What are the differences between the biathlon disciplines?

Some winter sport disciplines may seem similar but a closer look shows the differences between them are extensive. Do you know your ice dancing from your pairs skating? Could you explain the difference between slopestyle and Big Air? Don’t worry - Olympics.com has you covered with a new series explaining the nuances of the sports you’ll see at Beijing 2022. Following short track, speed skating and alpine skiing, we now take a look at the biathlon disciplines.

6 minBy Ilya Yashynin
GettyImages-923329162

(2018 Getty Images)

At the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing, athletes will compete for 11 sets of medals in biathlon. Women and men will take part in the individual race, sprint, pursuit, mass start, relay and mixed relay.

However, the history of biathlon stretches back a long time before the Olympics. The first biathlon competitions were held in 1768, when border guards from Sweden and Norway skied down a small slope and shot targets at a distance of between 40 and 50 paces.

In the early 20th century, the biathlon became a military patrol race, with crews made up of two privates, a senior officer and a junior officer who ran 30 km before shooting. It was in this format that the biathlon made its Olympic debut at the Chamonix 1924 Winter Olympic Games.

It wasn’t until 1960 that biathlon finally became a permanent fixture at the Winter Olympics, however, the competition at the Squaw Valley Games that year bears little resemblance to the competition of today, with only the individual race taking place.

(2014 Getty Images)

What are the differences between the biathlon disciplines?

Individual

Distance: Men - 20 km, women - 15 km.

Shooting: Four shooting sessions (two prone, two standing) of five shots each, with a one-minute penalty for every miss

Since the individual race was the first biathlon event at the Olympics, it is rightfully called a classic discipline. For most athletes, it is the most challenging of them all. To win a medal, an athlete needs to cover long distances while maintaining their composure. 

Quite often, the athletes with the highest accuracy succeed in the individual race. They may be slower than their competitors but their shooting accuracy makes up for this deficit. The individual races also see the most surprises.

Sprint

Distance: Men - 10 km, women - 7.5 km

Shooting: Two shooting sessions (one prone, one standing) of five shots each, for every miss the biathlete must complete a 150 metre penalty lap

The sprint is the shortest of the biathlon disciplines, with athletes reaching great speeds over the course. To arrive on the podium in the sprint discipline good marksmanship will not be enough, with athletes compensating for misses in the shooting portion with fast feet.

However, even if athletes are not in the top three, all is not lost. The higher they finish, the better their chances of making a comeback in the pursuit.

Pursuit

Distance: Men - 12.5 km, women - 10 km

Shooting: Four shooting sessions (two prone, two standing) with five shots each, for every miss the biathlete must complete a 150 metre penalty lap

The pursuit is significantly different from the previous two races. It is a continuation of the sprint race, where biathletes start with a time interval that separates them from the winner of the sprint. As a rule, the race is held the day after the sprint. 

Quite often the winners of the sprint and pursuit races differ dramatically. An athlete who performed poorly the day before can make it onto the podium, with some athletes winning back dozens of positions.

Mass start

Distance: Men - 15 km, women - 12.5 km

Shooting: Four shooting sessions (two prone, two standing) with five shots each, for every miss the biathlete must complete a 150 metre penalty lap

(Getty Images)

The mass start is considered an elite biathlon discipline, as 30 of the strongest biathletes take part in this race. As the name implies, all athletes start the race at the same time.

At the Olympic Games, all medallists from the individual race, sprint and pursuit, as well as the top 15 biathletes from the overall World Cup classification, take part in the mass start. The remaining places are awarded to athletes based on their scores from the previous events they have competed in.

Relay

Distance: Men: 4 stages of 7.5 km; Women: 4 stages of 6 km

Shooting: Two shooting sessions (one prone, one standing) at each stage, five targets at each range and three extra cartridges in case of misses; for each target not covered at the end of shooting the biathlete must run a penalty lap of 150 metres

The relay is a team discipline. Four biathletes from each team, one representative per event, take part in the race. The main difference to the other races lies in the shooting ranges.

Mixed relay

Distance: First two women's stages of 6 km, then two men's stages of 7.5 km.

Shooting: The same relay system as the classical relay

The mixed relay event was added to the Olympic programme at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. It differs from the usual relay race due to the fact that both men and women compete in the mixed relay.

More things to know about biathlon

  • In 1999, the International Biathlon Union founded the symbolic elite club Zero. It consists of biathletes who have won an individual race at the Olympics or World Championships without a single miss at the shooting range. There are currently 18 Olympic champions in this club.
  • The weight of the biathlon rifle must not exceed 3.5 kg and the bullets reach speeds of 380 m/s. Biathletes are not allowed to leave the shooting mat with a loaded rifle, otherwise they will be disqualified.
  • In all races, except the mass start, biathletes shoot lying down after the first lap and standing up after the second one. In the mass start, however, the sequence is different: first, the athletes shoot twice lying down, and then shoot twice in a row while standing. In 2010, the Olympic champion Darya Domracheva was leading the mass start, but shot while standing up during the second stage. The system listed five misses.
  • Sometimes mishaps occur when biathletes shoot at the targets of other sportsmen. In this case, every shot is counted as a miss.

The biathlon schedule at Beijing 2022

5 Feb Mixed relay.

7 Feb Women Individual

8 Feb Men Individual race

11 Feb Women Sprint

12 Feb Men Sprint

13 Feb Women Pursuit

13 Feb Men Pursuit

15 Feb Men Relay

16 Feb Women Relay

18 Feb Men Mass start

19 Feb Women Mass start

More from