World Cup Opener in Östersund: Wind, Depth, and Early Answers for an Olympic Year

At the first biathlon World Cup races of the 2025/26 season, the biathlon stadium is perched above the small city of Östersund, which is set on a lake. Wind gusts off the lake, pulsing through the stadium. The races take place under the lights, at night – which isn’t saying much. Because in December in northern Sweden, ‘night’ begins at three in the afternoon, when what little sun there might’ve been throughout the day slips below the horizon. It’s in the evenings that the wind is usually at its strongest. The conditions the racers zero their rifles at before the race are rarely the same conditions they find when they come back to the range during the race. Athletes watch the small, red flags in the range, seeing which way they’re moving, deciding whether or not to shift their sights a few clicks, compensating for the changes that happened while the racers skied the course that serpentines up, down, around a 180-degree turn, and back into the stadium where the music plays and the home crowd cheers. Ayyy! As the Swedes hit their targets. A diluted Ney for each Swedish miss.

Over eight days, the best biathletes in the world raced 10 times. Maybe it was the arduous schedule, or the bit of sharpness that an Olympic year adds, but the Ostersund races didn’t feel like the first of the season. It felt like a break had never happened.

One question lingering from the off-season was answered quickly: What would Norwegian biathlon look like without the Boe Brothers? The dominant duo of Johannes Thingnes and Tarjei Boe – owners of eight Olympic medals – retired at the end of the 2024/25 season. Leaving what one would assume would be a major hole in the program. But when the Norwegian men came out and won the men’s 4 x 7.5km relay at Ostersund, the Norwegian’s roster depth became clear.

The men’s relay saw a top result from the U.S. men, as well. Paul Schommer, Campbell Wright, Maxime Germain and Sean Doherty finished fifth, one of the best men’s relay finishes ever for Team USA. The next day, at the mixed relay, Germain, Wright, Chloe Levins and Deedra Irwin placed sixth – which is the best finish for a U.S. mixed relay since 2021.

Germain and Wright continued to build on their early-week momentum, with Germain placing 11th in the sprint. In the pursuit, Wright hit all 20 targets for the first time in his career and moved up from 18th to 6th. Wright is coming off a stellar 2024/25 season, where he podiumed twice at World Championships, becoming the first American to do so.

Throughout the week, there were highs: Suvi Minkkinen of Finland won her first World Cup sprint. The Norwegian men placed four in the top five in the 20km individual, solidifying their capabilities as a team sans-Boes. And as always in biathlon, some lows: Eric Perrot of France missed his final shot in the pursuit, a devastating moment that cost him the lead. He finished fifth.

Racing wrapped up in Sweden, and teams flew to Austria. In Hochfilzen, a less rigorous racing schedule awaits: sprint, pursuit, and then a men’s and a women’s relay. A few more hours of daylight await, too.

Complete Biathlon Results