Biathlon at the 2022 Winter Olympics

Biathlon summary

The biathlon program did not change from the last two Winter Games, after the introduction of the mixed relay at Sochi in 2014. The results of the Olympic competitions did not count towards the World Cup for the 2021/22 season.

All events took place at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre located 180 km north-west of Beijing, in Hebei province. Most took place in the late afternoon under a lighted course. As has been common in recent years, the longest individual events, the traditional 20 km for men and 15 km for women, were held by adding 1-minute penalties for missed targets, while the penalty in all the other events was skiing an additional 150-metre penalty loop for each missed shot.

Weather conditions varied, particularly for the mixed relay, the very first event, and the concluding mass starts, which were influenced by variable icy winds and extreme cold of more than -15° C. The women’s mass start, scheduled to be the last event on February 19th, was brought forward by one day to avoid even worse conditions.

Several 2018 Olympic Winter Games gold medal winners had retired, including individual gold medalists Martin Fourcade (3 golds), Laura Dahlmeier (2), Arnd Peiffer, and Anastasia Kuzmina (1 each). Ole Einar Bjørndalen, the most successful Winter Olympian ever, and his wife Daria Domrachava, had also retired from active sport and had the task of preparing the inexperienced Chinese team for their home Olympics.

Three athletes dominated the events with five medals each: Norwegian Johannes Thingnes Bø (4G – 1B), Frenchman Quentin Fillon Maillet (2G – 3S), and among the females, Marte Olsbu Røiseland (3G – 2B). The only individual gold medals that were claimed by other athletes came in the women’s individual, (Denise Herrmann), and mass start (Justine Braisaz-Bouchet).

By far the most medals, including six gold, went to Norway (14), who won more than half of the eleven events. Brothers Johannes Thingnes and Tarjei Bø were members of the victorious men’s and mixed relay teams. With two individual medals, Tarjei Bø and Tiril Eckhoff also contributed to Norway’s medal haul.

Second in the medal table was France, with three golds (as in 2018) and four silver, with additional silver by Anais Chevalier-Bouchet in the women’s individual. Sweden benefitted from their strong women’s team taking gold in the relay and two individual silver by Elvira Öberg. The only medal for Sweden’s men’s team was won by Martin Ponsiluoma in the last event, the mass start.

In PyeongChang in 2018, Germany were the biathlon medal table leaders, but disappointed in Beijing with only Herrmann’s gold, and a bronze in women’s relay, being their complete haul. Their men’s team left empty-handed for the first time since 2010. The Russian biathletes competed in full strength as Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), winning medals (1S – 2B) in the three relays. Their only individual medal was won by Eduard Latypov in the men’s pursuit. The same athlete became somewhat of a tragic figure losing gold in the men’s relay at the last shooting.

Former World Cup winner Dorothea Wierer claimed her first individual medal in the women’s sprint at her third Olympic Winter Games. Surprisingly, Anton Smolski collected the only medal for Belarus after flawless shooting in the individual. The country’s higher rated women never came closer to a medal, with Hanna Sola’s fourth place finish in the pursuit being their best result.