Biathlon debuted at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

with the men's 20 km individual event. At the

1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...

in Grenoble, the men's 4 × 7.5 km relay debuted, followed by the 10 km sprint event at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburgh ...

. Beginning at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, women's biathlon debuted with the 15 km individual, 3 × 7.5 km relay (4 × 7.5 km during 1994-2002, and 4 × 6 km in 2006), and 7.5 km sprint. A pursuit race (12.5 km for men and 10 km for women) was included at the

2002 Winter Olympics The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Salt Lake 2002 ( arp, Niico'ooowu' 2002; Gosiute Shoshoni: ''Tit'-so-pi 2002''; nv, Sooléí 2002; Shoshoni: ''Soónkahni 2002''), was an internationa ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

. The top 60 finishers of the sprint race (10 km for men and 7.5 km for women) would qualify for the pursuit event. The sprint winner starts the race, followed by each successive biathlete at the same time interval they trailed the sprint winner in that event. At the

2006 Winter Olympics The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially the XX Olympic Winter Games ( it, XX Giochi olimpici invernali) and also known as Torino 2006, were a winter multi-sport event held from 10 to 26 February 2006 in Turin, Italy. This marked the second ...

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, a mass start (15 km for men and 12.5 km for women) was introduced where the top 30 biathletes from the previous four events were allowed to start together for the competition. Prior to the biathlon debut at the 1960 Winter Olympics, there was a military patrol event that was held at four

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hold ...

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhano ...

, 1936, and 1948. Medals were awarded for military patrol in 1924, but it was a demonstration event for the other three Winter Games. The official website of the IOC now treats Men's Military Patrol at the 1924 Games as a separate discipline, without mixing it with the sports of

Skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow. Variations of purpose include basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee ( ...

or Biathlon. However, the 1924 Official Report treats it as an event within the sport of skiing.Official Report (1924), p 646: Le Programme ... II. — Epreuves par équipes - 12. Ski : Course militaire (20 à 30 kilomètres, avec tir). (The Programme ... II. — Team events - 12. Skiing : Military Race (20 to 30 kilometres, with shooting)).Official Report (1924), p 664: CONCOURS DE SKI - Jurys - COURSE MILITAIRE. (Skiing Competitions - Juries - Military Race)

Summary

Events

Men's

• = ''official event'', (d) = '' demonstration event''

Women's

• = ''official event'', (d) = '' demonstration event''

Mixed

Medal table

Sources (after the 2022 Winter Olympics):
''Accurate as of

2022 Winter Olympics The 2022 Winter Olympics (2022年冬季奥林匹克运动会), officially called the XXIV Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Beijing 2022 (2022), was an international winter multi-sport event held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Bei ...

.'' ;Notes * This table does not include medals of 1924 military patrol event, that the IOC now treats as a separate discipline. * 2 silver medals and no bronze were awarded at 2010 men's individual distance. * 1 silver medal at the 2014 Olympics was stripped and is not redistributed.

Number of biathletes by nation

References

External links

{{Sports at the Olympics Sports at the Winter Olympics Recurring events established in 1960 Skiing at the Winter Olympics

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...