The Men's 20 kilometre individual
biathlon
The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. It is treated as a race, with contestants skiing through a cross-country trail whose distance is divided into shooting rounds. The shooting rounds are not tim ...
competition at the
1960 Winter Olympics
The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...
was held on 21 February, at
McKinney Creek Stadium
McKinney Creek Stadium was a temporary ski stadium located at Tahoma, California, in the United States. Built in 1959, it was used for cross-country skiing (sport), cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, and biathlon at the 1960 Winter Olympics in ...
. The firing ranges were located at the following points on the 20-kilometer course: 6.5 km — 200 meter range, 9.5 km — 250 meter range, 12.5 km — 150 meter range and 15 km — 100 meter range. The first three series were fired from a prone position, the last standing. Each miss of the target cost two minutes.
Results
Klas Lestander
Klas Ivar Vilhelm Lestander (18 April 1931 – 13 January 2023) was a Swedish biathlon, biathlete who won a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, Placer County, California, Squaw Valley.[Vladimir Melanin
Vladimir Mikhailovich Melanin (russian: Владимир Михайлович Меланьин; 1 December 1933 – 10 August 1994) was a Soviet biathlete.
Life and career
He won an Olympic gold medal for the USSR in the 20 km individual in ...]
, had the third fastest ski time, but eight minutes in penalties left him fourth. The other medals went to racers with some of the better shooting performances;
Antti Tyrväinen took just four minutes in penalties for silver, and
Aleksandr Privalov
Aleksandr Vasilyevich Privalov (russian: Александр Васильевич Привалов; 6 August 1933 – 19 May 2021) was a Soviet biathlete.
He received a bronze medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. He received a silv ...
only six minutes to win bronze. The two fastest skiers were Frenchmen
Victor Arbez
Victor Arbez (17 May 1934 – 22 January 2016) was a French skier. He competed at the 1956, 1960, 1964 and the 1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques ...
and
René Mercier, both more than two minutes ahead of Privalov, and more than seven ahead of Lestander. However, both struggled on the range, Mercier missing 15 of 20 shots to incur a half-hour in penalties, and Abrez 18 of 20 to add 36 minutes to his time.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biathlon at the 1960 Winter Olympics - Individual
Biathlon at the 1960 Winter Olympics