Biathlon is a combination of cross country skiing and marksmanship. There will be 11 events for the men and women at the 2026 Olympics in Milan Cortina.
U.S. Biathlon CEO Jack Gierhart said competition is a mix of short and long distance races and relays.
“These are athletes that are hardcore endurance athletes,” he said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour.” “Their heart is speeding at 180 or 190 beats a minute, and they then have to come to a standstill, either laying prone or standing, and shoot at these targets that are 50 meters away.”
The sport has largely been dominated by European athletes with France, Germany and Norway leading the individual medal counts. Biathlon is also the only Winter Olympic event the U.S. has not earned a medal.
That’s not including ski mountaineering, which will make its debut on the world stage at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games.
Part of the U.S.’s struggle to land in the top three is the sport’s popularity in the states. The Associated Press reports U.S. Biathlon had about 1,600 members in 2025. While that is almost double its numbers from 2018, that is still significantly below the leading countries’ numbers like Norway that boasts about 8,000 members.
Gierhart said to try and increase interest, U.S. Biathlon has introduced a long-term plan to develop athletes.
“In 2020, 2021, U.S. Biathlon drafted a 10 year strategic plan, and I think for the first time, they really put a lot of focus on the development, the grassroots and the pipeline,” he said.
That includes finding fast cross country skiers and introducing them to biathlon.
“It's not an either or. It's like, ‘Hey, you can do both.’ And we have a couple of athletes right now, two of our women that are going to the Olympics, Margie Freed and Lucy Anderson, both came into biathlon that way through recruiting that we did,” Gierhart said, “And Lucy, in fact, this year has skied in both the cross country World Cup and is competing in the biathlon World Cup.”
Another part of U.S. Biathlon’s recruiting plans is getting younger athletes familiar with the sport through its laser rifle program. Geirhart said the rifles don’t require ammunition or a large venue.
“John Farrah, who is a native of the area there, lives down in Heber, is our sport development director, and he launched this program several years ago. He takes a couple of laser rifles to Nordic events and sort of sets up demos for the athletes to try and they love it,” he said.
He said through the program U.S. Biathlon has connected with about 2,500 kids a year.
U.S. Biathlon will travel to the 2026 Olympics in Italy this year with eight athletes including Campbell Wright, who Gierhart said, is a medal hopeful. The skier out of New Zealand won two medals at the World Championships last season and is looking for his first Olympic hardware.
