pursuit – real biathlon

At every major championship, there’s always the question of all-time records for pursuit performances. Let’s take a more detailed look at this. Pursuits are held since 1996–97 on World Cup level; there have been 185 men’s and 184 women’s pursuits in total. Records for a few of the earliest pursuits (1996–97 and 1997–98) don’t have bib numbers and/or time deficits and couldn’t be included here.

Men

Andreas Birnbacher holds the record for winning from furthest back (starting in 26th position), while Sven Fischer won with the biggest time gap at the start (1:36 min). Tarjei Bø once made second place with bib 44, which is a record for both biggest position and biggest time gain for a podium finisher (it’s also the biggest time gain overall, 2:14.4). Julien Robert has the record for the biggest improvement overall (50 positions).

Win from furthest back (position)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit
1	26	Birnbacher	Andreas	GER	2011	Hochfilzen	-25	1:09.0
1	20	Drachev	Vladimir	BLR	2003	Oestersund	-19	1:18.0
1	18	Samuelsson	Sebastian	SWE	2020	Kontiolahti	-17	1:10.0
1	17	Sumann	Christoph	AUT	2007	Pokljuka	-16	0:59.0
1	16	Bjoerndalen	Ole Einar	NOR	2006	Kontiolahti	-15	0:48.0
1	15	Poiree	Raphael	FRA	1999	Ruhpolding	-14	0:47.0
1	13	Maigourov	Viktor	RUS	2001	Oberhof	-12	1:32.0
1	12	Maigourov	Viktor	RUS	1997	Brezno-Osrblie (WCH)	-11	0:48.0
1	11	Poiree	Raphael	FRA	1999	Lake Placid	-10	0:52.0
1	10	Fischer	Sven	GER	2004	Oslo	-9	1:36.0

Win from furthest back (time deficit)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit
1	10	Fischer	Sven	GER	2004	Oslo	-9	1:36.0
1	13	Maigourov	Viktor	RUS	2001	Oberhof	-12	1:32.0
1	20	Drachev	Vladimir	BLR	2003	Oestersund	-19	1:18.0
1	9	Boeuf	Alexis	FRA	2011	Presque Isle ME	-8	1:14.0
1	8	Ferry	Bjoern	SWE	2010	Whistler	-7	1:12.0
1	18	Samuelsson	Sebastian	SWE	2020	Kontiolahti	-17	1:10.0
1	26	Birnbacher	Andreas	GER	2011	Hochfilzen	-25	1:09.0
1	7	Bjoerndalen	Ole Einar	NOR	2003	Oslo	-6	1:07.0
1	6	Svendsen	Emil Hegle	NOR	2011	Oslo	-5	1:04.0
1	10	Greis	Michael	GER	2008	PyeongChang	-9	1:01.0

Podium from furthest back (position)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit	Behind (Finish)	Time Gain
2	44	Boe	Tarjei	NOR	2011	Oslo	-42	2:15.0	0:00.6	2:14.4
3	35	Fourcade	Martin	FRA	2011	Oslo	-32	1:57.0	0:07.3	1:49.7
3	29	Krcmar	Michal	CZE	2017	Ruhpolding	-26	1:33.0	0:19.5	1:13.5
1	26	Birnbacher	Andreas	GER	2011	Hochfilzen	-25	1:09.0		1:09.0
3	25	Gross	Ricco	GER	2001	Hochfilzen	-22	2:38.0	0:26.3	2:11.7
2	23	Shipulin	Anton	RUS	2017	PyeongChang	-21	1:30.0	0:34.5	0:55.5
3	23	Shipulin	Anton	RUS	2012	Oestersund	-20	1:08.0	0:03.3	1:04.7
2	22	Fourcade	Simon	FRA	2013	Khanty-Mansiysk	-20	1:32.0	0:35.7	0:56.3
3	23	Kruglov	Nikolay	RUS	2004	Fort Kent	-20	2:20.0	1:27.4	0:52.6
1	20	Drachev	Vladimir	BLR	2003	Oestersund	-19	1:18.0		1:18.0

