{"id":263816,"date":"2026-01-29T14:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-29T14:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/263816\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T14:41:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T14:41:12","slug":"everything-you-need-to-know-about-para-biathlon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/263816\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you need to know about Para biathlon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ready to dive into the thrill of the\u00a0Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games<\/a>?<\/p>\n

From 6\u201315 March 2026, the world\u2019s best athletes will compete for glory in 79 medal events across six sports:\u00a0Para alpine skiing<\/a>,\u00a0Para biathlon<\/a>,\u00a0Para cross-country skiing<\/a>,\u00a0Para ice hockey<\/a>,\u00a0Para snowboard<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0wheelchair curling<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each day, we take a closer look at the six sports featured in the\u00a0programme and answer all your questions ahead of the Paralympic Games. Today, we\u2019re covering everything you need to know about\u00a0Para biathlon<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Milano Cortina 2026: All You Need to Know about Para Biathlon \ud83c\udfbf\ud83d\udd2b<\/p>\n

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What is Para biathlon?<\/p>\n

Para biathlon is an exciting sport combining cross-country skiing and target shooting.<\/p>\n

Athletes race different distances around the looped course and between laps, athletes stop and pick up their rifles at the shooting range. They must hit five targets. For each missed shot, competitors either get a time penalty or must ski a penalty loop, depending on the event.<\/p>\n

Athletes compete in one of three categories \u2013 standing, sitting and vision impaired. Within these three categories, they are grouped into sport classes based on the impact of their impairments on their ability to perform tasks and activities fundamental to their sport.<\/p>\n

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Athletes compete in one of three categories in Para biathlon. @Thomas Lovelock\/OIS<\/p>\n

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In standing categories, athletes race other athletes with upper or lower limb impairments, or a combination of both. They shoot in a prone position and their coaches can help position the rifle.<\/p>\n

In sitting races, athletes use a sit-ski and power the course with their upper body strength. They shoot in prone position.<\/p>\n

Athletes with a vision impairment can ski with a sighted guide who helps them navigate the course through voice. At the range, they are assisted by acoustic signals to help indicate if they are on target. The higher the tone, the more precise to the centre of the target.<\/p>\n

Within each category, a formula is used for each sport class to adjust the raw time in order to get the final factored time \u2013 and the athlete with the fastest competition result wins.<\/p>\n

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Athletes with vision impairment can ski with a sighted guide who helps them navigate the course through voice. @Michael Steele\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Para biathlon at Milano Cortina 2026<\/p>\n

Para biathlon will feature up to 180 Para athletes who will compete in a total of 18 medal events at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium in Val di Fiemme.<\/p>\n

There will be three days of competition \u2013 the men\u2019s and women\u2019s sprint events on 7 March, followed by the men\u2019s and women\u2019s individual events the next day, and the men\u2019s and women\u2019s sprint pursuit events on 13 March.<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s sprint VI<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s sprint standing<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s sprint sitting<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s sprint pursuit VI<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s sprint pursuit standing<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s sprint pursuit sitting<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s individual VI<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s individual standing<\/p>\n

Men\u2019s individual sitting<\/p>\n

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Women\u2019s<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s sprint VI<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s sprint standing<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s sprint sitting<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s sprint pursuit VI<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s sprint pursuit standing<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s sprint pursuit sitting<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s individual VI<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s individual standing<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s individual sitting<\/p>\n

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Brief history of Para biathlon<\/p>\n

Para biathlon was first included in the Paralympic Winter Games at Innsbruck 1988 with standing athletes competing. Four years later at Tignes-Albertville 1992, athletes with vision impairments were also included.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Para biathlon events, as well as events in the sitting class, were added to the Paralympic programme at Lillehammer 1994.<\/p>\n

At Torino 2006, Ukrainian athletes were the first to complete a medal sweep in the sport winning gold, silver and bronze in the women\u2019s 10km sitting.\u202f\u00a0Ukraine repeated the feat in the women\u2019s 7.5km sitting, as did Russia in the men\u2019s 12.5km sitting.<\/p>\n

At Beijing 2022, 86 athletes from 14 nations competed in Para biathlon events. Seven nations had athletes win medals. The Ukrainian duo of Oksana Shyshkova and Vitaliy Lukyanenko, as well as the USA\u2019s Oksana Masters, each won two gold medals.<\/p>\n

To date 21 nations have won Paralympic medals in the sport, including 16 that have won gold.\u202f Germany\u2019s Verena Bentele (five gold medals and one bronze medal) and Ukraine\u2019s Vitaliy Lukyanenko are the most successful female and male athletes in the sport respectively.<\/p>\n

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Five facts about Para biathlon<\/p>\n

1. Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium will stage Para biathlon and Para cross-country events at Milano Cortina 2026. Located in Val di Fiemme, this stadium has been hosting major events since 1991 when the Nordic World Ski Championships took place there.<\/p>\n

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Eighteen Para biathlon events will take place at the Tesero Cross-Country Skiing Stadium. @Milano Cortina 2026<\/p>\n

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2. When Para biathlon made its Paralympic debut at Innsbruck 1988, there were just three medal events. Fast forward to Milano Cortina 2026, and the sport has grown to feature 18 events.<\/p>\n

3. Many Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing athletes also excel in summer sports. Team USA\u2019s Oksana Masters has won Paralympic medals in Para swimming and Para cycling, while Kendall Gretsch claimed Para triathlon gold at Paris 2024. Germany\u2019s Andrea Eskau is a true legend, having competed in Para cycling, Para cross-country skiing, and Para biathlon across eight Games. Discover what Eskau wants you to know about Para biathlon\u2014and her incredible journey.<\/p>\n

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Oksana Masters has won 19 medals across six Summer and Winter Games. @Thomas Lovelock\/OIS<\/p>\n

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4. Since making his Paralympic debut at Salt Lake City 2002, Vitaliy Lukyanenko, the most successful male Para biathlete, has claimed eight gold, three silver and a bronze in the sport. Ukraine tops the all-time medals table with 23 gold, 28 silver and 28 bronze medals.<\/p>\n

5. With their very first Paralympic biathlon medals won, Chinese athletes made their mark on the tracks of Beijing 2022. China claimed 12 medals in total \u2013 four golds, two silver and six bronze \u2013 to finish second on the sport\u2019s medal table behind Ukraine. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Mingtao Liu captured two gold medals on home snow at Beijing 2022. @Michael Steele\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

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Secure your tickets for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Milano Cortina 2026<\/a>, which takes place from 6-15 March 2026, is set to be the most beautiful Paralympic Winter Games yet. Ticket prices start at EUR 10 for children under 14, with approximately 89 per cent of the tickets available for EUR 35 or less.<\/p>\n

For more information, please visit\u00a0tickets.milanocortina2026.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ready to dive into the thrill of the\u00a0Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games? From 6\u201315 March 2026, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":263817,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-263816","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-il","9":"tag-israel","10":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=263816"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/263816\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/263817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=263816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=263816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=263816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}