The biathlon World Cup and IBU Cup season 2025/2026 start this week. The Swedish national teams – World Cup and IBU Cup – are now named for the first weeks of the new winter season.

Östersund, Sweden, from November 29 to December 7, and Obertilliach, Austria, from December 4 to 7, are the places for this year’s biathlon World Cup and IBU Cup premieres, respectively.  

In a press release, the Swedish Biathlon Association has named their biathlon teams for the first events of the Biathlon World Cup and IBU Cup.

According to the Swedish Biathlon Union, “After an exciting Swedish premiere at Idre Fjäll, where we saw many strong performances, the national team management has decided to select five women and six men for the competitions in Östersund.”

Linn Gestblom is back in the squad after a year of rehabilitation from her shoulder injury.

“It feels incredibly fun to be back in a competitive context,” says Linn Gestblom.

“Ahead of this season, I have removed the harness I used before the operation. It has been a year of both progress and setbacks, but one thing has been certain: I have always had the goal of standing on the starting line in Östersund again.”

Linn is thus making a comeback to the World Cup arena after just over 650 days. Head coach Johannes Lukas is delighted with the return, but emphasizes that they are proceeding cautiously:

“Linn is a very stable biathlete, and her presence strengthens the team. At the same time, due to the rehabilitation she underwent during the fall, she will not compete in all distances. Together with the national team doctor, physiotherapist, and Linn herself, we have a plan that we have great confidence in with the goal that she will continue to develop her form.”

Sweden also has six starting spots on the women’s and men’s sides this season. Right now, five women have been selected, and given the special situation with illness and the need for a balanced women’s squad, the national team is waiting to finalize the final spots until closer to the start of the competition.

“We are in a slightly special situation on the women’s side. Since we live in Östersund and start the season there, we don’t have to travel anywhere, which gives us an advantage when selecting the most in-form squad. We have had illness in the team, so we want to wait and see how training develops before deciding who will be selected for each competition. The whole team is now training together here in Östersund, and based on that, we can make an overall assessment and a selection that is as fair as possible,” says Johannes Lukas.

This means that Anna-Karin Heijdenberg, Johanna Skottheim, and Sara Andersson have been selected to compete in either the World Cup or the IBU Cup. Still, it will be decided during the week which competitors will compete in which competitions.*

On the men’s side, there are experienced World Cup athletes and a debutant: Melker Nordgren. Melker was born in Gothenburg, moved to Falun when he was 10, and has been part of Team Autoexperten’s training group for the past two years. His path into biathlon took off after high school when he moved to Östersund two years ago. Before that, he competed and trained in ski orienteering.

“It will be really fun to race in the World Cup and doing it on home soil makes it even more special,” says Melker Nordgren about the chance to compete in Östersund.

Also Read: Biathlon World Cup: Complete program for Östersund

Swedish Biathlon Teams for the Biathlon First Two Events Season 2025/2026

WORLD CUP

Women

• Anna Magnusson
• Ella Halvarsson
• Elvira Öberg
• Hanna Öberg
• Linn Gestblom

Men

• Jesper Nelin
• Malte Stefansson
• Martin Ponsiluoma
• Melker Nordgren
• Sebastian Samuelsson
• Viktor Brandt

*Selected for international competition

• Anna-Karin Heijdenberg
• Johanna Skottheim
• Sara Andersson

IBU CUP

For the IBU Cup week in Obertilliach, Austria, twelve athletes have already been selected to represent Sweden, and one more woman from the squad will join them to compete internationally. This brings the total number of Swedish women in Obertilliach to seven.

According to the press release, “this season, Sweden has six starting spots on the women’s side and five on the men’s side in the IBU Cup. This means that the six selected men’s skiers and the seven selected women will be distributed across different distances.”

IBU Cup

Women

• Anna Hedström
• Annie Lindh
• Elsa Tänglander
• Emma Nilsson
• Ida Eriksson
• Johanna Nordqvist

Men

• Alfred Eriksson
• Anton Ivarsson
• Emil Nykvist
• Oscar Andersson
• Victor Berglund
• Henning Sjökvist

Below you can check all the facts about the biathlon premieres season 2025/2026.

FACTS Östersund Cup Season 2025/2026 (more information can be found HERE)

• When: Saturday, November 29 to Sunday, December 7 
• Who: Elite national biathletes – women and men
• Where: Östersund, Sweden
• What: IBU World Cup in Östersund, Sweden

PROGRAM

• Saturday, November 29, 13:15 CET: Women 4x6km Relay
• Saturday, November 29, 16:55 CET: Men 4×7.5km Relay
• Sunday, November 30, 14:00 CET: Single Mixed Relay (W+M)
• Sunday, November 30, 16:40 CET: Mixed Relay (M+W)
• Tuesday, December 2, 15:30 CET: Women 15km Individual
• Wednesday, December 3, 15:30 CET: Men 20km Individual
• Friday, December 5, 16:00 CET: Women 7.5km Sprint
• Saturday, December 6, 16:30 CET: Men 10km Sprint
• Sunday, December 7, 13:15 CET: Women 10km Pursuit
• Sunday, December 7, 15:15 CET: Men 12.5km Pursuit

Also Read – Biathlon World Cup: Calendar for the 2025/2026 winter season

FACTS IBU CUP Obertilliach Season 2025/2026 (more information can be found HERE)

• When: Thursday, December 4 to Sunday, December 7 
• Who: Elite national biathletes – women and men
• Where: Obertilliach, Austria
• What: IBU Cup Obertilliach, Austria

PROGRAM

• Thursday, December 4, 10:30 CET: Women 7.5km Sprint
• Thursday, December 4, 14:10 CET: Men 10km Sprint
• Saturday, December 6, 10:30 CET: Women 7.5km Sprint
• Saturday, December 6, 14:10 CET: Men 10km Sprint
• Sunday, December 7, 10:45 CET: Women 10km Pursuit
• Sunday, December 7, 13:30 CET: Men 12.5km Pursuit

Also Read – Biathlon IBU Cup: Calendar for the 2025/2026 winter season

Are you interested in biathlon? Click HERE and read more about it.

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