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Biathlon at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games
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Host City: Lake Placid, United States
Date Started: February 16, 1980
Date Finished: February 16, 1980
Events: 3
Participants: 76 (76 men and 0 women) from 18 countries
Youngest Participant: 
Sören Wikström (19 years, 140 days)
Oldest Participant: 
Jorge Salas (37 years, 179 days)
Most Medals (Athlete): 
Anatoly Alyabyev and 
Frank Ullrich (3 medals)
Most Medals (Country): Soviet Union and East Germany (4 medals)
Overview
In 1978, there were two major rule changes made in biathlon. First, small caliber guns with the .22LR rimfire cartridge were standardized. Second, the shooting range for all shootings was reduced to 50 metres.
In the 1980 Olympics, mechanical target marking was used for the first time. A new event, the 10 km sprints was introduced on the Olympic Program, with two shooting rounds and a penalty loop of 150 m skied for each missed target. The event had been on the World Championships program since 1974.
Medalists |
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