Podium from furthest back (time deficit)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit	Behind (Finish)	Time Gain
2	44	Boe	Tarjei	NOR	2011	Oslo	-42	2:15.0	0:00.6	2:14.4
3	25	Gross	Ricco	GER	2001	Hochfilzen	-22	2:38.0	0:26.3	2:11.7
3	35	Fourcade	Martin	FRA	2011	Oslo	-32	1:57.0	0:07.3	1:49.7
1	10	Fischer	Sven	GER	2004	Oslo	-9	1:36.0		1:36.0
1	13	Maigourov	Viktor	RUS	2001	Oberhof	-12	1:32.0		1:32.0
3	21	Puurunen	Paavo	FIN	2003	Khanty-Mansiysk (WCH)	-18	2:16.0	0:56.3	1:19.7
3	14	Wolf	Alexander	GER	2005	Oberhof	-11	1:25.0	0:06.5	1:18.5
1	20	Drachev	Vladimir	BLR	2003	Oestersund	-19	1:18.0		1:18.0
3	16	Andresen	Frode	NOR	2000	Lahti	-13	1:37.0	0:22.8	1:14.2
1	9	Boeuf	Alexis	FRA	2011	Presque Isle	-8	1:14.0		1:14.0

Biggest improvement overall (position)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit	Behind (Finish)	Time Gain
10	60	Robert	Julien	FRA	2005	Oestersund	-50	1:42.0	0:57.8	0:44.2
9	57	Pryma	Artem	UKR	2017	Oberhof	-48	2:28.0	1:55.3	0:32.7
11	58	Cattarinussi	Rene	ITA	1999	Ruhpolding	-47	1:52.0	0:52.7	0:59.3
9	56	Kruglov	Nikolay	RUS	2006	Hochfilzen	-47	2:34.0	2:59.7	-0:25.7
14	59	Dostal	Roman	CZE	2003	Hochfilzen	-45	2:22.0	2:34.7	-0:12.7
12	56	Rostovtsev	Pavel	RUS	1996	Oslo	-44	2:17.0	1:38.6	0:38.4
17	60	Bailly-Salins	Patrice	FRA	1996	Oslo	-43	2:25.0	2:08.8	0:16.2
14	57	Hofer	Lukas	ITA	2015	Khanty-Mansiysk	-43	2:00.0	1:48.8	0:11.2
8	51	Tchepikov	Sergei	RUS	2002	Oestersund	-43	2:07.0	1:04.5	1:02.5
10	52	Samuelsson	Sebastian	SWE	2018	Nove Mesto	-42	2:26.0	1:47.1	0:38.9

Biggest improvement overall (time)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit	Behind (Finish)	Time Gain
2	44	Boe	Tarjei	NOR	2011	Oslo	-42	2:15.0	0:00.6	2:14.4
3	25	Gross	Ricco	GER	2001	Hochfilzen	-22	2:38.0	0:26.3	2:11.7
6	42	Bjoerndalen	Ole Einar	NOR	2000	Lahti	-36	2:41.0	0:33.7	2:07.3
3	35	Fourcade	Martin	FRA	2011	Oslo	-32	1:57.0	0:07.3	1:49.7
25	58	Mesotitsch	Daniel	AUT	2001	Hochfilzen	-33	4:00.0	2:23.9	1:36.1
1	10	Fischer	Sven	GER	2004	Oslo	-9	1:36.0		1:36.0
4	8	Rostovtsev	Pavel	RUS	2001	Hochfilzen	-4	1:59.0	0:27.0	1:32.0
1	13	Maigourov	Viktor	RUS	2001	Oberhof	-12	1:32.0		1:32.0
11	43	Rozhkov	Sergei	RUS	2004	Oslo	-32	2:30.0	0:58.6	1:31.4
9	48	Bjoerndalen	Ole Einar	NOR	2007	Khanty-Mansiysk	-39	2:00.0	0:29.6	1:30.4

The biggest drops of all time: Vladimir Drachev (50 positions, Lillehammer 1996) and Jakov Fak (45 positions, Hochfilzen 2011).

