Anton Ivarsson (born 27 January 2001) is a Swedish
biathlete
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not ti ...
who has competed in the
Biathlon World Cup
The Biathlon World Cup is a top-level biathlon season-long competition series. It has been held since the winter seasons of 1977–78 for men and 1982–83 for women. The women's seasons until 1986–87 season were called the European Cup, alt ...
since 2023.
Career
Anton Ivarsson made his first international appearances at the
Olympic Youth Festival in February 2019 but missed out on finishing in the top 20 in the individual races. The following year, he competed in the
Youth World Championships for the first time, finishing 18th in the individual event and 8th with the junior relay team. Ivarsson's first experiences at the senior level came during the
2021 European Championships in
Duszniki-Zdrój
Duszniki-Zdrój (; ; ), often simplified to Duszniki, is a spa town in Kłodzko Valley and Kłodzko County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in southwestern Poland. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 4,329. Situated on the Bystrzyca Rive ...
,
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. Despite hitting 19 out of 20 targets in the individual race, he placed only 46th. At the
Junior World Championships, he once again achieved a top-10 result with the relay team, but his initial
IBU Cup
The IBU Cup in biathlon has been held since the winter seasons of 1982–83 and 1988–89, for women and men, respectively. Until the 2007–08 season this competition was called Biathlon European Cup. It is the second-rank competition in biathlo ...
races ended outside the pursuit qualification range. He scored his first IBU Cup points in January 2022 in
Osrblie
Osrblie () is a village and municipality in Brezno District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. The village is best known for biathlon races, with Biathlon World Cup events taking place since the mid-1990s and with one Biathlon Wor ...
, finishing 32nd in the short individual event. At the
2022 Junior World Championships, he secured 7th place in the individual race thanks to flawless shooting.
For the 2022/23 season, Ivarsson was included in the Swedish B team (Team Autoexperten) and showed remarkable progress, particularly in his skiing performance. He earned points in every competition except for one sprint, achieving a total of eight top-20 finishes. In Osrblie, he achieved his first IBU Cup podium in a mixed relay alongside Oskar Brandt,
Sara Andersson, and Felicia Lindqvist. In early February, he claimed his first individual podium, finishing 3rd in the sprint in Obertilliach behind
Vebjørn Sørum and
Endre Strømsheim, despite one shooting miss. Ivarsson's strongest performances came at the
2023 European Championships in
Lenzerheide
Lenzerheide ( Romansh: ''Lai'') is a mountain resort in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland at the foot of the Parpaner Rothorn. The village lies in the municipality Vaz/Obervaz in the district of Albula, sub-district Alvaschein.
Th ...
, where he placed 12th in the sprint and 10th in the pursuit. He also won a bronze medal in the mixed relay with Tilda Johansson,
Stina Nilsson, and
Malte Stefansson. As the anchor leg, he secured the result with the fastest course time of all athletes.
In November 2023, Ivarsson surprised many by winning the Swedish championship title in the shortened individual event in
Idre
Idre is a locality and ski resort situated in Älvdalen Municipality, Dalarna County, Sweden with 794 inhabitants in 2010. It was also a historical parish and former municipality.
History
The two parishes ''Särna'' and ''Idre'' were originall ...
, beating
Sebastian Samuelsson
Sebastian Samuelsson (born 28 March 1997) is a Swedish biathlete who competes internationally. He participated in the 2018 Winter Olympics; there he won a silver medal in the 12.5 km pursuit event as well as the gold medal in the relay. He beca ...
. Shortly afterward, he made his World Cup debut in
Östersund
Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...
, though his initial performances were underwhelming. Returning to the IBU Cup in early January 2024, he achieved two 8th-place finishes and 11th in the individual race at the
European Championships
A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs.
In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
later that season. Also at the European Championships, Ivarsson achieved a victory in the single mixed relay with Sara Andersson after Norwegian
Emilie Kalkenberg incurred a penalty loop during the final standing stage, allowing Andersson to cross the finish line first.
In March, Ivarsson rejoined the World Cup team and narrowly missed his first World Cup points, finishing 42nd and 41st in the sprint and pursuit events in
Canmore.
Biathlon results
All results are sourced from the
International Biathlon Union
The International Biathlon Union (IBU; ) is the international governing body of biathlon. Its headquarters were in Salzburg, Austria, until May 2020, when the Federation moved to Anif, on the outskirts of the city. It was rocked by a corruption ...
.
World Cup
Youth and Junior World Championships
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivarsson, Anton
2001 births
Living people
Swedish male biathletes
Sportspeople from Östersund
21st-century Swedish sportsmen