Biathlon was officially added to the Olympic Winter Games in 1960 in Squaw Valley, California. The sport debuted with only one event at the 1960 Games: the men’s 20km individual. In 2026, biathletes will compete in 11 Olympic events: five each for men and women and one mixed relay event.

Olympic biathlon greatly has evolved since its debut at the 1960 Olympic Winter Games. In Squaw Valley, biathlon began with only one event: the men’s 20km individual. Now, both men and women compete in the same number of events at each Olympics. In Milan Cortina, men and women each will compete in five events as well as one mixed relay event.

During the 1960 Games, biathletes were required to shoot in the prone position from four separate shooting ranges: 250m, 200m, and 150m. When the men arrived at the final 100m shooting range, they fired from the standing position. Cardboard circular targets of 30cm, 25cm, and 20cm in diameter were used and were scored as “hit” or “miss.” Each miss added a two-minute penalty to the competitors’ time. 

At the 1968 Grenoble Games, all shooting was done at a single 150m range. The circular black 35cm diameter targets had scoring rings of 12.5cm, 25cm, 35cm, and 45cm. Prone shooting was scored “zero” for shots inside the 12.5cm ring, while a one-minute penalty was assessed for shots out to 25cm and a two-minute penalty for other shots. Standing shots inside the 35cm ring were scored as “zero,” a one-minute penalty was assessed out to 45cm, and a two-minute penalty was given for other shots. The 1968 Games also featured the first biathlon relay event using glass targets that shattered on impact.

At the 1980 Lake Placid Games, smallbore (.22 caliber) rifles were used for the first time in Olympic competition. 

At the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Winter Games, mechanical targets were used that could be reset from the firing line and eliminated the need for paper targets in competition.

At the 1992 Albertville Games, a new electromagnetic target system was used to link shooting results, ski times, and the scoreboard. This provided instant information and updates regarding biathlete rankings throughout the competition.

Men:

• Ole Einar Bjorndalen of Norway has the most medals all-time in Olympic biathlon with 13 (including eight gold). He retired in 2018.
• Norwegian brothers Tarjei Boe and Johannes Thingnes Boe have eight Olympic gold medals between the two. They both retired in 2025.
• Martin Fourcade of France has seven total medals and won three gold medals in 2018 at the PyeongChang Games. He retired in 2020.

Women:

• Darya Domracheva of Belarus has six total Olympic medals including four gold. She has won the most gold medals of any woman biathlete in Olympic history. She retired in 2018.
• Kati Wilhelm of Germany earned seven total Olympic medals — the most by a woman biathlete in Olympic history including three gold. She retired in 2010.
• Marte Olsbu Roiseland of Norway earned seven total Olympic medals including three gold. She retired in 2023.

• Johannes Thingnes Bo won four gold medals in Beijing — in both relays alongside his brother, Tarjei Bo, the 10km sprint and the 15km mass start. He also earned bronze in the 20km, bringing his total medal tally to five in 2022.
• Marte Olsbu Roiseland dominated in Beijing with five total medals. She won gold in the 7.5km sprint, the 10km pursuit and the mixed relay. She also took home bronze in the 12.5km mass start and the 15km event.
• Norway's Ole Einar Bjorndalen won his 13th Olympic medal when he won gold in the newly added mixed relay event in Sochi in 2014
• In Sochi, Darya Domracheva of Belarus, became the first woman to win gold in all three individual events
• Norway's Halvard Hanevold became the oldest medalist ever when he won gold in the men’s 4x7.5km relay at n Vancouver 2010
• Norway's Ole Einar Bjorndalen won gold in all three individual events and the relay to take home four gold medals in 2002. He set the Olympic record in biathlon for golds at the time.
• Germany’s Uschi Disl claimed a gold, silver and bronze to raise her total to a then-biathlon record six medals at Nagano 1998

Norway, Germany and France are the top-three medal winners of all time in Olympic biathlon. Norway has a total of 55 medals including 22 gold. Germany is close behind with a total of 54 medals including 20 gold. France has 32 total medals including 12 gold.

• At the 1960 Games, Klas Lestander of Sweden won gold despite having just the 15th-fastest time on skis. Lestander shot clean (20-for-20) on the range, the only athlete to do so in Squaw Valley.
• At the 2018 PyeongChang Games, Germany's Laura Dahlmeier shot clean in the sprint to beat runner-up Marte Olsbu Roiseland by about 24 seconds. Her subsequent win gave her the sprint-pursuit double, a first in the sport's Olympic history.

