Biathlon Race Formats: Sprint, Pursuit, Mass Start

Biathlon Race Formats: From 20 km Individual to Mixed Relay

Biathlon’s six Olympic event formats each emphasize different balances between skiing and shooting. Understanding how they differ — in distance, penalty structure, and start format — reveals why some races favor pure skiers while others reward sharpshooters.

Individual (20 km Men / 15 km Women)

The original biathlon event and still its purest test:

• Start: interval start (athletes leave every 30 seconds).
• Shooting stages: four (prone-standing-prone-standing).
• Penalty for misses: +1 minute per miss (no penalty loop).
• Course: five loops of 4 km (men) or 3 km (women).

The individual race’s time penalties make marksmanship paramount. At Beijing 2022, the men’s individual winner, Quentin Fillon Maillet, missed only one target in 20 shots. Every clean stage kept him ahead of faster skiers who missed two or three.

Sprint (10 km Men / 7.5 km Women)

The most common biathlon format and a launchpad for the pursuit:

• Start: interval start.
• Shooting stages: two (prone, standing).
• Penalty for misses: 150-meter penalty loop per miss.
• Course: three loops.

The sprint is short enough that one or two penalty loops can be overcome by a fast skier, but three misses almost certainly ends medal hopes. Sprint results directly seed the pursuit.

Pursuit (12.5 km Men / 10 km Women)

Biathlon’s most dramatic format:

• Start: staggered start based on sprint results. The sprint winner starts first; all others start behind by their exact sprint time gap.
• Shooting stages: four (prone-standing-prone-standing).
• Penalty for misses: 150-meter penalty loop per miss.
• First across the finish line wins — no time calculations.

The pursuit rewards cumulative performance across two races. A clean shooter can methodically reel in skiers who built sprint leads. The visual of athletes catching and passing rivals makes it one of the most engaging winter sports broadcasts.

Mass Start (15 km Men / 12.5 km Women)

The final individual biathlon event, reserved for the top 30 athletes by cumulative World Cup or Olympic points:

• Start: all athletes start together.
• Shooting stages: four (prone-standing-prone-standing).
• Penalty for misses: 150-meter penalty loop per miss.
• First across the finish line wins.

The mass start rewards aggressive skiing and nerves of steel. Athletes arrive at the range in packs, shoulder to shoulder, and must find their lane and shoot amid the chaos. Pack dynamics on the course mirror cycling: drafting is legal and strategic.

Relay (4 × 7.5 km Men / 4 × 6 km Women)

Biathlon’s team event:

• Start: mass start for each team’s first leg.
• Shooting stages: two per leg (prone, standing).
• Penalty: three spare rounds per stage. Any remaining misses after eight shots = penalty loop.
• Tag: physical touch in the exchange zone.

Relay racing adds the pressure of performing for a team. Nations with four strong biathletes dominate — Norway, France, and Germany have historically medaled. The spare-round system means teams can recover from misses, but the manual loading process costs seconds.

Mixed Relay (2 × 6 km Women + 2 × 7.5 km Men)

Introduced to the Olympic program at PyeongChang 2018:

• Format: two women ski first (legs 1 and 2), then two men (legs 3 and 4).
• Shooting: two stages per leg, with three spare rounds.
• Otherwise identical to standard relay.

The mixed relay adds a gender-equity dimension and often produces different podium nations, since the best mixed team may not be the same as the best men’s or women’s relay team.

Single Mixed Relay

Added more recently: a man and a woman alternate shorter legs (each skiing multiple times), creating a rapid, spectator-friendly format. This event has appeared at World Championships and may appear at future Olympics.