1977–78 Biathlon World Cup

The 1977–78 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the UIPMB (Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon). The season started on 13 January 1978 in Ruhpolding, West Germany, and ended in April 1978 in Sodankylä, Finland. It was the first ever season of the Biathlon World Cup, and it was only held for men.

Frank Ullrich and Klaus Siebert at the East German Championships in 1978

Calendar

Below is the World Cup calendar for the 1977–78 season.^[1][2][3]

Location	Date	Individual	Sprint	Relay
Ruhpolding	13–15 January	●	●	●
Antholz-Anterselva	21–25 February	●	●	●
Hochfilzen	2–5 March	●	●	●
Murmansk	24–29 March	●	●	●
Sodankylä	1–? April	●	●	●
Total		5	5	5

*The relays were technically unofficial races as they did not count towards anything in the World Cup.

World Cups

World Cup 1 in Ruhpolding
Date	Event	Podium	Top 10
13 January	20 km individual[1][2][3][4]	1.  Klaus Siebert (GDR) 1:09:42 (1)	4.  Yvon Mougel (FRA); 5.  Svein Engen (NOR); 6.  Miroslav Soviš (TCH); 7.  Andrzej Rapacz (POL); 8.  Odd Pedersen (NOR); 9.  Gerd Winkler (FRG); 10.  Nikolay Kruglov (URS);
		2.  Eberhard Rösch (GDR) +1:23 (3)
		3.  Andreas Schweiger (FRG) +1:47 (0)
14 January	10 km sprint[1][2][3][5]	1.  Sigleif Johansen (NOR) 35:38.5 (1)	4.  Erkki Antila (FIN); 5.  Heikki Ikola (FIN); 6.  Klaus Siebert (GDR); 7.  Luigi Weiss (ITA); 8.  Terje Krokstad (NOR); 9.  Odd Lirhus (NOR); 10.  Aleksandr Elizarov (URS);
		2.  Eberhard Rösch (GDR) +0:15.4 (2)
		3.  Frank Ullrich (GDR) +0:24.5 (2)
15 January	4 × 7.5 km relay[2][5]	1.  East Germany 1:58:26.6 (1) Manfred Beer 30:04.4 (0) Klaus Siebert 29:11.9 (0) Frank Ullrich 29:17.7 (0) Eberhard Rösch 29:52.6 (1)	4.  West Germany 2:02:11.3 (Schweiger, Estner, Kanamüller, Winkler); 5.  Italy 2:03:16.2; 6.  Soviet Union 2:03:47.6; 7.  France 2:04:01.6; 8.  Czechoslovakia 2:04:09.8;
		2.  Norway 1:58:36.9 (4) Odd Lirhus 29:23.6 (2) Terje Krokstad 30:47.5 (2) Svein Engen 29:44.8 (0) Sigleif Johansen 28:41.0 (0)
		3.  Finland 2:01:07.2 Erkki Antila 29:47.5 Juhani Suutarinen 30:41.4 Raimo Seppänen 29:37.1 Heikki Ikola 31:01.2

World Cup 2 in Antholz-Anterselva
Date	Event	Podium	Top 10
22 February	20 km individual[1][2][3]	1.  Frank Ullrich (GDR)	4.  Willy Bertin (ITA); 5.  Gerd Winkler (FRG); 6.  Vladimir Barnashov (URS); 7.  Vladimir Otchnev (URS); 8.  Heinrich Mehringer (FRG); 9.  Arduino Tiraboschi (ITA); 10.  Manfred Beer (GDR);
		2.  Alexander Ushakov (URS)
		3.  Nikolay Kruglov (URS)
24 February	10 km sprint[1][2][3]	1.  Klaus Siebert (GDR)	4.  Alexander Tikhonov (URS); 5.  Alexander Ushakov (URS); 6.  Nikolay Kruglov (URS); 7.  Aleksandr Elizarov (URS); 8.  Frank Ullrich (GDR); 10.  Vladimir Otchnev (URS);
		2.  Eberhard Rösch (GDR)
		3.  Vladimir Barnashov (URS)
25 February	4 × 7.5 km relay[2]	1.  East Germany	...
		2. ...
		3. ...

