Jakob Kulbin

Jakob Kulbin (born 20 July 2005) is an Estonian biathlete. He made his Biathlon World Cup debut in 2024. He is youth world champion in the sprint race and silver medalist in the mass start.

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.

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.

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. 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. 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.

Biathlon results All results are sourced from the International Biathlon Union.

Olympic Games 0 medals EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay 2026 Milano Cortina 87th 74th — — 13th —

World Championships 0 medals EventIndividualSprintPursuitRelay 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 Position2023–24 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 28thN/A 8thN/A 2022 Soldier Hollow 16 13th Gold 21st 4th 2023 Shchuchinsk 17 27th — — 15th — 2024 Otepää 18 — 5thN/A Silver 9th — 2025 Östersund 19 4th 35th 16th 11th — 2026 Arber 20 Bronze 9th Silver 8th 12th