I came across this interesting graphic on the website of the BBC, showing the composition of the Tour de France top 10 over the decades. Here is what the same graphic looks like for Biathlon World Cup results over the last 20 years.
For the men, Germany (54) had most top ten finishers since 1992–93, followed by Norway (44), Russia (38) and France (20). In total, 11 countries had top 10 athletes in the last 20 years. Most World Cup winners came from Norway (9), France (5) and Germany (4).
Germany also leads the women’s side with 65 top 10 spots since 1992–93. Interestingly France (31) comes second ahead of Russia (28), with Sweden in fourth (19). Athletes from 15 different countries claimed a top 10 finish. Most winners came from Sweden (7) and Germany (6).
It’s maybe surprising that more countries claimed a top 10 spot on the women’s side. Overall, the three most successful nations at Winter Olympics, Germany, Russia, Norway, also lead in biathlon. Just like ski jumping, the United States is yet to leave any mark on biathlon, having much more success in other traditional winter sports like alpine, cross-country, nordic combined or bobsleigh.
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Creator of the website realbiathlon.com