Only seven biathletes from Australia have made it to the Winter Olympics. Boris Stanish wants to be the next one. To achieve this, he trains hard every day and motivates himself with an Instagram challenge. Every day, he posts a video about his life as a biathlete to make his sport even better known.

Boris - the biathlon influencer. That's what you could call the 19-year-old if you follow him on Instagram. His mission: staking up 509 productive days to make it to the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy. He is taking his followers with him on his journey. Every day there is a video showing his daily training routine and a look behind the scenes of competitive sport. He reaches millions with his channel.

An exotic in Australia

Boris Stanish could ski before he could walk. He stood on skis for the first time at the age of one. Not many Australians can claim that. His parents gave him the winter sports gene in his cradle. He did downhill skiing until he was 12, but then his mom saw a Facebook post that a local ski club was inviting young athletes to biathlon training. From then on, Boris' biathlon fire was lit. “I was immediately hooked on biathlon and really wanted to try the sport,” says the 19-year-old.

Boris Stanish competed in his first international races at the IBU Youth World Championships 2021 in Obertilliach. Since then, he has been spending his winters in Europe - which is also possible as his school lessons have been held online since the coronavirus pandemic. “For me as a winter sports athlete, these are ideal conditions. I can train in Europe from December to March, take part in the IBU Cup and IBU Junior Cup and graduate from school at the same time,” explains Boris Stanish. During this time, he lives with a host family in Italy and learns Italian. Perfect conditions for a start at the 2016 Olympic Games in Antholz.

How to become a biathlon influencer?

The idea of showing his followers his path to the Olympic Games came to him between two training sessions. After finishing school this year, he can concentrate fully on his sport. “I wanted a bit of variety in my day, which otherwise only consists of training, eating and sleeping. So why not make biathlon better known and show people my everyday life.” And so, Boris posts a short video of his everyday training every day. There will be 509 in total by February 2026. For him, this is also a documentation of his sporting career. But he is also pursuing another goal with his Instagram account.

“I want to inspire other athletes to show their lives on social media too. Biathlon can become much better known and inspire more people.” It doesn't take him much time; he usually asks other people to shoot a short video of him. Sometimes even his friend and role model Campbell Wright, with whom he has already spent many hours training.

Do you already follow Boris on Instagram?

To make biathlon even better known, he is also involved in the Buller Biathlon ski club in his home country. His growing popularity through his social media videos is also helping him here. “I don't feel like a typical influencer, but I do notice that I'm becoming better known. I get interview requests from radio stations and lots of messages and comments about my videos.” Not a burden for him, however - but part of his journey to fulfill his dream.

Photos: IBU I Deubert