Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah to Host 2019 BMW Biathlon
World Cup
February 14-17, 2019
Midway, Utah (October 29, 2018) – The 2019 BMW Biathlon World Cup comes to Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in Midway, Utah from February 14 to 17, 2019. This is the first major international biathlon competition to be held at Soldier Hollow since the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
The event is spread over four days of competition with Sprint races on Thursday and Friday, double-header Pursuits on Saturday, and both a Single Mixed Relay and Mixed Relay on Sunday. The competition will feature new courses and an updated biathlon stadium layout. One of nine stops on the IBU World Cup tour, the 2019 Biathlon World Cup at Soldier Hollow will include approximately 28 nations and over 180 athletes.
Biathlon made its Olympic debut in 1960. With a total cumulative TV viewership approaching one billion, biathlon is one of the most popular winter sports in Europe. The last Biathlon World Cup hosted in the western United States was in 2001 at Soldier Hollow Nordic Center, prior to the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. After 17 years, Soldier Hollow Nordic Center and the Heber Valley readies for the return of this popular winter sport competition to the United States and Utah.
The Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation has invested in improvements to the Soldier Hollow Nordic Center in order to host international competitions of this caliber. With changes in the sport since the venue’s last world cup, the biathlon target system had be to be fully refurbished and an elevated coaching box has been added to bring the biathlon range up to international standards. Updates to the snow making system and power capacity - as well has a new paved parking lot for spectators – are other improvement projects currently underway.
More information on the 2019 BMW Biathlon World Cup can be found at BiathlonWorldCupUtah.com.
Media Contact: Melanie Welch, mwelch@uolf.org, 435.658.4212
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