One of the official sports in the Winter Games, biathlon is a traditional winter pastime in Scandinavia. It originates from the harsh weather conditions in Northern Europe, where people used to hunt on skis with firearms (rifles), whilst it was also used for military purposes.
Modern biathlon was established from these historical backgrounds, and the first Biathlon World Championship was staged in Saalfelden, Austria in 1958. Biathlon became an Olympic sport in 1960, when Men’s 20km Individual was included in the programme of the 8th Winter Games in Squaw Valley, before relay events were added at the 9th Winter Games in Grenoble.
The participating athletes are required to go round a course and shoot, and after repeating this four times, they must complete another round to finish the race. The shooting includes two shots in prone position and another two in standing position, to hit five targets. The distance to the targets is 50 metres (160 feet), with the size of the round-shaped targets being 45mm (1.8”) in prone position and 115mm (4.5”) in standing position.
In the Winter Youth Olympic Games Gangwon 2024, the events include Sprint (Men’s 7.5km, Women’s 6km), Individual (Men’s 12.5km, Women’s 10km), Mixed Relay 4x6km, and Individual Mixed Relay 6km (W) + 7.5km (M).
Venue
Events
Schedule
