Biathlon at the 1992 Albertville Winter Games

The 1992 biathlon events were held at Les Saisies, in a Nordic centre specially constructed there for the Winter Olympics. Les Saisies is a resort located at 1,650 m in the Savoie, between two valleys, the Beaufortain and Val d’Arly, and is about 30 km from Albertville. The Olympic biathlon program saw a major change in 1992 as women were added to the sport. Women first began competing on the biathlon World Cup circuit in the 1982-83 season and were added to the World Championships in 1984. Women contested a similar schedule to men at the 1992 Winter Olympics, with three events – the classical distance (20 km for men, 15 km for women), a sprint (10 km for men, 7½ km for women), and a relay. In the relay, both men and women skied 7.5 km legs, but the women’s race was 3 x 7.5 km while the men skied 4 x 7.5 km. At Lillehammer in 1994, this would be changed with the women’s relay expanded to 4 x 7.5 km.

Two biathletes won three medals in Albertville. Among the men, Germany’s Mark Kirchner won two golds and a silver medal, while in the women’s events, his teammate Antje Misersky-Harvey, won one gold and two silver medals.