Biathlon has been part of the Olympic programme since the Squaw Valley Games in 1960. Women’s events were added from Albertville 1992, while the most recent of the sport’s 11 Olympic events - the mixed relay - made its debut at Sochi 2014, and has been contested in its current 4x6km format since Beijing 2022.
Italy has claimed seven Olympic medals in biathlon, and on the snow of the Anterselva Biathlon Arena in the Dolomites, the Azzurri will once again chase their first ever Olympic gold. The most prestigious Italian result to date remains Pieralberto Carrara’s silver medal in the 20km individual at Nagano 1998.
Italy’s first Olympic biathlon medal was won by Johann Passler, who took bronze in the 10km individual event, and later added a second bronze in the relay alongside teammates Werner Kiem, Gottlieb Taschler and Andreas Zingerle.
In more recent times, Dominik Windisch and Dorothea Wierer have helped keep Italy on the podium. Both were part of the mixed relay teams that won back-to-back bronze medals—first at Sochi 2014 with Karin Oberhofer and Lukas Hofer, and again at PyeongChang 2018 with Lisa Vittozzi and Hofer. Windisch also secured an individual bronze in the sprint event in Korea, a result matched by Wierer in Beijing 2022.