AOC High Performance Funding 2024-25
Dear Biathlon Family Australia,
The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has proudly supported Biathlon Australia over decades with many members receiving AOC support to attend events such as the Olympic Winter Games, Asian Games, Winter Youth Olympic Games and qualification events and camps. More recently the AOC has provided significant High-Performance Funding for the second year in a row. The funding is to be directed towards athletes that provide Australia with the best chance of qualifying to compete at their best at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games.
In 2023-24 the funding was directed to Darcie Morton and Noah Bradford who were our only two athletes to qualify and represent Australia at the 2024 Biathlon World Championships.
For the 2024-2025 season, three athletes will be supported by this initiative:
· Darcie Morton, World Cup Wild Card, 88.18 IBU Q Points
· Noah Bradford, World Cup qualified subject to Wild Card, 153.07 IBU Q Points
· Boris Stanish, IBU Cup, 216.22 IBU Q Points
2024 Emerging Talent, Boris Stanish, was nominated this year as a result of his Olympic Winter Games qualification performance at IBU Cup 5 in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna on 10 Jan 24. Boris shot (1,0) in the Men’s 10km Sprint to finish 80th with 163.78 IBU Q points behind fellow National Team athlete Noah Bradford who shot (0,1) finishing 75th with 149.87 IBU Q points. Based on Boris’s 2024 international and domestic results the Board is confident that Boris can lower his IBU Q points this season to below the 180 IBU Q point average minimum qualification threshold for the Olympic Winter Games like Darcie and Noah. Note, for AUS NF to gain a Wild Card for the Olympic Winter Games requires a significantly higher standard of performance than just meeting the personal qualification standard. See the Qualification System for Milano Cortina 2026 OWG on the Biathlon Australia website.
These athletes have been chosen by the AOC based on their performances and rankings in the 2023-2024 season. It should be noted that the nominated athletes may be different for 2025-2026, with the primary consideration for re-nomination being performances during the 2024-2025 season.
Together with the AOC, the Biathlon Australia Board is committed to the Biathlon program goal of sending athletes to Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Games.
Congratulations to Darcie, Noah, and Boris on receiving AOC recognition for IBU season 2024-25. We look forward to continue to support all our high-performance athletes on their Olympic, Paralympic, and other biathlon pathways.
David, Sandy, Murray, Brett, Tristan, Mark, Libby and Katerina
Noah Bradford and Darcie Morton at the 2024 Biathlon World Championships
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