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.
Calendar Below is the World Cup calendar for the 1977–78 season. Location Date Individual Sprint Relay Ruhpolding 13–15 January ● ● ● Antholz-Anterselva 21–25 February ● ● ● Hochfilzen 2–5 March ● ● ● Murmansk 24–29 March ● ● ● Sodankylä 1–2 April ● ● ● Total 5 5 5 *The relays were technically unofficial races as they did not count towards anything in the World Cup.
World Cup podium
Men Stage Date Place Discipline Winner Second Third Yellow bib Det. 1 14 January 1978 Ruhpolding 20 km Individual Klaus Siebert Eberhard Rösch Andreas Schweiger Klaus Siebert Detail 1 15 January 1978 Ruhpolding 10 km Sprint Sigleif Johansen Eberhard Rösch Frank Ullrich Eberhard Rösch Detail 2 23 February 1978 Antholz-Anterselva 20 km Individual Frank Ullrich Alexander Ushakov Nikolay Kruglov Frank Ullrich Detail 2 25 February 1978 Antholz-Anterselva 10 km Sprint Klaus Siebert Eberhard Rösch Vladimir Barnashov Detail WC 2 March 1978 Hochfilzen 20 km Individual Odd Lirhus Frank Ullrich Eberhard Rösch Detail WC 4 March 1978 Hochfilzen 10 km Sprint Frank Ullrich Eberhard Rösch Klaus Siebert Detail 3 25 March 1978 Murmansk 20 km Individual Nikolay Kruglov Anatoly Alyabyev Vladimir Artemyev Detail 3 27 March 1978 Murmansk 10 km Sprint Frank Ullrich Nikolay Kruglov Sigleif Johansen Detail 4 1 April 1978 Sodankylä 20 km Individual Klaus Siebert Vladimir Otchnev Svein Engen Detail 4 2 April 1978 Sodankylä 10 km Sprint Vladimir Barnashov Heikki Ikola Alexander Tikhonov Detail
Standings
Overall Pos.Points 1. Frank Ullrich 144 2. Klaus Siebert 137 3. Eberhard Rösch 133 4. Vladimir Barnashov 125 5. Nikolay Kruglov 119 Final standings after 10 races.
Achievements First World Cup career victory , 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 , 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 , 20, in his 1st season — the WC 2 Individual in Ruhpolding; first podium was 1977–78 Sprint in Ruhpolding , 21, in his 1st season — the World Championships Individual in Hochfilzen; it also was his first podium , 28, in his 1st season — the WC 3 Individual in Murmansk; first podium was 1977–78 Individual in Antholz-Anterselva , 27, in his 1st season — the WC 4 Sprint in Sodankylä; first podium was 1977–78 Sprint in Antholz-Anterselva
First World Cup podium , 27, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 1 Individual in Ruhpolding , 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 , 19, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 1 Sprint in Ruhpolding , 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 , 28, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 2 Individual in Antholz-Anterselva , 26, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 3 Individual in Murmansk , in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 3 Individual in Murmansk , 26, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 2 Sprint in Antholz-Anterselva , in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 4 Individual in Sodankylä , 25, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 4 Individual in Sodankylä , 30, in his 1st season — no. 2 in the WC 4 Sprint in Sodankylä; it also was the first podium for a Finnish biathlete , 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) , 3 (3) first places , 3 (3) first places , 1 (1) first place , 1 (1) first place , 1 (1) first place , 1 (1) first place
Retirements Following notable biathletes retired after the 1977–78 season:
References