World Team Challenge
The World Team Challenge is a biathlon competition that has been taking place in the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen since 2002 shortly before the end of the year . Before that, the mixed event took place between Christmas and New Years in Ruhpolding , until it changed location in 2001 for financial reasons.
Preparations
Since there is insufficient natural snow in the Ruhr area, a 1,200-meter-long skating route made of artificial snow is being prepared around the stadium . The approximately 3000 cubic meters of artificial snow are supplied by the Neuss ski hall .
Shooting takes place inside the stadium, where a rule-compliant shooting range is set up specifically for this purpose. At the World Team Challenge on March 27, 2011, a laser shooting system was used for the first time.
The World Team Challenge does not count towards the Biathlon World Cup .
Rules of biathlon competition
The athletes start in teams of two, each consisting of a man and a woman. These alternate after a lap and the subsequent shooting.
In essence, the event follows the official biathlon rules. The main difference between the World Team Challenge and the other biathlon events is the short course length of just 1.2 kilometers and the more frequent shooting bouts, as shooting takes place after each round. The penalty loop that has to be run for every missed shot is just under 100 meters shorter than in other races.
The competition consists of a total of about ten rounds. In the years 2002 to 2005, a mass start race was run over twelve laps. In 2006, after the mass start race over nine laps, there was also a pursuit race, the winners were only determined after both races. In 2012, the winner was determined in a combination of two races. First there was a mass start race and then a pursuit race.
event
In addition to the actual biathlon race, there is an extensive supporting program, which usually includes junior races, a "snowball world championship", performances by well-known artists and a "shoot-out" of the athletes in the main race.
statistics
Competitions and winners
Most successful nations
So far, seven different nations have won the event, with a victory from Germany and the victories from Finland, Austria and Sweden each being achieved by a mixed team.
| space | country | Victories |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Norway
|
5 |
| 2 |
 Germany
|
4th |
 Russia
|
||
| 4th |
 Ukraine
|
2 |
| 5 |
 Finland
|
1 |
 Austria
|
||
 Sweden
|
||
 France
|
||
 Italy
|
Most successful participant
So far, only one athlete has won a Biathlon World Team Challenge more than twice. The Norwegian Ole Einar Bjørndalen won the event four times in a row between 2003 and 2006. He achieved the victories with three different partners. His winning streak ended in 2007 when he and Tora Berger, as the fourth team partner, just missed the fifth triumph with a second place.
Linda Grubben was the first woman to win the competition twice, in 2005 (still under her maiden name as Linda Tjørhom) and in 2006, both times together with Ole Einar Bjørndalen. In 2017 , after her first success in 2012, Jekaterina Jurlowa-Percht also won the Biathlon World Team Challenge for the second time.
Michael Greis was the only athlete to take part in all events held up to 2012 and was able to achieve victory in 2002 together with Martina Glagow. His race on December 29, 2012 was also his last race as an active biathlete.
Placements
| space | nation |
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Norway
|
5 | 1 | 2 | 8th |
| 2 |
Germany
|
4th | 6th | 5 | 15th |
| 3 |
Russia
|
4th | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 4th |
Ukraine
|
2 | 3 | 1 | 6th |
| 5 |
France
|
1 | 4th | 2 | 7th |
| 6th |
Austria
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 7th |
Finland
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
|
Sweden
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 9 |
Italy
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 |
 Czech Republic
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 11 |
 Poland
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Slovenia
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Belarus
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c From a crazy idea to the largest biathlon arena. (No longer available online.) FC Schalke 04 Arena Management, archived from the original on July 2, 2014 ; Retrieved June 13, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
