Biathlon: the Junior Cup for Matija Legovic
The best junior of the 2024/2025 season comes from a country where biathlon is not very popular. Croatian biathlete Matija Legovicwon the overall Junior Cup.
“It means a lot to me. It’s been a long season, I’ve taken part in the World Cup, the IBU Cup and the Junior Cup. There have been a lot of intense races. I’m especially happy to have achieved my goal of winning the overall Junior Cup standings,” explained the 19-year-old on the IBU website.

Originally from Brod Moravice (Croatia) – a village of less than a thousand inhabitants where the only sports club was a cross-country skiing club – Matija Legovic was introduced to biathlon by his mother, who was a keen cross-country skier. The Croatian quickly realised that cross-country skiing and biathlon were particularly suited to him. At the age of ten, he decided to devote himself 100% to the event with the rifle on his back.
He took part in his first international races at the age of 16, his coaches having recognised his talent very early on. In December 2023, he celebrated his first victory in the Junior Cup at Ridnaun-Val Ridanna (Italy). “For me, a victory is always a very special moment. Everything has to be perfect to achieve it, and there’s no room for error,” he said after his first success.
Discovering the World Cup at 17
Matija Legovic discovered the World Cup for the first time in December 2023 in Hochfilzen (Austria).

“It’s completely different. It was a magical experience for me to race alongside all these great athletes. But I can also see the differences. There are lots of teams on site with waxing trucks and lots of coaches and technicians. I have a head coach, a shooting coach and a technician. As a result, I find it very difficult to assert myself against the other athletes”, he explains, describing his first steps on the main circuit.
For him, the aim is to continue on this path and biathlon remains a real obsession: “The coaches are always telling me to take a break from biathlon and think about something else. But I can’t,” concludes the Croatian.
Read also
- Biathlon | Brezno-Osrblie: Croatia’s Matija Legovic wins the world junior summer pursuit title
- Biathlon | Jakuszyce: Matija Legovic triumphs in the mass-start 60 and wins the European junior title