Best Biathlonists of All Time
Who are the greatest biathlonists of all time? Explore the leading biathlonists in Sport Ranking’s historical Biathlon ranking, based on results from major international competitions across different eras.
Greatest Men’s Biathlonists
Biathlon Men
| # | Athlete | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | Norway | 217 |
| 2 | Martin Fourcade | France | 185 |
| 3 | Johannes Thingnes Bø | Norway | 163 |
| 4 | Raphaël Poirée | France | 98 |
| 5 | Emil Hegle Svendsen | Norway | 86 |
| 6 | Sven Fischer | Germany | 84 |
| 7 | Frank Ullrich | East Germany | 77 |
| 8 | Sturla Holm Lægreid | Norway | 71 |
| 9 | Eirik Kvalfoss | Norway | 60 |
| 9 | Frank-Peter Roetsch | East Germany | 60 |
Greatest Women’s Biathlonists
Biathlon Women
| # | Athlete | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magdalena Forsberg | Sweden | 98 |
| 2 | Magdalena Neuner | Germany | 82 |
| 3 | Darya Domracheva | Belarus | 71 |
| 4 | Kati Wilhelm | Germany | 68 |
| 5 | Uschi Disl | Germany | 67 |
| 6 | Tora Berger | Norway | 63 |
| 7 | Laura Dahlmeier | Germany | 54 |
| 8 | Kaisa Mäkäräinen | Finland | 53 |
| 9 | Anastasiya Kuzmina | Slovakia | 51 |
| 9 | Marte Olsbu Røiseland | Norway | 51 |
How the All-Time Ranking Works
The ranking is based primarily on the overall World Cup standings, the Olympic Games, and the World Championships. The overall World Cup carries the highest single-event point value, while the Olympic Games and World Championships provide multiple separate scoring opportunities across the individual disciplines.
Biathlon is distinctive in that the leading athletes generally compete across the full range of disciplines rather than as narrow specialists. The scoring structure reflects this by combining long-term World Cup performance with results from individual events at the major championships.
Team events, most notably relays and the historic patrol races, are awarded three times the points of individual competitions in order to give them greater weight in the national rankings, but they are not included in the individual rankings.
Learn more about Biathlon scoring →