Biathlon at Milano Cortina 2026

Shoot, Ski, Repeat: The Sport Where Heart Rate Decides Gold

What happens when you push your body to a 190-beat-per-minute heart rate and then ask your hands to be perfectly still? That’s the central paradox of biathlon — and it’s why this combination of cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship is one of the most nerve-wracking events at any Winter Olympics.

Milano Cortina 2026 stages biathlon at the Südtirol Arena in Anterselva (Antholz), a venue that has hosted World Cup events and World Championships for decades. Sitting at 1,600 meters of elevation in South Tyrol, Anterselva’s courses wind through dense forest and open meadows with elevation changes that punish athletes on every lap. It’s a venue the biathlon community knows intimately, which should produce fast, tactical racing.

Understanding the Events

Biathlon at these Games features 11 medal events. The individual events include sprint (10 km men / 7.5 km women), pursuit (12.5 km / 10 km), the mass start (15 km / 12.5 km), and the classic individual race (20 km / 15 km). Then there are relays: men’s 4x7.5 km, women’s 4x6 km, and a mixed relay (2 men + 2 women).

The sprint is typically the first event on the schedule and sets up the pursuit: the top 60 finishers in the sprint start the pursuit in time-staggered order based on their sprint gaps. That means the pursuit finish order is the actual result — first across the line wins. It creates visible, head-to-head drama unlike any other Olympic endurance event.

Every shooting stage features five targets at 50 meters. In prone shooting (lying down), the targets are 45 mm in diameter; standing targets are 115 mm. A miss in sprint or pursuit adds a 150-meter penalty loop. In the individual race, each miss adds a full minute to your time — which is why an athlete who shoots clean can beat someone who skis significantly faster.

The Tactical Layer

If you’re watching biathlon for the first time, pay attention to the range. The wind flags behind the targets tell you everything about conditions. A sudden gust can be the difference between a clean stage and two misses. Elite biathletes will sometimes pause an extra second or two before their final shot, reading the wind — and that pause, under race pressure, is its own kind of bravery.

Another nuance: athletes choose their own shooting rhythm. Some fire all five rounds in under 25 seconds; others are methodical, taking 35-40 seconds. Neither approach is inherently better — it comes down to the athlete’s nervous system and the conditions on that particular day.

Who’s Favored

Johannes Thingnes Bø of Norway is the generational talent of this sport. He’s won virtually everything — Olympic golds, world titles, overall World Cup globes — and at 32, he’s spoken about Milano Cortina 2026 being his farewell Games. Expect him to be aggressive across all events.

France fields the deepest team in recent memory, led by Quentin Fillon Maillet and Emilien Jacquelin, both capable of winning any event on any given day. On the women’s side, Sweden’s Elvira Öberg has been the most dominant force of the 2024-26 seasons, with her combination of skiing speed and shooting accuracy setting a new standard.

The U.S. biathlon program has historically been a developmental story at the Olympics, but the team has shown improved depth. Deedra Irwin made history with a top-ten individual result in Beijing and continues to push for a breakthrough podium finish. If conditions favor clean shooters, she’s a dark-horse contender.

New Wrinkles for 2026

The IBU has refined the mass start qualification criteria for these Games, giving athletes more pathways to earn a slot based on cumulative Games performance. This rewards consistent racers and ensures the mass start field — the last individual event — features athletes in peak form rather than those who peaked too early in the schedule.

Athletes to Watch

Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR, Sprint / Pursuit / Individual) — The most decorated active biathlete in the world enters what he has called his final Olympics, carrying five career Olympic medals and dominant World Cup form through the 2025-26 season.

Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA, Individual / Mass Start) — The reigning Olympic individual champion has maintained his status as one of the most complete biathletes, combining all-world skiing speed with reliable shooting.

Elvira Öberg (SWE, Sprint / Pursuit) — The Swedish star has been the standout performer on the women’s World Cup circuit, winning multiple events and leading the overall standings with consistency across both skiing and shooting.

Deedra Irwin (USA, Individual) — Irwin’s historic top-ten finish in the Beijing individual race signaled a new era for U.S. biathlon, and she has continued to post competitive World Cup results heading into her second Games.

Sturla Holm Lægreid (NOR, Mass Start / Pursuit) — Bø’s Norwegian teammate is a proven big-race performer who won three medals at the 2022 Games and provides Norway with staggering relay depth.

Venue Spotlight

The Südtirol Arena in Anterselva (Antholz) sits at 1,600 meters in South Tyrol and has hosted biathlon World Cups since 1975 and the World Championships in 2007 and 2020. Its courses are known for technical uphill sections and fast downhill transitions that reward powerful skiers. The venue’s shooting range, set against a mountain backdrop, is considered one of the most picturesque in the sport.