Biathlon at the 1992 Winter Olympics — 1992 edition of the biathlon competitions during the Olympic Winter Games
The 1992 Winter Olympics marked the first time women competed in Olympic biathlon, held at Les Saisies near Albertville.
Key Facts
- Number of events
- 6
- Venue
- Les Saisies, ~40 km from Albertville
- Competition dates
- 11–20 February 1992
- First women's Olympic biathlon
- Yes, debut at these Games
- Doping admission
- EUN team used illegal blood transfusions
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The International Olympic Committee and biathlon governing bodies expanded the Olympic biathlon programme for 1992, adding women's events for the first time. The Games were hosted in Albertville, France, with biathlon competitions assigned to the mountain venue of Les Saisies approximately 40 kilometres away.
Six biathlon events were contested at Les Saisies between 11 and 20 February 1992. The competition notably included women's biathlon as an Olympic discipline for the first time. The Unified Team (EUN), comprising athletes from former Soviet nations, competed and later admitted to conducting illegal blood transfusions during the Games.
Russian biathlete Sergei Tarasov disclosed in 2015 that the EUN biathlon team had used illegal blood transfusions at the 1992 Games, with his own transfusion causing a medical emergency requiring hospitalisation. The admission shed light on systematic doping practices in the sport during that era.
Result
at Les Saisies, Albertville, France