As this amazingly enjoyable season is coming to a close it is that time of year when we start to take a look back on the highs and lows. Over the course of the next couple of weeks I want to analyze some of my favorite athletes and moments of the recently completed 2021-2022 IBU World Cup season. Without further ado, let’s get to it!
Season Wrap Up Articles:
When I think back on this season the first thing that comes to mind is, and likely will be in the future, the dominance of several stars of the sports. The dominators came from some usual suspects but there were also a few that experienced their first taste. It’s not that we didn’t have fun races. We had many. In fact I have a whole article coming soon about my favorite races of the season! And it’s not that we didn’t have some new and exciting winners and competitors. But at the end of the day, many of the top prizes were dominated by just a handful of athletes.
Continue reading: Dominance New and Old
2. Stories of the Season Part 2
Okay the first piece Dominance New and Old was originally supposed to be the part of this piece. Then it got longer, and longer, and longer until suddenly it was an entirely different piece altogether. We are not doing that again! We’ll hit the rest of these Stories that Defined the Season pretty quickly. Well as quickly as I ever do I guess. Let’s get to it!
2.Elvira Öberg’s Emergence – Throughout her career Elvira Öberg has raced in her older sister’s shadow. Last season she started to show some early signs of how good she can be…
Continue reading: Stories of the Season Part 2
3. Most Improved Women 2021-2022
We talked about this a bit on our the Penalty Loop podcast on our Season Review episode but I wanted to break it out a little bit more here. I’ll be honest the plan was to post this immediately after the episode but life happens sometimes. Anyway, here are my thoughts!
A Most Improved biathlete can come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it’s the type that we normally think of, a decent biathlete making a leap up to the top 5-10 of the standings. More frequently though it’s a little bit different. Sometimes it’s an athlete coming from way off the radar to being a name that you start to recognize. Sometimes it’s a name that you’ve recognized becoming someone who isn’t a total shock to see in the top 10. And sometimes it’s a very good biathlete taking that last, but most difficult, step to the absolute top of the sport. We’ve been fortunate enough to see women at each phase of improvement this season and it’s been one of the most fun parts of this season! Let’s take a look back at a sampling of some of the most improved women.
Continue Reading Most Improved Women 2021-2022
Men’s Final Overall Rankings (TBD):
| Rank | Athlete | Awards | Total Points |
| 1 | Quentin Fillon Maillet | 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇+🥈🥈🥈🥈🥈+🥉 | 984 |
| 2 | Sturla Holm Laegreid | 🥇🥇+🥈🥈+🥉🥉🥉 | 736 |
| 3 | Sebastian Samuelsson | 🥇🥇+🥈🥈+🥉🥉 | 717 |
| 4 | Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen | 🥇🥇+🥈+🥉🥉 | 708 |
| 5 | Emilien Jacquelin | 🥇+🥈🥈🥈+🥉🥉 | 706 |
| 6 | Tarjei Boe | 🥈🥈🥈+🥉🥉🥉 | 601 |
| 7 | Simon Desthieux | 🥉 | 590 |
| 8 | Benedikt Doll | 🥇+🥈+🥉 | 557 |
| 9 | Sivert Bakken | 🥇+🥉 | 553 |
| 10 | Erik Lesser | 🥇+🥈 | 535 |
Women’s Overall Rankings (TBD):
| Rank | Athlete | Awards | Total Points |
| 1 | Marte Olsbu Roeiseland | 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇+🥈🥈+🥉🥉🥉🥉🥉🥉🥉 | 957 |
| 2 | Elvira Oeberg | 🥇🥇🥇🥇+🥈🥈🥈🥈+🥉🥉 | 823 |
| 3 | Lisa Theresa Hauser | 🥇+🥈🥈 | 684 |
| 4 | Hanna Oeberg | 🥇+🥈+🥉🥉 | 661 |
| 5 | Anais Chevalier-Bouchet | 🥈🥈+🥉🥉 | 642 |
| 6 | Denise Herrmann | 🥇🥇+🥈+🥉🥉 | 589 |
| 7 | Dzinara Alimbekava | 🥈+🥉 | 589 |
| 8 | Justine Braisaz-Bouchet | 🥇🥇🥇+🥈 | 581 |
| 9 | Dorothea Wierer | 🥇+🥈+🥉🥉 | 577 |
| 10 | Maketa Davidova | 🥇 | 560 |
Penalty Loop 