Ole Einar Bjorndalen of Norway has the most medals all-time in Olympic biathlon with 13 (including 8 gold).

Darya Domracheva of Belarus has 6 total Olympic medals, including 4 gold — the most by a woman biathlete in Olympic history. 

Kati Wilhelm of Germany earned 7 total Olympic medals including 3 gold. 

Marte Olsbu Roiseland of Norway earned 7 total Olympic medals including 3 gold.

Youngest Olympic biathlon medalist:

Frank Ullrich of the former East Germany was 18 years old when he earned bronze in the men's 4×7.5km relay biathlon event at the 1976 Games in Innsbruck.

Oldest Olympic biathlon medalist:

Halvard Hanevold of Norway won gold in the men's 4×7.5km relay biathlon event in the 2010 Vancouver Games at age 40.

Beijing 2022

Johannes Thingnes Bo won four gold medals in Beijing — in both relays alongside his brother, Tarjei Bo, the 10km sprint and the 15km mass start. He also earned bronze in the 20km, bringing his total medal tally to five in 2022. Along with the two relay gold medals, Tarjei Bo also earned bronze in the 10km sprint and silver in the 12.5km pursuit.

On the women's side, Marte Olsbu Roiseland dominated with five total medals. She won gold in the 7.5km sprint, the 10km pursuit and the mixed relay. She also took home bronze in the 12.5km mass start and the 15km event.

PyeongChang 2018

Martin Fourcade of France picked back up where he left off in Sochi, winning three more Olympic medals – but this time all gold – in the 12.5km pursuit, 15km mass start and mixed relay. In the mass start, Fourcade beat German Simon Schempp by centimeters in a photo finish. 

Germany's Laura Dahlmeier had the most success on the women's side, earning titles in the 7.5km sprint and 10km pursuit along with a bronze in the 15k individual. In heavy winds and cold weather, she shot clean in the sprint to beat runner-up Marte Olsbu by about 24 seconds. Her subsequent win gave her the sprint-pursuit double, a first in the sport's Olympic history.

Sochi 2014

The mixed relay was the newest biathlon event added to the Olympic program, debuting in Sochi. 

Sochi’s biggest biathlon story featured the continued reign of Norway's biathlon "king.” Amid the hype of younger competitors, the 40-year-old Ole Einar Bjorndalen attacked Sochi’s biathlon course, adding more gold to his coffer. Bjoerndalen won his twelfth Olympic medal in his first event when he won gold in the men’s 10km sprint. 

Eleven days later, Bjorndalen won record-increasing No. 13, another gold, in the newly-added mixed relay event. He would pass cross-country skier and fellow Norwegian, Bjorn Dæhlie to become the winningest winter Olympian in history. 

Another biathlon standout in Sochi was France’s Martin Fourcade. The Frenchman remained humble after a Sochi performance that landed him three individual medals, two golds and a silver. That silver nearly was Fourcade's third gold, but a photo finish in the men’s 15km mass start showed the boot toe of Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen crossing the line first.  

In the women’s competition, appearing at her second Olympic Winter Games, Belarus’ Darya Domracheva became a star in Sochi when she won gold in three of the four women’s individual biathlon events. Domracheva’s run in Sochi is the first time a woman biathlete had earned three gold medals at a single Olympic Winter Games. 

In the women’s 15km individual event, Domracheva finished a full 1 minute, 15 seconds ahead of silver medalist Selina Gasparin of Switzerland. It would stand as the largest margin of victory recorded in Sochi. An incredible finish at first glance was made even more impressive when one realizes Domracheva had a full minute added to her time as a penalty for missing one of her 20 targets on the shooting range, while Gasparin and bronze medalist, Belarusian teammate Nadezhda Skardino, were perfect with their rifles. 

Vancouver 2010

The biathletes in Vancouver posted several Olympic firsts and records over seven days of competition in Canada. 

Anastasia Kuzmina (formally Shipulina) became Slovakia's first winter Olympic champion when she won the 7.5km sprint. Kuzmina secured another medal in Vancouver, silver in the 10km pursuit.  

Norway's Ole Einar Bjorndalen brought home two medals, gold in the relay and silver in the 20km individual, increasing his all-time record-setting medal count to 11.  

Competing at his fifth Olympics for Norway, Halvard Hanevold became the oldest medalist ever, man or woman (40 years, 86 days old), when he skied and shot in the opening leg of the men’s 4x7.5km relay.  

