Editing Biathlon (section)

==Competition format==

===Individual===
The {{cvt|20|km|mi|2|abbr=on}} individual race [{{cvt|15|km|mi|2|abbr=on}} for women] is the oldest biathlon event; the distance is skied over five laps. The biathlete shoots four times at any shooting lane (lanes 1–15 are in prone, while lanes 16–30 are for standing),<ref>Even in English-speaking countries such as Canada and the United States, each country may use different terms for the same thing in biathlon. For example, Stage (USA) vs. Bout (Canada), Shooting Point (USA) vs. Shooting Lane (Canada)</ref> in the order of prone, standing, prone, standing, totaling 20 targets. For each missed target, a fixed penalty time, usually one minute, is added to the skiing time of the biathlete. Competitors' starts are staggered, normally by 30 seconds.

A variation of the standard individual race, called short individual, was introduced during the [[2018–19 Biathlon IBU Cup]]. The races are 15&nbsp;km for men and 12.5&nbsp;km for women, and for each missed target, 45 seconds will be added to the skiing time.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.biathlonworld.com/news/detail/some-changes-at-the-ibu-cup|title=Some Changes at the IBU Cup|website=International Biathlon Union – IBU|access-date=2019-02-03}}</ref>

===Sprint===
The sprint is {{cvt|10|km|mi|2|abbr=on}} for men & {{cvt|7.5|km|mi|2|abbr=on}} for women; the distance is skied over three laps. The biathlete shoots twice at any shooting lane, once prone (usually lanes 1–15) and once standing (lanes 16–30), for a total of 10 shots. For each miss, a penalty loop of 150&nbsp;m must be skied before continuing the race. As in the individual competition, the biathletes start in intervals.

=== Super Sprint ===
Introduced at the [[2017–18 Biathlon IBU Cup]], the Super Sprint is a shorter version of the sprint race. Unlike the traditional sprint race, the Super Sprint is divided into two segments – qualification and final. The qualification is done like the traditional sprint, but on a 1.5&nbsp;km lap with a total length of 4.5&nbsp;km. Only the top 30 competitors qualify for the final, in which all competitors start simultaneously and do five laps on the same course (like in mass start) with a total race length of 4&nbsp;km. During the final, the competitors have three spare rounds should they miss a target (like in relay race). However, if not all targets are cleared during shooting instead of going on the penalty loop, the biathlete is disqualified from the race.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biathlonworld.com/about-biathlon/disciplines/super-sprint-this-is-really-fast|title=International Biathlon Union – IBU|website=International Biathlon Union – IBU|access-date=2019-02-03}}</ref>

Changes were made for the following season with the course now being 1&nbsp;km (0.2&nbsp;km increase) meaning that the qualification race length will become 3&nbsp;km,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://res.cloudinary.com/deltatre-spa-ibu/image/upload/rdartycf3i2pnqx1fitg.pdf|title=International Biathlon Union Event and Competition Rules|website=International Biathlon Union|access-date=2019-11-07|archive-date=2019-02-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214070500/http://res.cloudinary.com/deltatre-spa-ibu/image/upload/rdartycf3i2pnqx1fitg.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> while the final race becomes 5&nbsp;km in length. Also the number of spare rounds was decreased from three to one.<ref name=":1" />

===Pursuit===
[[File:Biathlon Oberhof 2013-039.jpg|thumb|right|World Cup pursuit race in [[Oberhof, Germany]], 2013.]]

{{main|Pursuit racing}}
In a pursuit, biathletes' starts are separated by their time differences from a previous race,<ref>Pursuit competition start intervals are determined by [[Rounding#Rounding to integer|common rounding]] to the nearest whole second of the biathletes' time differences from the previous race{{spaced ndash}} the amount of time each biathlete lagged after the winner to the finish line.</ref> most commonly a sprint. The contestant crossing the finish line first is the winner. The distance is 12.5&nbsp;km for men and 10&nbsp;km for women, skied over five laps; there are four shooting bouts (two prone, two standing, in that order) and each miss means a penalty loop of 150&nbsp;m. To prevent awkward or dangerous crowding of the skiing loops and overcapacity at the shooting range, World Cup Pursuits are held with only the 60 top-ranking biathletes after the preceding race. The biathletes shoot on a first-come, first-served basis at the lane corresponding to the position they arrived for all shooting bouts. If the pursuit follows an individual biathlon race, the lag behind the winner is halved.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://res.cloudinary.com/deltatre-spa-ibu/image/upload/nk93tbz7syaoj02qmjod.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://res.cloudinary.com/deltatre-spa-ibu/image/upload/nk93tbz7syaoj02qmjod.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=International Biathlon Union Event And Competition Rules|publisher=International Biathlon Union|at=p.27;sec.1.7.6|quote-page=27|quote=The winner of the qualifying competition will have a start time of zero (0) which will be shown on the start list as the clock time for the start of the Pursuit competition. The remaining competitors in the Pursuit competition will have as their start time the actual time by which they were behind the winner in the Sprint or Mass Start competition or – in the Individual – one half of the time behind the winner, expressed in time behind to the nearest whole second.|access-date=2021-02-13}}</ref>

===Mass start===
In the mass start, all biathletes start at the same time, and the first across the finish line wins. In this 15&nbsp;km for men or 12.5&nbsp;km for women competition, the distance is skied over five laps; there are four bouts of shooting (two prone, two standing, in that order), with the first shooting bout being at the lane corresponding to the competitor's bib number (bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of position in race), with the rest of the shooting bouts being on a first-come, first-served basis (if a competitor arrives at the lane in fifth place, they shoot at lane 5). As in sprint and pursuit, competitors must ski one 150&nbsp;m penalty loop for each miss. Here again, to avoid unwanted congestion, World Cup Mass starts are held with only the 30 top ranking athletes on the start line (half that of the Pursuit as here all contestants start simultaneously).