World Championships in Hochfilzen
Date	Event	Podium	Top 10
2 March	20 km individual[1][2][3][6][7]	1.  Odd Lirhus (NOR) 1:05:26.39 (1+0+0+0)	4.  Heikki Ikola (FIN); 5.  Nikolay Kruglov (URS); 6.  Roar Nilsen (NOR); 7.  Klaus Siebert (GDR); 8.  Erkki Antila (FIN); 9.  Antonín Kříž (TCH); 10.  Vladimir Barnashov (URS);
		2.  Frank Ullrich (GDR) +0:09.40 (1+1+0+0)
		3.  Eberhard Rösch (GDR) +0:37.90 (0+1+0+1)
4 March	10 km sprint[1][2][3][8][9]	1.  Frank Ullrich (GDR) 32:17.44 (0+0)	4.  Vladimir Barnashov (URS); 5.  Sigleif Johansen (NOR); 6.  Odd Lirhus (NOR); 7.  Luigi Weiss (ITA); 8.  Per Andersson (SWE); 9.  Gerd Winkler (FRG); 10.  Heinrich Mehringer (FRG);
		2.  Eberhard Rösch (GDR) +0:20.67 (0+0)
		3.  Klaus Siebert (GDR) +0:45.43 (0+0)
5 March	4 × 7.5 km relay[9][10]	1.  East Germany 1:37:47.65 (1) Manfred Beer (0+0) Klaus Siebert (0+0) Frank Ullrich (0+0) Eberhard Rösch (0+1)	4.  Soviet Union 1:41:04.39 (1) (Barnashov (0+1), Ushakov (0+0), Kruglov (0+0), Tikhonov (0+0)); 5.  Austria 1:42:39.10 (2) (Weber (0+2), Dockner (0+0), Koll (0+0), Eder (0+0)); 6.  Czechoslovakia 1:43:09.60 (1) (Soviš (0+0), Šimůnek (0+0), Kříž (0+0), Pavlíček (1+0)); 7.  Finland 1:43:52.61 (3) (Antila (0+1), Halonen (0+0), Lahtela (0+1), Seppänen (0+1)); 8.  Italy 1:44:17.45 (4) (Spiller (0+1), Jordan (0+0), Weiss (0+2), Tiraboschi (1+0)); 9.  Sweden 1:44:49.91 (4) (Adolfsson (0+2), Joki (0+0), Lundström (0+0), Andersson (2+0)); 10.  France 1:45:00.13 (5) (Arpin (0+0), Mougel (0+0), Poirot (0+3), Geourjon (0+2));
		2.  Norway 1:40:28.59 (1) Tor Svendsberget (0+0) Roar Nilsen (0+1) Odd Lirhus (0+0) Sigleif Johansen (0+0)
		3.  West Germany 1:40:35.10 (1) Heinrich Mehringer (0+0) Hans Estner (0+1) Andreas Schweiger (0+0) Gerd Winkler (0+0)

World Cup 3 in Murmansk
Date	Event	Podium	Top 10
25 March	20 km individual[1][2][3]	1.  Nikolay Kruglov (URS)	4.  Frank Ullrich (GDR); 5.  Alexander Ushakov (URS); 6.  Manfred Beer (GDR); 7.  Roar Nilsen (NOR); 9.  Arduino Tiraboschi (ITA);
		2.  Anatoly Alyabyev (URS)
		3.  Vladimir Artemiev (URS)
27 March	10 km sprint[1][2][3]	1.  Frank Ullrich (GDR)	4.  Vladimir Barnashov (URS); 5.  Alexander Tikhonov (URS); 6.  Terje Krokstad (NOR); 9.  Klaus Siebert (GDR); 10.  Alexander Ushakov (URS);
		2.  Nikolay Kruglov (URS)
		3.  Sigleif Johansen (NOR)
28 March	4 × 7.5 km relay[2]	1.  Soviet Union II	...
		2.  Soviet Union I
		3.  East Germany

World Cup 4 in Sodankylä
Date	Event	Podium	Top 10
1 April	20 km individual[1][2][3][11]	1.  Klaus Siebert (GDR) 1:08:26.4 (2)	4.  Frank Ullrich (GDR); 5.  Alexander Tikhonov (URS); 6.  Aleksandr Elizarov (URS); 7.  Vladimir Barnashov (URS); 8.  Yvon Mougel (FRA); 9.  Sigleif Johansen (NOR); 10.  Alexander Ushakov (URS);
		2.  Vladimir Otchnev (URS) +1:24.9 (2)
		3.  Svein Engen (NOR) +1:27.2 (0)
2 April	10 km sprint[1][2][3][11]	1.  Vladimir Barnashov (URS) 32:00.2 (0)	4.  Terje Krokstad (NOR); 5.  Erkki Nieminen (FIN); 6.  Keijo Kuntola (FIN); 7.  Aleksandr Elizarov (URS); 8.  Vladimir Otchnev (URS);
		2.  Heikki Ikola (FIN) +0:59.3 (1)
		3.  Alexander Tikhonov (URS) +1:01.5 (1)
? April	4 × 7.5 km relay[2]	1.  Soviet Union	...
		2.  East Germany
		3. ...