After being stripped of her bronze medal in Torino, Russia’s Olga Pyleva-Medvedtseva became the first athlete in Olympic history to win a medal after having one stripped during the previous Olympic Games due to a banned substance infraction. In doing so, Pyleva-Medvedtseva also became the oldest woman Olympic gold medalist (34 years, 233 days old) in history. 

Torino 2006

The men’s and women’s mass start events were added to the Olympic Winter Games for Torino, which increased the chances of having multiple medalists. 

Prior to Torino, 11 athletes had won three or more medals at a single Games. In Torino, six athletes won three medals: Norway's Ole Einar Bjorndalen, Germany's Michael Greis, Sven Fischer, Kati Wilhelm, Martina Glagow and Russia's Albina Akhatova.

It also was a good Olympics for biathlon veterans, as Germany's Ricco Gross (35 years, 183 days), Uschi Disl (35 years, 102 days) and Russia's Sergei Tchepikov (39 years, 22 days) all won medals. 

Norway’s 

Amid all the record setting, Russia's Olga Pyleva was stripped of her silver medal in the 15km individual event when she tested positive for the banned substance carphedon. She later was given a two-year ban by the International Biathlon Union. 

Salt Lake 2002

Norway's men swept Salt Lake’s Olympic biathlon golds, with Ole Einar Bjorndalen winning all three individual events, along with helping his countrymen win the top prize in the relay. Bjorndalen was the first biathlete since 1972 to win back-to-back gold medals in an individual event when he won his second Olympic gold in the 10km. Bjorndalen's four gold medals were a new Olympic record in biathlon, raising his career total to five golds. 

Germany won three of the four women’s gold medals, including its second consecutive gold in the relay. Uschi Disl won one gold and one silver to increase her Olympic medal total to eight. 

The men’s and women’s pursuit events were contested for the first time at the Olympics in Salt Lake. 

Nagano 1998

The soon-to-be “Best Biathlete in History,” Norway’s Ole Einar Bjorndalen, made his first trip to the top of the podium for gold in the 10km individual event in his second trip to the Olympic Winter Games. Bjorndalen also added a silver to his medal collection in the men’s 4x7.5km relay.  

In the women’s competition, Germany’s Uschi Disl claimed a gold, silver and bronze to raise her total to a then-biathlon record six medals. She took gold in the 4x7.5km relay, silver in the 7.5km sprint and bronze in the 15km individual race. 

Germany kept its winning ways going in the men's relay, getting their third straight Olympic gold in the event in Nagano. 

Lillehammer 1994

The Russian Federation won women's relay biathlon gold in Lillehammer, a win that was a bit of a throwback to the biathlon relay legacy of the Soviet Union men's teams from 1968-1988. It was the first biathlon relay gold for Russian biathletes since 1988. The Russian men couldn't match the Russian women in Lillehammer, where they finished with silver behind Germany in their own relay 

Canadian Myriam Bedard became the second person – and first woman – to win two individual biathlon gold medals at the same Olympics, despite racing on mismatched skis. 

In the men’s events, Russia and Germany ruled the individual events. Two Sergeis won three individual medals in biathlon. Sergei Tchepikov won gold in the 10km while Sergei Tarasov won gold in the 20km and bronze in the 10km. 

Three Germans, Ricco Gross, Frank Luck and Sven Fischer filled out the men's individual events podium positions in Lillehammer. The trio also was on the team to win relay gold for a second straight Olympics for Germany.    

Albertville 1992

The 1992 Albertville Olympic Winter Games were the first in which former-Soviet athletes competed as a Unified Team with athletes from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. The Soviet Union had been dissolved on December 25, 1991. This helped to put an end to the Soviet Union’s 4x7.5km relay win streak at the Olympics, with Germany stepping in to claim the gold in Albertville. 

Also in 1992, women made their Olympic debut in biathlon. Germany's Antje Misersky won medals in all three events (15km – gold, 7.5km and 3x7.5km relay – silver). The gold medalist in the 7.5km sprint, the Unified Team's Anfisa Reztsova, also had been a successful Olympic cross-country skier – claiming relay gold and an individual silver medal in 1988 in Calgary. Miraculously, the French won gold in the women's relay despite having just nine certified women as biathletes in France. 

