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. Read on to discover the differences between the biathlon events that will take place at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

At Milano Cortina 2026, athletes will compete for 11 sets of medals in biathlon. Women and men will take part in individual races, sprints, pursuits, mass starts, relays, and mixed relay.

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 Winter Olympic debut at Chamonix 1924.

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 men’s individual race taking place.

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 150metre 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.

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 Winter Games, the top 15 biathletes from the current World Cup Total Score, plus any medal winners that are not among those top 15, take part in the mass start. The remaining places are awarded to athletes based on their scores from the previous events in which they competed.

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 bullets 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 section, with those three spare rounds to hit all five targets.

Mixed relay

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

Shooting: The same relay system as the classical relay

The mixed relay event was added to the Olympic programme at the 2014 Winter 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 Winter Olympics or World Championships without a single miss at the shooting range. France’s Quentin Fillon Maillet and Norway’s Marte Olsbu Røiseland joined the club’s Olympic champions in Beijing 2022.
• The minimum weight of the biathlon rifle must not be less than 3.5 kg and the muzzle velocity must not exceed 360 m/s. Biathletes are not allowed to leave the shooting mat with a loaded rifle, otherwise they will be disqualified.
• In the individual and relays events, biathletes shoot lying down after the first lap and standing up after the second one. In the mass start and pursuit events, 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 Milano Cortina 2026

8 February – Mixed relay 4x6 km (W+M)

10 February –Men’s 20km Individual

XX 11 February – Women’s 15km Individual

13 February – Men’s 10km Sprint

14 February – Women’s 7.5km Sprint

15 February – Men’s 12.5km Pursuit

15 February – Women’s 10km Pursuit

17 February – Men’s 4x7.5km Relay

17 February – Women’s 4x6km Relay

20 February – Men’s 15km Mass start

21 February – Women’s 12km Mass start