Biathlon World Championships in Ruhpolding From 29 February To 11 March

The German Biathlon Mekka Expends Big Effort To Satisfy Athletes and Fans

The Upper Bavarian town Ruhpolding is hosting a real sports highlight this winter: From 29 February to 11 March 2012 the biathlon world elite will come together to participate in the IBU World Championships. Ruhpolding - German biathlon center of excellence, yearly host of the biathlon world cup and three-time organiser of biathlon world championships - is well prepared and longing to get started!

The Chiemgau Arena, venue of the championships, has been remodeled to offer athletes as well as spectators top conditions. During the World Cup in 2011, parts of the remodeling measures had already been in place and everybody was enthusiastic about them. Spectators can now get closer to the competition areas and seven big video screens allow a view into the most important sections of the tracks. Ruhpolding's stadion has always been legendary for its atmosphere and the new arena is expected to produce even more 'fan'-tastical emotions.

The organisers have set high goals for themselves, announcing the upcoming competition to become „the greatest world championships in the history of biathlon“. And they are all set to make that point from the very beginning on. The opening ceremony, starting at 6:45 pm on 29 February is supposed to become just the first of many highlights. Not only the organisation comittee but all of Ruhpolding are eager to make the championships an outstanding sports and fan experience. Shops in the pedestrian area are already decorated according to the occasion and the main street will become a promenade during the competition.

A meeting point for fans and biathletes alike will be the Championspark (German homepage), Ruhpolding's spa park, that will turn into a party zone offering various cultural programs each day. And what is more, there will also be many stands offering food and beverages and real Bavarian 'Gaudi' (party atmosphere). The award ceremonies will be held in the Championspark, thus there will be enough reason to party.

Biathlon is very popular in Germany and expectations in the German team are high. Magdalena Neuner, the currently most successful female biathlete in the world, is the local hero of the German fans. The fact that she has announced to end her career this season has even increased interest for her runs. Apart from Magdalena Neuner there are some more very talented German athletes like Andrea Henkel, Florian Graf, and Andreas Birnbacher, so that the German team hopes to earn several medals. In order to reach that goal, the Germans have already started their training in the Chiemgau Arena at the end of 2011. Since there has long be no natural snow in the stadion this could only be accomplished with the help of 'old' snow from last winter which had been stored in a special 'iglu'.

The competitions will start on 1 March. Eleven WCH titles will be awarded in the following disciplines: mixed relay, sprint, pursuit, individual, relay, and mass start. Here is an overview of all run dates:

For those who wish to see the fights for medals live it is high time to book tickets. The ticket page of the Ruhpolding WCH homepage informs you about availability. If you need accomodation, search our data base. On the following pages you can find more information on Ruhpolding's surrounding region, the Chiemgau.