In the men’s events, Mark Kirchner of Germany won three medals (10km and 4x7.5km relay – gold, 20km – silver). Some speculated Kirchner's silver should have been gold. He missed three targets during the 20km race, but skied nearly three minutes faster than Yevgeny Redkin of the Unified Team. In a cruel twist, it later was discovered the 20km course measured 563 meters too short. Could Kirchner have closed the gap on Redkin in those omitted kilometers? Some biathlon experts thought so. 

Calgary 1988

East German Frank-Peter Roetsch became the first biathlete to win both individual biathlon events, winning the sprint by 15 seconds and the individual by 20 seconds. Competing in the last Winter Olympics before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, USSR’s Valery Medvedtsev secured silver in both individual events and a gold in the relay. It was the sixth straight and final Olympic biathlon gold for the Soviet Union in the 4x7.5km relay event. 

Sarajevo 1984

West Germany, East Germany, Norway and the Soviet Union all claimed medals in biathlon in Sarajevo. Two men, West Germany’s Peter Angerer and Norway’s Eirik Kvalfoss claimed a medal of every color, competing in all three events. 

Lake Placid 1980

The Olympic biathlon competition again would expand in Lake Placid with the addition of the 10km sprint event. The most significant change in competition was the shift to lower-caliber target rifles. 

Two men won three Olympic biathlon medals each in Lake Placid. East Germany’s Frank Ullrich netted an individual gold and silver, while adding another silver in the relay. For the Soviet Union, Anatoly Alyabyev won relay gold, plus another gold and a bronze in the individual events. Aleksandr Tikhonov finished his Olympic career in Lake Placid, winning his fourth biathlon relay gold medal – his fifth Olympic medal overall. 

Innsbruck 1976

The Winter Olympics returned to Innsbruck, Austria, and the Soviet Union returned to take its third straight relay Olympic gold medal, beating Finland to the finish by 3 minutes, 49.94 seconds. It stands as the largest margin of victory in a men’s 4x7.5 relay in Olympic history. 

The Soviet biathlon domination spread to the individual competition where Nikolay Kruglov won gold and Aleksandr Yelizarov took the bronze. The 1976 Innsbruck Olympic Winter Games also were the last time large military weapons were used in biathlon, a shift that led to the use of lighter rifles with smaller .22 cartridges. 

Sapporo 1972

Norway’s Magnar Solberg became the first biathlete to win back-to-back individual gold medals, defending his 20km gold title in Sapporo. The race was closer in Sapporo, with Solberg missing two out of 20 targets for a finishing time just over eight seconds ahead of silver medalist Hans-Joerg Knauthe of East Germany. 

In the relay, the Soviet Union won their second-straight gold medal. Champion biathlete Aleksandr Tikhonov broke one of his skis while warming up. In a show of Olympic spirit, his friend and East German competitor, Dieter Speer, lent Tikhonov one of his own skis. Tikhonov and his Soviet teammates went on to win gold, while East Germany slid into third for bronze. 

Grenoble 1968

The 4x7.5km relay became the second biathlon event added to the Olympic Winter Games, debuting in Grenoble. The Soviet Union owned the event for six-consecutive Olympic Winter Games. Aleksandr Tikhonov was a fixture on the Soviet relay, skiing and shooting for gold in 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1980.  

In the 20km individual event, Tikhonov finished second to earn his only individual medal of his career. Flawless shooting by Magnar Solberg of Norway – the first time he had been perfect in any competition – put the Norwegian on top of the Olympic podium. Reports say Solberg told photographers after the win, “I am very happy, but too tired to smile.” 

Innsbruck 1964

Two Soviets, Vladimir Melanin and Aleksandr Privalov, were perfect in the shooting portion of the competition, taking home Olympic gold and silver. Melanin’s skiing made the difference, when he crossed the finish line more than three minutes ahead of Privalov. It was Melanin's first Olympic medal after a "wooden medal" end in Squaw Valley, where he finished off the podium in fourth. Despite dominating the lone biathlon event in Innsbruck, Melanin went on to retire after the Olympics. 

Privalov’s silver-medal finish in Innsbruck gave him his second Olympic medal. He won bronze four years earlier in Squaw Valley in the inaugural Olympic biathlon competition.  

Squaw Valley 1960

Biathlon officially debuted at the 1960 Squaw Valley Olympic Winter Games with just one event, the men’s 20km individual event. Klas Lestander of Sweden won gold despite having just the 15th fastest time on skis. Lestander shot clean (20-for-20) on the range, the only athlete to do so in Squaw Valley.