How the biathlon World Cup standings work
Biathlon has no rolling world ranking. Each season the IBU World Cup keeps standings:
- the Total Score for men and women: points from every individual race of the season added together. Its leader wears the yellow bib;
- a score for each race type (sprint, pursuit, individual, mass start, super sprint), whose leaders wear red bibs;
- relay and mixed relay scores for nations;
- the Nations Cup, which ranks countries and decides how many athletes each can start.
In most races the top 40 score: 90 for winning, 75 for second, 65 for third, down to 1 point for 40th.
World Cup points
Individual, short individual, sprint, pursuit, mass start 60, relay and mixed relay (top 40):
| Place | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 20 | 30 | 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 90 | 75 | 65 | 55 | 50 | 45 | 41 | 37 | 34 | 31 | 30 | 21 | 11 | 1 |
Mass start and super sprint (top 30, as these fields are smaller):
| Place | 1 to 10 | 11 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | as above (90 to 31) | 30 | 20 | 18 | 12 | 2 |
From 10th to 21st the points fall by one a place, then by two a place to 30th. In a super sprint final, athletes who do not start, do not finish, are lapped or are disqualified get no place and no points.
The scores
- Total Score: all individual, short individual, sprint, super sprint, pursuit and mass start races added up.
- Discipline scores: each race type added up separately. A discipline cup is awarded only if at least two races of that type were scored in the season.
- Ties: more wins first, then more second places, then more thirds. A tie in the final Total Score is not broken: both get a cup.
Nations Cup
Separate for men and women. In each individual, short individual, sprint and super sprint qualification race at World Cups and World Championships, a nation's best three athletes score:
| Place | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 80 | 110 and below |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 160 | 154 | 148 | 143 | 140 | 138 | 136 | 134 | 132 | 131 | 61 | 1 |
From 10th the points fall by one a place to 80th, then by two a place.
Relays add more:
| Place | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 420 | 390 | 360 | 330 | 310 | 290 | 270 | 250 | 230 | 220 | 170 | 120 | 70 | 20 |
Below 10th the relay points fall by 10 a place. In the mixed relay and single mixed relay, each sex's Nations Cup gets half the relay points.
World Championship races count for the Nations Cup but not for the World Cup Total Score.
A worked example
Made up to show the arithmetic. An athlete's season: sprint 12th (29), pursuit 8th (37), individual 25th (16), and a mass start 15th (26). Total Score: 29 + 37 + 16 + 26 = 108.
At the same sprint, a nation's best three finish 12th, 30th and 75th: Nations Cup points 129 + 111 + 66 = 306.
Notes on the wording
- "Mass Start 60" is in the 40-place list, while "Mass Start" is in the 30-place list. This explainer reads them as two different formats.
- The Nations Cup line "one point awarded for 110th place and higher" means 110th and every place below it.
Variations
| Score | Covered here |
|---|---|
| World Cup Total, discipline scores, relay scores, Nations Cup | Yes |
| IBU Cup, Junior Cup | No |
| Para biathlon | No (World Para Nordic Skiing, now FIS) |