Biathlon-300 million fans in our sights, says biathlon chief ahead of Milano Cortina Games

ANTERSELVA, ITALY, Feb 5 : The sport of biathlon is experiencing a surge of popularity and its governing body has set a target of reaching 300 million fans during the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, International Biathlon Union general secretary Max Cobb told Reuters. 

Only ice hockey has outperformed biathlon in terms of ticket sales for the 2026 Games, with Sunday's first biathlon competition having sold out, and the sport is measuring interest closely and setting lofty goals in terms of public awareness. 

"What we can see already is that we're on a trajectory this season to have the most interest ever during an Olympic Games," Cobb told Reuters over Zoom from Milan.

"At the World Championships last year, we had measurable fan interest from 105 million viewers or persons around the world, and our goal for Games time is 300 million, so we'll see whether we hit it."

In biathlon, everything can be won or lost on the shooting range or while skiing on the challenging course, and the combination of skills makes for compelling viewing.

"There has been tremendous growth in the last six years in France, where we've seen a tripling of TV audience and a record-setting TV audience for the (IBU) World Cup this year already," Cobb explained. 

"Then we're seeing massive increases in Finland and Poland, and in Italy and the United States, where we really are seeing twice the engagement and interest versus last year.

"I think some of that is the promotional effect or the halo effect of the Games, even before the Games begin - that this is an Olympic season and that people are more interested, or that the non-core fans are discovering biathlon."

LONG INVOLVEMENT

An active competitor back in his college days at Dartmouth, American Cobb has been