Biathlon, which combines rifle shooting and cross-country skiing, developed out of Scandinavian military training exercises. Three members of the U.S. biathlon team are with the Vermont National Guard: Staff Sgt.

French biathlon great Martin Fourcade and the German relay team received gold medals from the 2010 and 2014 Olympics respectively on Sunday in a reallocation ceremony at the Milan/Cortina Games. The ceremony took place in the sold-out Anterselva biathlon stadium between the men's and women's Olympic pursuit races in the presence of International Olympic Committee president Kirsty Coventry.

Here is how the Biathlon works, including its rules, scoring and history in the Olympics.

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — The sport of biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and precision target shooting, requires hundreds of hours of training annually and the ability to push your body to the maximum effort for an athlete to have a chance of success at the Olympics.

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — Julia Simon became the first Frenchwoman to win an Olympic gold medal in the women’s 15-kilometer individual biathlon race and teammate Lou Jeanmonnot took silver at the the Milan Cortina Games on Wednesday.

This marks Simon's second gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics

But what is special about biathlon, is you have to be an all-rounder. You need balance, patience and stamina. And that is just the fans. “What’s important to remember is the a

"It's about giving back and justice," said France's Martin Fourcade, now the gold medalist in the mass start from the 2010 Games.

Vermont serves as a training ground for many of the athletes, with one of the oldest biathlon facilities in the country.