Results

Overall World Cup[1][2][11]
Rank	Name	Points
1	Frank Ullrich	144
2	Klaus Siebert	137
3	Eberhard Rösch	133
4	Vladimir Barnashov	125
5	Nikolay Kruglov	119
6	Alexander Ushakov	113
7	Alexander Tikhonov	108
8	Sigleif Johansen	104
9	Vladimir Otchnev	100
10	Aleksandr Elizarov	96
11	Svein Engen	94
12	Luigi Weiss	86
13	Gerd Winkler	77
14	Terje Krokstad	73
15	Per Andersson	70
16	Heikki Ikola	67
17	Erkki Antila	63
17	Heinrich Mehringer	63
19	Manfred Beer	62
19	Odd Lirhus	62
21	Yvon Mougel	58
22	Arduino Tiraboschi	57
23	Willy Bertin	55
23	Andreas Schweiger	55
25	Roar Nilsen	53

Achievements

First World Cup career victory

•  Klaus Siebert (GDR), 22, in his 1st season — the WC 1 Individual in Ruhpolding; it also was his first podium and the first podium for an East German biathlete
•  Sigleif Johansen (NOR), 29, in his 1st season — the WC 1 Sprint in Ruhpolding; it also was his first podium and the first podium for a Norwegian biathlete
•  Frank Ullrich (GDR), 20, in his 1st season — the WC 2 Individual in Ruhpolding; first podium was 1977–78 Sprint in Ruhpolding
•  Odd Lirhus (NOR), 21, in his 1st season — the World Championships Individual in Hochfilzen; it also was his first podium
•  Nikolay Kruglov (URS), 28, in his 1st season — the WC 3 Individual in Murmansk; first podium was 1977–78 Individual in Antholz-Anterselva
•  Vladimir Barnashov (URS), 27, in his 1st season — the WC 4 Sprint in Sodankylä; first podium was 1977–78 Sprint in Antholz-Anterselva

First World Cup podium

•  Eberhard Rösch (GDR), 27, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 1 Individual in Ruhpolding
•  Andreas Schweiger (FRG), 24, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 1 Individual in Ruhpolding; it also was the first podium for a West German biathlete
•  Frank Ullrich (GDR), 19, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 1 Sprint in Ruhpolding
•  Alexander Ushakov (URS), 29, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 2 Individual in Antholz-Anterselva; it also was the first podium for a Soviet biathlete
•  Nikolay Kruglov (URS), 28, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 2 Individual in Antholz-Anterselva
•  Anatoly Alyabyev (URS), 26, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 3 Individual in Murmansk
•  Vladimir Artemiev (URS), in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 3 Individual in Murmansk
•  Vladimir Barnashov (URS), 26, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 2 Sprint in Antholz-Anterselva
•  Vladimir Otchnev (URS), in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 4 Individual in Sodankylä
•  Svein Engen (NOR), 25, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 4 Individual in Sodankylä
•  Heikki Ikola (FIN), 30, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 4 Sprint in Sodankylä; it also was the first podium for a Finnish biathlete
•  Alexander Tikhonov (URS), 31, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 4 Sprint in Sodankylä

Victory in this World Cup (all-time number of victories in parentheses)

•  Klaus Siebert (GDR), 3 (3) first places
•  Frank Ullrich (GDR), 3 (3) first places
•  Sigleif Johansen (NOR), 1 (1) first places
•  Odd Lirhus (NOR), 1 (1) first places
•  Nikolay Kruglov (URS), 1 (1) first places
•  Vladimir Barnashov (URS), 1 (1) first places

Retirements

Following notable biathletes retired after the 1977–78 season:

•  Juhani Suutarinen (FIN)
•  Aleksandr Elizarov (URS)

References

1. Sportsboken 78-79 [The Sports Book 78-79] (in Norwegian). Stavanger: Dreyer Bok. ISBN 82-7096-063-2. (Norwegian)
2. "Wintersport Charts Weltcup World Cup Biathlon 1978". Wintersport Charts. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
3. "Statistiche Biathlon" [Statistics Biathlon]. Neve Italia (in Italian). Retrieved 22 October 2015. (Italian) (registration required)
4. Terje Heggem (14 January 1978). "Ikke rask nok i langrennsløypa" [Not fast enough on the course]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 September 2014. (Norwegian) (subscription required)
5. "Resultatbørs – Skiskyting" [Results exchange – Biathlon]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 16 January 1978. Retrieved 13 September 2014. (Norwegian) (subscription required)
6. "World Championship Biathlon 1978 - Hochfilzen/Hochfilzen (AUT) – Men 20 km Individual". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
7. Thore-Erik Thoresen (3 March 1978). "Odd Lirhus erobret gullet efter en intens sekundstrid" [Odd Lirhus captured the gold after an intense close contest]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 September 2014. (Norwegian) (subscription required)
8. "World Championship Biathlon 1978 - Hochfilzen/Hochfilzen (AUT) – Men 10 km Sprint". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
9. "Resultatbørs – Skiskyting" [Results exchange – Biathlon]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 6 March 1978. Retrieved 13 September 2014. (Norwegian) (subscription required)
10. "World Championship Biathlon 1978 - Hochfilzen/Hochfilzen (AUT) – Men 4 x 7,5 km Relay". IBU Datacenter. International Biathlon Union. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
11. "Resultatbørs – Skiskyting" [Results exchange – Biathlon]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 3 April 1978. Retrieved 13 September 2014. (Norwegian) (subscription required)