After more than three decades of service to winter sports, Detlef Kotlinsky is taking his well-deserved retirement at the end of the year. The 63-year-old from Gehlberg has shaped competitions and World Cups at the LOTTO Thüringen ARENA am Rennsteig for many years as course director.

Number one in the sprint, number one in the pursuit: Elvira Oeberg completed the double at the BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof. In glorious weather, perfect conditions and in front of 19,000 enthusiastic spectators in the ARENA am Rennsteig, the Swede celebrated another superior victory in the second individual race in the Thuringian Forest.

Biathlon pentathlon: The men's relay at the BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof turned into a real thriller in front of 19,000 enthusiastic spectators in fantastic weather. In a high-class race that remained open until the final stretch, Norway narrowly beat France and Sweden. Germany narrowly missed out on the first relay podium of the season, finishing fifth.

Three competitions days, six races, 49.700 Fans: The BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon 2026 in Oberhof is history. In the following, the most interesting numbers about this years wintersports event are summarised.

Start-to-finish victory for Les Bleus: The French women underlined their gold medal ambitions at the BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof around four weeks before the Olympic Games. In the sold-out ARENA am Rennsteig, France celebrated a superior victory ahead of Norway (+53.7 seconds) and Germany (+1:28.4 minutes).

In front of a sold-out crowd at the ARENA am Rennsteig, Tommaso Giacomel completed his double victory at the BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof. After a highly dramatic race, the Italian beat Norway's Martin Uldal and Sweden's Sebastian Samuelsson – and, following his victory in Thursday's sprint, also took the yellow bib as the overall World Cup leader.

Perfect conditions, high-class sport, and a clear winner: the organizers' decision to prepone the women's sprint at the BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof to Thursday due to poor weather forecasts proved to be spot on.

A spine-tingling moment at the BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup in Oberhof: after his victory in the men's sprint, Italy's Tommaso Giacomel pointed his finger towards the sky – a silent tribute to his friend Sivert Guttorm Bakken, who passed away shortly before Christmas.

The women's sprint competition has been moved forward from Friday, January 9, 2026, to Thursday, January 8, 2026, at 2:15 p.m. The men's sprint will start at 11:30 a.m.

The German biathlon men want to build on their impressive start to the season in the second trimester. Ahead of the first competition, Jens Filbrich spoke about the preparations for the home World Cup, the team structure, and expectations.

The BMW IBU Biathlon World Cup 2026 in Oberhof will kick off with the opening ceremony on the town square in Oberhof on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. Over the following four days, six exciting competitions will be held in front of thousands of fans in the ARENA am Rennsteig. Here is the most important information for a perfect winter sports day in the Rennsteig town.

Oberhof is ready for the BMW IBU World Cup Biathlon 2026 – and thus for the start of the AXA Winterwochen – Thüringen 2026. After weeks of intensive preparation, those responsible have given the green light for the competitions to start on January 8, 2026. Athletes and fans alike can look forward to exciting races at the highest level.