Jakob Kulbin
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| Nationality | Estonian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 July 2005 Tallinn, Estonia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2024- | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country | Estonia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Biathlon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Jakob Kulbin (born 20 July 2005) is an Estonian biathlete. He made his Biathlon World Cup debut in 2024.[1] He is youth world champion in the sprint race and silver medalist in the mass start.[2]
Career
Jakob Kulbin first competed at the Youth World Championships in 2021, finishing eighth in the relay and 28th in the pursuit. The following winter, he participated in several Junior Cup races and returned to the Youth World Championships. There, the then 16-year-old Estonian surprisingly won the gold medal in the sprint, becoming the youngest youth world champion in biathlon history. He narrowly missed another medal in the relay, finishing fourth alongside Mark-Markos Kehva and Mehis Udam.[3]
In the 2022/23 winter season, Kulbin competed in only a few races but won an individual Junior Cup event at the start of the season in Obertilliach. In January 2024, he made his IBU Cup debut in Ridnaun, immediately scoring points with a 16th-place finish in the sprint. Subsequently, he was given the opportunity to compete in his first World Cup relay in Antholz, finishing 13th with teammates Tuuli Tomingas, Regina Ermits, and Kristo Siimer. At the 2024 World Championships and the Soldier Hollow World Cup, he also competed in the men's relay. At the latter venue, he ran his first World Cup sprint, finishing 48th and coming very close to scoring points.
Kulbin also impressed at the junior level: at the Youth World Championships, he won silver in the mass start behind Kasper Kalkenberg, and at the Youth European Championships 2024, he won bronze in the individual and sprint events. However, a silver medal he initially won in the mass start was later revoked due to a reloading error.[4]
Kulbin started the 2024/25 season in the IBU Cup and, after two top-30 finishes, was nominated for the World Cup team in mid-December. In Hochfilzen, he, along with Rene Zahkna, Mark-Markos Kehva, and Mehis Udam, finished tenth in the relay, marking Estonia's best men's relay result since January 2016.[5] The following week in Le Grand-Bornand, he missed scoring points in the pursuit by just over two seconds, finishing 42nd. The Estonian men also achieved a top-10 finish in the relay in Ruhpolding.[6] In February 2025, Kulbin competed again at the World Championships, finishing 32nd in the individual event with 18 hits.
At the Junior World Championships 2025, he narrowly missed a medal in the individual event, finishing fourth by just over two seconds. At the Military World Games, he won bronze in the sprint behind Éric Perrot and Joscha Burkhalter.[7]
Biathlon results
All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.
Olympic Games
0 medals
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | Relay | Mixed relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Milano Cortina | 87th | 74th | — | — | 13th | — |
World Championships
0 medals
| Event | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | Relay | Mixed relay | Single mixed relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 Nove Mesto | — | — | — | — | 17th | — | — |
| 2025 Lenzerheide | 32nd | 58th | DNF | — | 11th | — | — |
World Cup
| Season | Age | Overall | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass start | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Races | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | Points | Position | ||
| 2023–24 | 18 | 3/21 | Didn't earn World Cup points | |||||||||
| 2024–25 | 19 | 6/21 | ||||||||||
| 2025–26 | 20 | 1/21 | 29 | 12th | 29 | 12th | 0 | - | 0 | - | 0 | - |
Youth and Junior World Championships
2 medals (1 gold, 1 silver)
| Year | Age | Individual | Sprint | Pursuit | Mass Start | Relay | Mixed relay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 Obertilliach | 15 | 36th | 45th | 28th | N/A | 8th | N/A |
| 2022 Soldier Hollow | 16 | 13th | Gold | 21th | 4th | ||
| 2023 Shchuchinsk | 17 | 27th | — | — | 15th | — | |
| 2024 Otepää | 18 | — | 5th | N/A | Silver | 9th | — |
| 2025 Östersund | 19 | 4th | 35th | 16th | 11th | — | |
| 2026 Arber | 20 | Bronze | 9th | Silver | 8th | 12th |
References
- ^ "Athlete Statistics - real biathlon". www.realbiathlon.com.
- ^ "Biathlon | Soldier Hollow : Jakob Kulbin champion du monde jeunes du sprint | Nordic Mag | N°1 Biathlon | Ski nordique". 25 February 2022.
- ^ Arenella, Niccolò (25 February 2022). "Kulbin e Kirkeeide vincono le sprint ai Mondiali giovani di Soldier Hollow. S. Scattolo sesta, Pircher 18esimo".
- ^ "Биатлон: Якоб Кулбин завоевал серебро на чемпионате мира среди молодежи и юниоров в Отепя | Секундомер". 29 February 2024.
- ^ "HOCHFILZENI MK 3. PÄEV: Eesti meeskond saavutas teatesõidus 10. koha". 15 December 2024.
- ^ "Biathlon Ruhpolding results - men's relay 17/01/2025". focusbiathlon.com.
- ^ "Biathlon | Lucerne World Military Games: Eric Perrot also wins the sprint, Fabien Claude fifth | Nordic Mag | N°1 Biathlon | Nordic skiing". 25 March 2025.
External links
- Jakob Kulbin at IBU BiathlonWorld.com
- Jakob Kulbin at IBU BiathlonResults.com
- Jakob Kulbin at Biathlon.ee (in Estonian)
- Jakob Kulbin at Milano Cortina 2026
- Jakob Kulbin at Olympics.com
- Jakob Kulbin at Olympedia
- Jakob Kulbin on Instagram