The men's 10 kilometre sprint

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 ti ...

competition at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

was held on 19 February, at

Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex Cross Country Biathlon Center The Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex Cross Country Biathlon Center is a venue located in the Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex at Lake Placid, New York. During the 1980 Winter Olympics, it hosted the biathlon, cross-country skiing, and the cros ...

. In sprint, competitors race over three loops of the skiing course, shooting two times, once prone and once standing, with each miss being penalized by requiring the competitor to race over a 150-metre penalty loop.

Results

The sprint was added to the

world championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

in 1974, and made its Olympic debut in Lake Placid. Two-time defending world champion

Frank Ullrich Frank Ullrich (, ; born 24 January 1958) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany, SPD and former biathlete and athletic trainer, trainer of the German national team. Since 2021 German federal election, 2021, he has bee ...

was more than 10 seconds clear after the first shoot, and despite two misses at the second shoot, he actually saw his lead increase, allowing him to pull away in the final section and win by more than 40 seconds.

Vladimir Alikin Vladimir Alexandrovich Alikin (; born 10 May 1957) is a Soviet former biathlete. Life and career Alikin was born in the village of Dolgy Mot near the settlement of Novoilyinsky in the Nytvensky District of the Perm Oblast. He began cross-count ...

Kjell Søbak Kjell Søbak (born 21 June 1957) is a Norwegian former biathlete. At the 1984 Olympics of Sarajevo, Søbak finished second with the Norwegian relay team, which consisted of himself, Eirik Kvalfoss, Rolf Storsveen, and Odd Lirhus. In addition, ...

Erkki Antila Erkki Antila (14 July 1954 – 28 October 2023) was a Finnish biathlete. He competed in the 20 km individual event at the 1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid ...

and

Anatoly Alyabyev Anatoly Nikolayevich Alyabyev (; 12 December 1951 – 11 January 2022) was a Soviet biathlete. Life and career Alyabyev was born in the village of Danilkovo, Velsky District, Arkhangelsk Oblast. He initially trained at Children and Youth Sport ...

were closely matched after the first shoot, but Alikin, who shot clear, and Alyabyev, who missed once, pulled clear for silver and bronze, while Antila missed two shots and Søbak fell off the skiing pace.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biathlon at the 1980 Winter Olympics - Sprint

Sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace * Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automobiles *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, a rebadged v ...