We believe in pleasant surprises from our team
Starts on Wednesday, February 7 biathlon world championshipwhere they will perform men’s and women’s national teams of Ukraine. Considering the results of the World Cup, it is impossible to count on the success of our athletes, but we still hope for a surprise. However, the 2024 World Cup should have plenty of bright personalities, interesting races and unpredictable plots. We tell everything what you need to know about the 2024 Biathlon World Championships.
Where will the 2024 Biathlon World Cup take place?
The 2024 Biathlon World Championships will take place from 7 to 18 February 2024 at the Vysočina Arena in Nove Mesto in the Czech Republic. This country and town is hosting the world biathlon forum for the second time – the first time this happened was in 2013. The decision to give the championship to the Czech Republic was made at the end of 2020.
Composition of the Ukrainian national team for the 2024 Biathlon World Championships
The coaching staff of the Ukrainian national teams took 11 athletes to the World Cup: five for men, six for women. As part of the blue-yellow team, the only biathlete who won the world championship is Dmitry Pidruchny, who won the pursuit race in 2019.
Ukrainian men’s team: Dmitry Pidruchny, Artem Prima, Anton Dudchenko, Denis Nasyko, Taras Lesyuk.
Ukrainian women’s team: Yulia Jima, Anastasia Merkushina, Irina Petrenko, Kristina Dmitrenko, Anna Krivonos, Lyubov Kipyachenkova.
How the Ukrainians are performing this season
To be honest, it was not very successful. So far, in the overall World Cup standings, Ukraine’s best result is Yulia Jima’s 20th place. 26th position is occupied by Anastasia Merkushina. The best among Ukrainians in men is Dmitry Pidruchny – 37th in the overall standings. The best result of Ukraine at a separate stage: fifth place of the women’s team in the relay at the World Cup stage in Ruhpolding and the men’s team at the stage in Hochfilzen.
Biathlon World Cup 2024 schedule
The World Championships will feature 12 races, including four relays. The World Cup will begin with a mixed relay and end with two mass starts.
| date | Time | Event |
| February 7 | 18:20 | Mixed relay 4×6 km W+M |
| February 9th | 18:20 | 7.5 km sprint, women. |
| February 10 | 18:05 | Sprint, 10 km, men. |
| 11 February | 15:30 | Women. Pursuit race 10 km. |
| 18:05 | Men. Pursuit race 12.5 km. | |
| February 13 | 18:10 | Women. Individual race 15 km. |
| The 14th of February | 18:20 | Men. Individual race 20 km. |
| February, 15 | 19:00 | 6 km W + 7.5 km M single mixed relay |
| February 17 | 14:45 | Women’s 4×6 km relay. |
| 17:30 | Men’s 4×7.5 km relay | |
| 18th of Febuary | 15:15 | Mass start, women, 12.5 km. |
| 17:30 | Mass start, men, 15 km. |
Who is the favorite for the 2024 World Cup?
For men, this is, of course, the Norwegian team, which brought an incredible lineup to Nove Mesto. Six Norwegian participants in the 2024 World Cup are World Cup leaders. Johannes Boe has won four races this season, Vetle Christiansen two, Tarjei Boe, Johannes Dahle-Sevdahl and Endre Strömsheim one each, and Sturla Lagreid three second places.
Teams from Germany (Doll is still in the ranks, there are Navrat and Rees) and France will traditionally compete with the Norwegians. The Swedes, whose leader Martin Ponsiluoma is seventh in the overall World Cup standings, can take a shot. We are also expecting surprises from Italy, in particular from Tomaso Giacomel, who took two awards at the last championship – silver and bronze. He is currently 10th in the overall World Cup standings.
If Norway dominates among men, then France dominates among women. Three representatives of this country are in the top 6 of the overall World Cup standings. Justine Brezaz-Boucher, Julia Simon and Lou Jeanmonneau have each won two races this season.
The leader of the Norwegian national team and the World Cup, Ingrid Thundervolt, has the same number of victories, having stood on the podium six times in total.
They are also expecting awards from Italy, however, much will depend on the form of Dorothea Wierer, who is still only 28th in the overall World Cup standings. Lisa Vittozzi’s physical fitness – two victories and third place in the standings – does not raise any questions. Switzerland and Sweden have their own leaders. Lena Hekki-Gross from the first is in seventh place overall and won one race. Sweden’s Elvira Oeberg also has one World Cup win and is fifth overall.
Traditionally strong, like the men, the German women’s team, whose leader, Franziska Preuss, is in eighth place in the overall standings, winning silver three times at the World Cup.
The main intrigue of the 2024 World Cup
Will Johannes Boe be able to catch up with Martin Fourcade and Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in the number of victories in individual races at the world champions? Be now has seven gold medals in individual races, Fourcade and Bjoerndalen have 11 each. To catch up with them, Be needs to win all individual disciplines in Nove Mesto.
Last year Be almost succeeded. He failed in the mass start, where he became only third, losing to Ponsiuloma and Samuelsson. On the other hand, a year ago in Oberhof, Boe became the first biathlete in history to win seven medals at one world championship – 5 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze. Yes, now Be is not so strong and a favorite, but you should expect surprises from him.
Where to watch the 2024 Biathlon World Championships
All races of the 2024 World Cup can be seen in Ukraine. Live broadcasts of the Biathlon World Championships will be available on the Suspilne platform.
Suspilne Sport is the exclusive broadcaster of the 2024 Biathlon World Championship. Live online video broadcasts of all races of the 2024 World Cup will be available on the Suspilne Sport website and channel, as well as regional Suspilne channels.
Source: Sportarena
I’m Todderic Kirkman, a journalist and author for athletistic. I specialize in covering all news related to sports, ranging from basketball to football and everything in between. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, I have become an invaluable asset to my team. My ambition is to bring the most up-to-date information on sports topics around the world.