Women

Martina Beck won from furthest back on the women’s side (bib 15), Magdalena Forsberg once overcame a deficit of 1:46 min (she started in second place in that race however). For podiums finishers, Florence Baverel-Robert and Olga Romasko hold the records for most positions and most time gained. In terms of overall improvement, Darya Domracheva has both records (48 positions, 2:30.9 time gain).

Win from furthest back (position)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit
1	15	Beck	Martina	GER	2000	Oestersund	-14	1:29.0
1	14	Berger	Tora	NOR	2013	Antholz-Anterselva	-13	1:08.0
1	11	Simon	Julia	FRA	2020	Kontiolahti	-10	0:57.0
1	10	Beck	Martina	GER	2003	Khanty-Mansiysk (WCH)	-9	0:58.0
1	10	Makarainen	Kaisa	FIN	2015	Oestersund	-9	0:52.0
1	10	Henkel	Andrea	GER	2009	Trondheim	-9	0:43.0
1	9	Domracheva	Darya	BLR	2014	Sochi (Olympics)	-8	0:32.0
1	8	Medvedtseva	Olga	RUS	2002	Soldier Hollow (Olympics)	-7	1:03.0
1	8	Wilhelm	Kati	GER	2005	Khanty-Mansiysk	-7	1:03.0
1	8	Eckhoff	Tiril	NOR	2020	Kontiolahti	-7	1:01.0

Win from furthest back (time deficit)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit
1	2	Forsberg	Magdalena	SWE	2001	Oslo	-1	1:46.0
1	15	Beck	Martina	GER	2000	Oestersund	-14	1:29.0
1	14	Berger	Tora	NOR	2013	Antholz-Anterselva	-13	1:08.0
1	7	Forsberg	Magdalena	SWE	2001	Soldier Hollow	-6	1:05.0
1	8	Medvedtseva	Olga	RUS	2002	Soldier Hollow (Olympics)	-7	1:03.0
1	8	Wilhelm	Kati	GER	2005	Khanty-Mansiysk	-7	1:03.0
1	8	Eckhoff	Tiril	NOR	2020	Kontiolahti	-7	1:01.0
1	10	Beck	Martina	GER	2003	Khanty-Mansiysk (WCH)	-9	0:58.0
1	11	Simon	Julia	FRA	2020	Kontiolahti	-10	0:57.0
1	5	Ekholm	Helena	SWE	2009	PyeongChang (WCH)	-4	0:55.0

Podium from furthest back (position)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit	Behind (Finish)	Time Gain
3	32	Baverel	Florence	FRA	2000	Oslo	-29	2:08.0	0:42.4	1:25.6
2	27	Domracheva	Darya	BLR	2017	Hochfilzen (WCH)	-25	1:26.0	0:11.6	1:14.4
3	22	Semerenko	Vita	UKR	2018	Oberhof	-19	1:38.0	1:10.2	0:27.8
3	22	Beck	Martina	GER	2004	Beitostolen	-19	1:00.0	0:25.5	0:34.5
2	21	Zubrilova	Olena	UKR	2003	Oslo	-19	1:00.0	0:03.6	0:56.4
3	21	Solemdal	Synnoeve	NOR	2014	Oberhof	-18	1:55.0	1:11.7	0:43.3
2	20	Domracheva	Darya	BLR	2014	Kontiolahti	-18	1:07.0	1:00.0	0:07.0
2	20	Wilhelm	Kati	GER	2005	Oestersund	-18	1:15.0	0:13.3	1:01.7
2	20	Wierer	Dorothea	ITA	2015	Oestersund	-18	1:11.0	0:01.9	1:09.1
3	19	Bailly	Sandrine	FRA	2004	Lake Placid	-16	1:26.0	0:51.0	0:35.0

