Biathlon at the
1968 Winter Olympics
The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (french: Les Xes Jeux olympiques d'hiver), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 February 1968 in Grenoble, France. Thirty-seven countries participated. Frenchm ...
consisted of two
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 ...
events, held at
Autrans
Autrans () is a former commune in the Isère department in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Autrans-Méaudre-en-Vercors.
At the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, it hosted ...
. The events began on 9 February and ended on 11 February 1968. This was the first Olympics to feature more than one biathlon race, as the 4 x 7.5 kilometre relay made its debut.
Medal summary
Three nations won medals in biathlon, the Soviet Union leading the medal table with three, one of each type.
Magnar Solberg
Magnar Solberg (born 4 February 1937) is a former Norwegian biathlete and police officer. He won a gold medal in the 20 km at the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics; his 4 × 7.5 km relay teams placed second in 1968 and fourth in 1972. In 1 ...
and
Alexander Tikhonov
Alexander Ivanovich Tikhonov (russian: Александр Иванович Тихонов; born 2 January 1947) is a former Soviet-Russian biathlete. On 23 July 2007, he was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to three ye ...
shared the lead in the individual medal table, each winning a gold and a silver.
Medal table
Events
Participating nations
Sixteen nations sent biathletes to compete in Grenoble. Below is a list of the competing nations; in parentheses are the number of national competitors. Canada, East and West Germany and Czechoslovakia made their Olympic biathlon debut.
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References
{{Biathlon at the Winter Olympics
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
1968 Winter Olympics events
1968 in biathlon
Biathlon competitions in France