The prize money in biathlon is significantly better than in cross-country skiing. The dramatic difference can be seen by calculating the earnings of Finnish athletes.
- In biathlon, the prize money is clearly higher than in cross-country skiing.
- More Finnish skiers would earn at least twice as much with their current positions in the Biathlon World Cup.
- Cross-country skiing needs German successes.
Finnish skiing star Kerttu Niskanen has earned 10,800 euros in prize money this season after nine World Cup races.
It’s a nice amount, but it could be much higher.
There is a huge difference in the prize money of the World Cup in cross-country skiing and biathlon. If Niskanen had achieved this season’s ranking as a biathlon skier, the prize pool would have been 23,800 euros – i.e. ten tons more.
– If a cross-country skier wants to get a good account of his sports career, personal cooperation agreements are the biggest opportunity to earn “retirement money”, Iltalehti’s skiing expert Reijo Jylhä says.
Kerttu Niskanen celebrated second place in the Tour de Ski last season. Jussi Saarinen
The International Biathlon Union IBU distributes 93,750 euros in prize money in each individual competition of the World Cup, while in cross-country skiing the pot is only 58,275 euros per race. Both sports federations also share money from relay competitions.
In cross-country skiing, the money for the individual competitions is awarded to the top 20, but at the tail end, it’s only about hundreds. Ibu, which pays for the top 30, pays another 2,000 euros for fifteenth place.
The difference is big, especially for middle-caste athletes.
– For an up-and-coming athlete who has only competed a little, all the money means a lot. Especially in cross-country skiing, Jylhä reminds.
Fis pays more than Ibu for first place. The top two get more than ten tons, but the third place gets only 5,300 euros. In the Biathlon World Cup, the prize money for the top three is 15,000, 12,000 and 9,000.
Big supporters
Biathlon’s revenue king Johannes Bö earned around 480,000 euros in prize money last season. PASI LEISMA
Niskanen’s example also applies to many other Finnish skiers.
Anne Kyllönen has collected a prize pool of 1,900 euros in the early winter of the World Cup, but 5,200 euros would have accumulated in the account from biathlon. Perttu Hyvärinen the figures after three races are 950 and 3,500 euros.
Why are the differences so big?
– Biathlon is very popular in Central Europe in terms of spectator and audience numbers. That way, the partner money is much bigger. Ibu has been successful in acquiring partners and in a TV contract, Jylhä opens.
The biggest sponsors of the Biathlon World Cup include the German big companies BMW, Viessmann, Hörmann and DKB.
The main partners of the cross-country skiing side are the Swedish retail chain Coop and the Swiss companies Le Gruyere and Certina.
– The partners’ interest in cross-country skiing is significantly lower than in biathlon. Cross-country skiing tried to fix the situation earlier. The Tour de Ski was supposed to become the biggest thing in the sport, where the prize money for the athletes is so big that everyone wants to be as successful as possible.
– At first it was successful. Now a lot has come down from those times.
Germans back
Tobias Angerer was one of Germany’s skiing stars. Photo from 2010. MARKKU OJALA/EPA/AOP
Ibu is able to pay support to the World Cup organizers, while Fis, on the other hand, demands license fees from the organizers.
In Jylhä’s opinion, cross-country skiing should have Central European stars in order to improve the financial situation of the sport.
– Financially, the best years were certainly those times when the Germans were successful in cross-country skiing. Justyna Kowalczyk on the other hand, as an individual skier, he brought an incredible reputation and good support to Polish skiing.
– Until now, Germany has been quite a measure of money and sponsorship income. This is also evidenced by the fact that ski jumping and alpine skiing cost different amounts of money. Cross-country skiing is far behind them.
This season, 6.5 million euros in prize money will be distributed in the Biathlon World Cup. The prize pool at the World Championships in February is 1.5 million euros.
Reijo Jylhä is Iltalehti’s skiing expert. Elle Laitila