Biathlon kicks off in Osrblie!

OSRBLIE – This morning, 25 January, the biathlon competitions of the 27th Winter Universiade FISU kicked off in Osrblie, Slovakia with the men’s individual 20 km followed by the women’s individual 15km.

Osrblie, a village in the region of Banská Bystrica, has a biathlon venue especially for the tests of the World Cup Biathlon. For the Universiade, a new multi-purpose building has been erected and will be used for the national biathlon centre. With this legacy, the site hopes to accommodate future IBU World Championships.

Despite the problems associated with the short preparation time of the Universiade in Slovakia, the organizers have made every effort in order to welcome the competitors in the best possible conditions.

In total, the site in Osrblie will host 9 different competitions from 25 to 31 January: for men, the 20 km Individual, the 10 km sprint, the 12.5 km pursuit and the 15 km mass start; for women, the 15 km individual, the 7.5 km sprint, the 10 km pursuit and the 12.5 km mass start as well as the mixed relay 2×6 km F + 2×7.5 km H.

According to Ondrej Rybar (CZE), the FISU Technical Delegate for biathlon, the competition level will be quite high since many athletes, accustomed to participate in rounds of the IBU World Cup, are present in Osrblie.

Please find the full programme of events for the 27th Winter Universiade here. 

The competitions will also be visible on the livestreaming implemented by FISU here.

(David Vandenplas, Media Assistant)