Biathlon
Biathlon star Franziska Preuss withdraws from Munich’s Loop One festival after hand surgery
October 16, 2025 / SPORT1
Germany’s top biathlete Franziska Preuss will miss the inaugural Loop One festival in Munich’s Olympic Park as she hasn’t fully recovered from recent hand surgery. Although she has resumed training, she cannot yet shoot standing in her usual hand position. Anna Weidel replaces her, with further German lineup changes due to illness.
Biathlon festival in Munich to feature Nawrath, Strelow and Grotian
October 16, 2025 / Sportschau (BR/ARD)
Munich’s Olympic Park will host the IBU Loop One Festival, a city-center biathlon event on ski rollers with a temporary 15-lane range and a super-sprint format. International stars such as Sturla Holm Lægreid, Eric Perrot and Germany’s Philipp Nawrath are slated to race, while Franziska Preuss will miss out due to a hand injury. The non–World Cup event aims to attract new audiences and keep biathlon relevant as snow reliability declines, according to IBU sports director Daniel Böhm.
Sudden retirement shocks biathlon world: Austria’s Felix Leitner quits at 28
October 15, 2025 / SPORT1
Austrian biathlete Felix Leitner has announced his retirement at age 28, just over a month before the start of the World Cup season. In an Instagram post, the former youth and junior world champion reflected on 16 years in the sport, including 2018 European Championship gold in the individual, but acknowledged he never fully broke through to the senior world elite. The timing surprised observers given the proximity to the season opener.
Biathlete Ella Halvarsson’s extreme new training before the Olympics: “I almost fainted”
October 14, 2025 / SVT Sport
Sweden’s Ella Halvarsson says she has added heat training to her preparation for the Olympic season and admits she pushed so hard she nearly fainted during early sessions amid a heat wave. The approach, increasingly common across endurance sports, aims to boost oxygen uptake as a complement to altitude training, and Halvarsson reports strong pre‑season form after dominating a test race in Östersund. She next faces top stars at the Loop One supersprint on rollerskis in Munich on Sunday, where SVT will broadcast the event.
Preuß reveals setback at award ceremony: “More damage to my hand than first thought”
October 12, 2025 / SPORT1
Germany’s overall World Cup winner Franziska Preuß says her hand injury from a fall at the national championships was worse than initially diagnosed, putting her start at the IBU’s Loop One rollerski race in Munich at risk. She won’t take risks and is targeting a full return for the World Cup opener in November after late-September surgery. Preuß also reflected on the death of her close friend Laura Dahlmeier, saying the loss remains hard to grasp.
After his Olympic bid collapsed, biathlon legend Martin Fourcade blasts the organizing committee
October 10, 2025 / SPORT1
Martin Fourcade reveals how painful it was to miss out on becoming president of the French organizing committee for the 2030 Winter Olympics, which will be staged in Nice and the French Alps. In an interview with L’Équipe, the six‑time Olympic champion says his vision clashed with political leaders over venue choices and environmental priorities, prompting his withdrawal; former freestyle skier Edgar Grospiron later took the role. Fourcade stresses that environmental protection must be foundational to Olympic planning and admits he needed months to recover emotionally from the setback.
Where the Biathlon World Cup stops this season
October 09, 2025 / Sportschau
The article outlines the full 2025/26 IBU Biathlon World Cup itinerary from late November to late March, including venue characteristics and dates. It starts in Östersund, then moves to Hochfilzen and Annecy-Le Grand-Bornand, visits Germany in January (Oberhof and Ruhpolding), heads to Nové Město before the 2026 Winter Olympics biathlon events in Antholz, and concludes with March stops in Kontiolahti, Otepää, and the finale in Oslo-Holmenkollen. It also notes venue-specific challenges such as wind at shooting ranges, altitude effects, and crowd atmosphere.
Biathlon: Olympic champion Justine Braisaz-Bouchet steps back from French national team training
October 09, 2025 / SPORT1
France’s Justine Braisaz-Bouchet will temporarily not train with the French national biathlon team and will instead prepare independently at home in Bessans, head coach Cyril Burdet told Nordic Magazine. The 29-year-old Olympic champion and five-time world champion is expected to rejoin the group in early November when the women’s team meets in Bessans to finalize World Cup roster spots. It remains unclear whether she will appear at Munich’s Loop One Festival on October 19; the World Cup season opens November 29 in Östersund.
Statement of intent: Young biathlete Martin Uldal aims to become No. 1
October 08, 2025 / SPORT1
Norway’s Martin Uldal, 24, says he wants to challenge overall World Cup champion Sturla Holm Lægreid and reach the very top of biathlon, with qualification for the upcoming Olympic Games his immediate priority. Known for record-fast standing shooting strings last season, Uldal admits he needs more consistency—especially in standing— and is working with national coach Siegfried Mazet to improve. The article also notes the Norwegian team’s depth, the retirements of Johannes Thingnes Bø and Tarjei Bø, and previews the season start in Östersund and the Munich Loop One Festival on rollerskis.
Biathlete Arttu Heikkinen appeals conviction after accidentally shooting his godfather on a bird hunt
October 08, 2025 / Yle
Finnish biathlete Arttu Heikkinen has appealed to the Court of Appeal after being convicted in August of aggravated causing of injury and a hunting offense for accidentally shooting his godfather with a shotgun during a bird hunt in Hyrynsalmi in September 2024. The district court fined him and ordered compensation, but the Finnish Biathlon Association says he remains on the national team for now while the case proceeds; a final, legally binding conviction could lead to revocation of his firearms license under police guidelines.