Winter Sports - Biathlon History
History - World Cup Winners
Biathlon first started at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley with the men's 20 km individual event. The discipline refers to the winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting.
At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, the men's 4×7.5 km relay debuted, followed by the 10 km sprint event at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Beginning at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, women's biathlon debuted with the 15 km individual, 3×7.5 km relay, and 7.5 km sprint.
Later on for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, 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.
Biathlon Medal Record Table at the Winter Olympics
| Rank |
Nation |
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
Total |
| 1 |
Germany (GER) |
14 |
17 |
7 |
38 |
| 2 |
Norway (NOR) |
9 |
9 |
6 |
24 |
| 3 |
Soviet Union (URS) |
9 |
5 |
5 |
19 |
| 4 |
Russia (RUS) |
7 |
3 |
6 |
16 |
| 5 |
East Germany (GDR) |
3 |
4 |
4 |
11 |
| 6 |
France (FRA) |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
| 7 |
Unified Team (EUN) |
2 |
2 |
2 |
6 |
| 8 |
Sweden (SWE) |
2 |
1 |
6 |
9 |
| 9 |
Canada (CAN) |
2 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
| 10 |
West Germany (FRG) |
1 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
| 11 |
Bulgaria (BUL) |
1 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
| 12 |
Switzerland (SUI) |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
| 13 |
Finland (FIN) |
0 |
5 |
2 |
7 |
| 14 |
Italy (ITA) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
Ukraine (UKR) |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| 16 |
Belarus (BLR) |
0 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
| 17 |
Poland (POL) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| 18 |
Austria (AUT) |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|