1978–79 Biathlon World Cup

The 1978–79 Biathlon World Cup was a multi-race tournament over a season of biathlon, organised by the UIPMB (Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne et Biathlon). The season started on 10 January 1979 in Jáchymov, Czechoslovakia, and ended on 8 April 1979 in Bardufoss, Norway. It was the second season of the Biathlon World Cup, and it was only held for men.

Calendar
Below is the World Cup calendar for the 1978–79 season. *The relays were technically unofficial races as they did not count towards anything in the World Cup.

Overall

 * Final standings after 10 races.

Achievements

 * First World Cup career victory:
 * 🇳🇴 Roar Nilsen (NOR), 26, in his 2nd season — the WC 1 Individual in Jáchymov; it also was his first podium
 * 🇦🇹 Rudolf Horn (AUT), 24, in his 2nd season — the WC 1 Sprint in Jáchymov; it also was his first podium and the first podium for an Austrian biathlete
 * Alexander Tikhonov, 32, in his 2nd season — the WC 2 Sprint in Antholz-Anterselva; first podium was 1977–78 Sprint in Sodankylä
 * Anatoly Alyabyev, 27, in his 2nd season — the WC 3 Individual in Sodankylä; first podium was 1977–78 Individual in Murmansk


 * First World Cup podium:
 * 🇳🇴 Terje Krokstad (NOR), 22, in his 2nd season — no. 3 in the WC 1 Individual in Jáchymov
 * 🇮🇹 Luigi Weiss (ITA), 27, in his 2nd season — no. 3 in the World Championships Sprint in Ruhpolding; it also was the first podium for an Italian biathlete
 * 🇳🇴 Kjell Søbak (NOR), 21, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 3 Individual in Sodankylä
 * Vladimir Alikin, 21, in his 1st season — no. 3 in the WC 4 Individual in Bardufoss


 * Victory in this World Cup (all-time number of victories in parentheses):
 * Klaus Siebert, 2 (5) first places
 * Alexander Tikhonov, 2 (2) first places
 * Frank Ullrich, 1 (4) first place
 * Vladimir Barnashov, 1 (2) first place
 * 🇳🇴 Sigleif Johansen (NOR), 1 (2) first place
 * 🇳🇴 Roar Nilsen (NOR), 1 (1) first place
 * 🇦🇹 Rudolf Horn (AUT), 1 (1) first place
 * Anatoly Alyabyev, 1 (1) first place

Retirements
Following notable biathletes retired after the 1978–79 season:


 * 🇫🇮 Simo Halonen (FIN)
 * 🇳🇴 Tor Svendsberget (NOR)
 * Nikolay Kruglov