===Mass start 60===
Starting in the [[2018–19 Biathlon IBU Cup|2018/2019 season]], the Mass Start 60 became part of the [[International Biathlon Union]] (IBU) competition formats. The Mass Start with 60 starters does not replace the current Mass Start with 30 starters.<ref name=":1" />

Everyone skis the first lap together, but only the first 30 stop to shoot, and the second 30 keep skiing. At the end of the second lap, the second 30 stop to shoot, and the first 30 continue to ski. After the first two shoots are over (everyone's first prone), the race continues like a typical race, and all competitors shoot remaining prone, and two stands together. Or more simply:

Bib 1–30 = lap, shoot1, lap, lap, shoot2, lap, shoot3, lap, shoot4, lap

Bib 31–60 = lap, lap, shoot1, lap, shoot2, lap, shoot3, lap, shoot4, lap<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://biathlon23.wordpress.com/tag/ibu-cup-martell/|title=I (BU) got new rules, I count 'em!|date=October 28, 2018|website=biathlon23|language=en|access-date=2018-12-19}}</ref>

===Relay===
The relay teams consist of four biathletes, who each ski 7.5&nbsp;km (men) or 6&nbsp;km (women), each leg skied over three laps, with two shooting rounds; one prone, one standing. For every round of five targets, there are eight bullets available. However, the last three can only be single-loaded manually one at a time from spare round holders or bullets deposited by the competitor into trays or onto the mat at the firing line. If there are still standing targets after eight bullets, one 150&nbsp;m (490&nbsp;ft) penalty loop must be taken for each missed target remaining. The first-leg participants all start simultaneously, and as in cross-country skiing relays, every athlete of a team must touch the team's next-leg participant to perform a valid changeover. On the first shooting stage of the first leg, the participant must shoot in the lane corresponding to their bib number (bib #10 shoots at lane #10 regardless of their position in the race), then for the remainder of the relay, the relay team shoots on a first-come, first-served basis (arrive at the range in fifth place, shoot at lane 5).

===Mixed relay===
The mixed relay is similar to the ordinary relay, but the teams are composed of two women and two men. From its first instance at the [[Biathlon World Championships 2005|world championships]] in 2005 until the end of the [[2017–18 Biathlon World Cup|2017 season]], the first two legs were always run by the women, followed by the men on legs 3 and 4. Since the [[2017–18 Biathlon World Cup|2018 season]] however, the race can be started by either the men or women .<ref>{{cite news |author=IBU|title=New Season, New Rules|url=https://www.biathlonworld.com/news/detail/new-season-new-rules|date=2018-08-02|access-date=2021-02-10}}</ref> Additionally, for most of the event's history, the women's legs have been {{convert|6|km|abbr=on}} and the men's legs {{convert|7.5|km|abbr=on}} as in ordinary relay competitions. However, since the [[2019–20 Biathlon World Cup|2019 season]] the event has all four legs being either {{convert|6|km|abbr=on}} or {{convert|7.5|km|abbr=on}}.
This event was added to the Olympics starting in [[Biathlon at the 2014 Winter Olympics – Mixed relay|2014]].

===Single mixed relay===
In 2015, the single mixed relay was introduced to the Biathlon World Cup by the IBU. The event is run on a {{convert|1.5|km|abbr=on}} track with a {{convert|75|m|abbr=on}} penalty loop, and each team consists of a female and a male runner.<ref name="singlemixedrelay">{{cite web |url=https://www.biathlonworld.com/about-biathlon/disciplines/single-mixed-relay-an-exciting-novelty |title=Single Mixed Relay: an Exciting New Format |website=International Biathlon Union – IBU |access-date=16 March 2019}}</ref> The race is divided into four legs, with the first three being {{convert|3|km|abbr=on}} or 2 laps and the final leg being {{convert|4.5|km|abbr=on}} or 3 laps, totalling {{convert|13.5|km|abbr=on}}. After each leg, the runners exchange so that each runner completes two legs. Specific to this format, the exchange happens immediately after the last shooting of each leg without skiing an additional lap (as is usually the case). The race can be started by either the female or male member of the relay,<ref name="singlemixedrelay"></ref> with the finishing member performing an extra lap. This event was added to the world championships in [[Biathlon World Championships 2019|2019]].

===Team (obsolete)===
A team consists of four biathletes, but unlike the relay competition, all team members start at the same time. Two athletes must shoot in the prone shooting round, the other two in the standing round. In case of a miss, the two non-shooting biathletes must ski a penalty loop of 150&nbsp;m (490&nbsp;ft). The skiers must enter the shooting area together and must also finish within 15 seconds of each other; otherwise, a time penalty of one minute is added to the total time. Since 2004, this race format has been obsolete at the World Cup level.