15 kilometres Mass Start, Men

A mass start was first held at the World Championships in 1999. Only 30 biathletes are allowed to start, based on World Cup points. The skiers have four shooting stations, shooting five shots at each, with each missed target forcing the biathlete to ski a penalty loop. A lapped skier must withdraw from the race. The last six World Championships had been won by Raphaël Poirée (2000-02, 2004), and Ole Einar Bjørndalen (2003, 2005), with Bjørndalen leading the Torino race throughout, until the final shooting station when he missed two targets, and his two penalty loops dropped him from the lead. He was then passed by Michael Greis, who had already won the 20 km in Torino, and Polish biathlete Tomasz Sikora. They would finish in that order, with Greis first, sprinting away with 500 metres left, Sikora second, and Bjørndalen third. Greis would add a third Torino gold medal in the relay, and would win this event at the 2007 World Championships. This was the first Olympic medal by a Polish biathlete, but Sikora was far from unknown. He had, in fact, been around for a long time, having won the 20 km gold medal at the 1995 World Championships, and recently winning two individual gold medals at the 2004 European Championships.