Podium from furthest back (time deficit)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit	Behind (Finish)	Time Gain
3	13	Romasko	Olga	RUS	1996	Oslo	-10	3:25.0	1:12.1	2:12.9
2	3	Koukleva	Galina	RUS	1996	Oslo	-1	2:35.0	0:34.1	2:00.9
1	2	Forsberg	Magdalena	SWE	2001	Oslo	-1	1:46.0		1:46.0
3	7	Beck	Martina	GER	2001	Oslo	-4	2:13.0	0:41.4	1:31.6
1	15	Beck	Martina	GER	2000	Oestersund	-14	1:29.0		1:29.0
3	32	Baverel	Florence	FRA	2000	Oslo	-29	2:08.0	0:42.4	1:25.6
2	15	Bailly	Sandrine	FRA	2005	Khanty-Mansiysk	-13	1:34.0	0:19.0	1:15.0
2	27	Domracheva	Darya	BLR	2017	Hochfilzen (WCH)	-25	1:26.0	0:11.6	1:14.4
3	13	Forsberg	Magdalena	SWE	1999	Oberhof	-10	1:34.0	0:23.1	1:10.9
2	18	Grubben	Linda	NOR	2007	Antholz-Anterselva (WCH)	-16	1:17.0	0:07.1	1:09.9

Biggest improvement overall (position)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit	Behind (Finish)	Time Gain
5	53	Domracheva	Darya	BLR	2009	PyeongChang (WCH)	-48	3:10.0	0:39.1	2:30.9
5	52	Holubcova	Katerina	CZE	2003	Hochfilzen	-47	2:44.0	1:06.3	1:37.7
7	52	Brunet	Marie Laure	FRA	2009	PyeongChang (WCH)	-45	3:09.0	0:54.9	2:14.1
14	57	Tandrevold	Ingrid Landmark	NOR	2020	Antholz-Anterselva (WCH)	-43	2:01.0	1:30.1	0:30.9
17	59	Hoegberg	Elisabeth	SWE	2015	Hochfilzen	-42	1:55.0	1:12.2	0:42.8
18	59	Semerenko	Valentina	UKR	2020	Ruhpolding	-41	2:25.0	2:03.1	0:21.9
19	60	Tofalvi	Eva	ROU	2015	Oestersund	-41	2:21.0	2:19.3	0:01.7
17	57	Liu	Xianying	CHN	2004	Oestersund	-40	2:24.0	2:49.0	-0:25.0
19	59	Takahashi	Ryoko	JPN	2000	Oberhof	-40	3:44.0	5:04.4	-1:20.4
6	45	Preuss	Franziska	GER	2019	Oberhof	-39	1:49.0	0:54.7	0:54.3

Biggest improvement overall (time)

Rank	Bib	Family Name	Given Name	Nation	Year	Location	Rank Diff.	Start Deficit	Behind (Finish)	Time Gain
5	53	Domracheva	Darya	BLR	2009	PyeongChang (WCH)	-48	3:10.0	0:39.1	2:30.9
7	52	Brunet	Marie Laure	FRA	2009	PyeongChang (WCH)	-45	3:09.0	0:54.9	2:14.1
3	13	Romasko	Olga	RUS	1996	Oslo	-10	3:25.0	1:12.1	2:12.9
2	3	Koukleva	Galina	RUS	1996	Oslo	-1	2:35.0	0:34.1	2:00.9
11	25	Briand	Anne	FRA	1996	Oslo	-14	3:55.0	2:03.5	1:51.5
1	2	Forsberg	Magdalena	SWE	2001	Oslo	-1	1:46.0		1:46.0
5	52	Holubcova	Katerina	CZE	2003	Hochfilzen	-47	2:44.0	1:06.3	1:37.7
6	10	Talanova	Nadejda	RUS	1996	Oslo	-4	3:10.0	1:32.9	1:37.1
9	12	Paramyguina	Svetlana	BLR	1996	Oslo	-3	3:24.0	1:47.4	1:36.6
4	8	Niogret	Corinne	FRA	1996	Oslo	-4	2:58.0	1:22.3	1:35.7

The biggest drops of all time: Franziska Hildebrand (47 positions, Nove Mesto 2015) and Svetlana Mironova (46 positions, Hochfilzen 2017).

Wierer’s Pursuit efforts and results

Results

Other measurements

Conclusion

All-time records for World Cup level pursuits

Men

Women

The Queen of Pursuit

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