Biathlon made its debut at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, and has been part of the Olympic programme ever since, with new events added to the competition over the years.

Women’s biathlon made its first appearance on the Olympic programme in Albertville in 1992.

Until the 1976 Games in Innsbruck, the events comprised an individual race and a relay. In Lake Placid in 1980, a second individual event was introduced.

In Salt Lake City in 2002, a 12.5km pursuit event was added for men and 10km for women. From Turin in 2006, a new mass-start event was introduced for both men and women. This brings together the 30 best athletes from the World Cup.

COMPETITION

Biathlon is a winter discipline that includes two events: rifle shooting and cross-country skiing. Cross-country skiing races in freestyle technique take place on a track that is covered multiple times, depending on the length of the race. Each lap, athletes undergo a shooting test — one standing, one in the prone position — firing five shots (the number of attempts changes according to the speciality). The targets have variable diameters (45 mm for shooting in the prone position, 115 mm for standing), placed 50 m from the firing line. A missed target results in a penalty: an extra 150 m to ski (a penalty loop) or one minute added to the overall time (in individual races).

The competitions at Milano Cortina 2026 will consist of 11 events:

Men
- 10km sprint
- 20km individual
- 12.5km pursuit
- 15km mass start
- 4x7.5km relay

Women
- 7.5km sprint
- 15km individual
- 10km pursuit
- 12.5km mass start
- 4x6km relay

Mixed
- mixed relay 4x6km

The men's and women's races will take place in Anterselva/Antholz, an international biathlon centre in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano.

HISTORY

Military patrols are the direct precursor of biathlon. The event was an integral part of the first Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix in 1924. At the time, the race involved teams of four men, necessarily consisting of an officer, a non-commissioned officer, and two soldiers. At the Olympics at St. Moritz in 1928, Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 1936, and St. Moritz in 1948, the military patrol appeared as a demonstration sport (the 1936 Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen saw Italy's only success).

Biathlon has been part of the Olympic programme since the Games in Squaw Valley in 1960. Women's competitions were regulated in 1980 and have been included in the Olympic programme since 1992. The Scandinavian countries have stood out most in this sport. It is the only skiing sport regulated worldwide by the IBU (International Biathlon Union); in Italy, it falls under the FISI (Italian Winter Sports Federation).

BASIC RULES

In the sprint races, female competitors cover distances of 7.5 km and the men cover 10 km. They stop twice and must hit five targets with five bullets each time.

In the pursuit, athletes start the race sequentially based on their finishing time (or rather their delay behind the winner) in the sprint competition. Competitors stop four times and must hit all five targets with five bullets each time.

In the individual races, women cover 15 km and men cover 20 km. Athletes stop four times at the shooting range and must hit all five targets with five bullets each time. For each missed target in this event, the athlete incurs a one-minute penalty (instead of the penalty loop).

The relay is a team speed event where four athletes each tackle a section of track: 7.5 km each for a total of 30 km for men and 6 km each for a total of 24 km for women. It begins with a mass start with the first skiers from each team. Each team member has two shooting sequences and three extra bullets (for a total of eight) to hit the five targets required for each shooting phase. The three extra bullets can be loaded one at a time.

In the mixed 4x6 km relay, there are 20 teams, each composed of four athletes — two women and two men — who each ski 6 km. The event starts with the first skier from each team. Each team member has two shooting sequences: one in the prone position and one standing. In each shooting sequence, competitors are required to hit five targets and are given three extra bullets (for a total of eight).

In the mass start, 30 athletes start simultaneously. Women compete over 12.5 km and men over 15 km. They stop a total of four times at the shooting range where they must hit five targets with five bullets each.

Biathlon

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