Austrian Simon Eder has surpassed 500 World Cup races. So far only Ole Einar Bjørndalen has more - 580.
Simon is already 41 years old, and this season he even managed to win a bronze medal in single mixed relay with Lisa Theresa Hauser.
But 41 years is far from the limit, even if not for victories, like the famous Norwegian, who competed until he was 43 years old, and in the last season even managed to win as part of the Norwegian Relay Four.
The oldest athlete who competed at the World Cup was not Ole, but Ilmars Bricis, a Latvian who restarted his career in 2016-2018. At the time of his last official race, he was 47 years old.
Among women, Magdalena Gwizdon is still considered the oldest athlete, she competed at the World Cup at the age of 43, and then for two more years at the IBU Cup.
But if we talk about the IBU Cup, then it has its own dinosaurs - Wilog Slettemark (mother of Ukalek Astri) - 53 years old. However, in Norway and Sweden many athletes compete in amateur competitions at this age, it’s just that no one takes them to international competitions for obvious reasons, and in Greenland there is a free quota.
