Tomasz SIKORA

Tomas Sikora took up the biathlon as a teenager and was Polish junior champion at the age of 19 in 1992. He first came to international attention in 1993 when he won a silver medal at the World Youth Championships before making his senior World Cup début at the end of the year. He made an immediate impact by finishing on the podium in only his third top-level race. His début at the Winter Games was undistinguished but he soon became a regular contender on the biathlon scene and won a world title at his first attempt at the 1995 World Championships. His form tailed off from then on and, although he won a further World Championship medal as part of the Polish team in 1997, he was not to record another top three finish at the highest level until he rebounded to place second at the 20 km event at the 2004 World Championships in Oberhof. This heralded a resurgence in form for the Pole as he became one of the world’s leading biathletes for the next six years. He won his first Olympic medal at the age of 32 in 2006 and was runner-up in the overall IBU World Cup series in 2008-09. When he retired in 2012 he had recorded five victories at World Cup level and, in addition to his World medals, he had won 13 medals, including 6 gold, at the less regarded European Championships. A qualified physical education teacher, Sikora began coaching a development group of Polish biathletes immediately after his retirement from competition.