Biathlon combines two sports – cross-country skiing and shooting – into one race. The biathlon first made its debut 66 years ago in the 1960 Winter Olympics at the renamed Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley near Lake Tahoe. This year, the Winter Olympic biathlon games will be held in Antholz (Anterselva), Italy.

French biathlon star Julia Simon earned gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics following her six-month ban for alleged credit card fraud. “I think we’ll all be relieved she can leave her wallet at home,” commentator Matt Iseman joked on Sunday,

See who's behind the mic for biathlon at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

France dominated the second half of the mixed relay biathlon race at the Milan Cortina Olympics with fast skiing and strong shooting to take gold ahead of Italy and Germany.

The French biathlon team raced to gold in the mixed 4x6km relay Sunday at the Olympics, with host nation Italy chasing down the gap for a silver on home turf.

Worn down physically and mentally in 2023, Germany's Franziska Preuss traded the cold and snow of biathlon for the beaches of Thailand where she got the energy she needed to get her to her final Winter Olympics in Italy.

Olympic biathletes shoot at targets using .22-caliber rifles while racing on cross-country skis. Here’s a closer look at the combined sporting event. (Photo: AP)

Biathlon begins Sunday with the mixed relay event. It will set the tone for the ten following events in Milan Cortina and Team Italy's hopes for a biathlon medal.

Here's is the full Olympic biathlon schedule for the 2026 Winter Games

Italy's diehard biathlon fans were up before dawn in freezing temperatures on Sunday ahead of the first competition, but these hardships were shrugged off when the sun came out and the Olympics arrived in Anterselva in the far north of the country.