Dear Biathlon Friends,
it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the IBU Junior Open European Championships 2023 in Madona, Latvia.
The IBU Junior Cup has come a long way since its inception in 2015. Its role as one of the building rocks of biathlon’s success has proven to be multiple:
- offering new generations of budding biathletes from around the world a chance to gather and compete in a fair international environment,
- carving path for further development for biathlon’s future superstars,
- creating opportunities for emerging biathlon nations to build needed infrastructure and stage an IBU-sanctioned event,
- giving the IBU the prospect to expand its reach and touch the hearts of fans in new markets
- enabling the IBU and its OCs to disseminate and test sustainability practices in an authentic environment.
Madona and Latvia will host an IBU event for the first time. And it is hard to think of an event that better fits such a premiere than the IBU Junior Open European Championships. The venue sits in beautiful natural surroundings, where dedication to sustainable living is part of everyone’s everyday life. Madona is Latvia’s most popular place for winter sports activities. Its sports center staged numerous international winter events in the past and is thus ready to host biathlon youth.
I am looking forward to the four days of thrilling competitions in Madona!
With best wishes to the OC and the athletes
Olle Dahlin
IBU President