%) with successfully implementing his meditation techniques and by copying the style of Martin Fourcade. He also pushed JT Boe out of his comfort zone, forcing him to once again find new limits to his biathlon before the last competition tilted the season JT’s way. It was also Sturla’s personality that brought new perspectives and freshness to the season. He won seven times in the 2020/2021 season and collected four gold medals at the IBU World Championships Pokljuka 2021.

BMW IBU World Cup 3rd Women: Franziska Preuss, Germany

Franziska Preuss finished in the Top 3 in the BMW IBU World Cup Total Score for the first time in her career. She scored a career-high of four podiums for the season and added a silver medal in women relay at the IBU World Championships Pokljuka 2021 in what was the best season of her career so far.

BMW IBU World Cup 3rd Men: Quentin Fillon Maillet, France

Quentin Fillon Mallet finished third in the BMW IBU World Cup Total Score for the third time in a row. His strongest week were in the first week of Hochfilzen where he was second in the sprint and won in the pursuit and in second week of Nove Mesto na Morave, where his sprint-pursuit double was only the third for Frenchman after Raphael Poiree and Fourcade. He also won a bronze medal in the mass start at the IBU World Championships Pokljuka 2021.

Photo: IBU/C. Manzoni & V. Thibaut; design: Rudolph Fischer