Individual Competition: The skiing course
measures 20 kilometers for men and 15
kilometers for women. Skiers complete five
loops and shoot five shots at each of four
stages. A one-minute penalty for every missed
shot is added to the competitor's ski time.
Sprint Competition: The men ski a total of 10
kilometers and the women ski 7.5 kilometers.
The athletes start individually at one-minute
intervals. The competitors ski a total of three
loops. They shoot five rounds once in the prone
position, and five rounds once in the standing
position. The competitor must ski a 150 meter
penalty loop for each missed shot.
Relay Competition: Each team has four
individual competitors. Each racer skis 7.5
kilometers. The first leg of each team starts
at the same time in a mass start, then
continues to tag off to successive legs until
the whole team has raced. Competitors have
eight bullets to hit five targets at the prone
and standing stages. If after shooting all
eight rounds the competitors have not hit all
five targets, they must ski a penalty loop for
each missed shot. There is a tag zone where
each skier, upon completing his or her segment
of the relay, touches the next teammate who
then starts his or her segment. The winner is
the team whose last competitor crosses the
finish line first.