ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — The sport of biathlon, which combines cross-country skiing and precision target shooting, requires hundreds of hours of training annually and the ability to push your body to the maximum effort for an athlete to have a chance of success at the Olympics.

Here's is the full Olympic biathlon schedule for the 2026 Winter Games

Biathlon combines two sports – cross-country skiing and shooting – into one race. The biathlon first made its debut 66 years ago in the 1960 Winter Olympics at the renamed Palisades Tahoe in Olympic Valley near Lake Tahoe. This year, the Winter Olympic biathlon games will be held in Antholz (Anterselva), Italy.

"It's about giving back and justice," said France's Martin Fourcade, now the gold medalist in the mass start from the 2010 Games.

France's Quentin Fillon Maillet shot clean to power to Olympic biathlon gold in the men's 10 kilometre sprint on Friday. He picked up his fourth Olympic gold and second of these Games after winning by 13.

Johan-Olav Botn hit all 20 targets to claim gold for Norway in the Olympic 20 kilometres biathlon race on Tuesday. Botn, the early season World Cup leader, was 14.

Here is how the Biathlon works, including its rules, scoring and history in the Olympics.

ANTERSELVA, Italy (AP) — Johan-Olav Botn of Norway shot perfectly in his Olympic debut to secure the gold medal in the men’s 20-kilometer individual biathlon at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Tuesday.

Sweden's Matin Ponsiluoma dominated the men's 12.5-kilometer pursuit biathlon race on Sunday in an upset of the French team. (AP Photo)

Meet some of the faces behind a world-class training facility in Brillion, Wisconsin, that is helping athletes prepare for Olympic-level competition in cross-country skiing and biathlon.

The Winter Olympics bring sports we barely see outside of these few weeks. Many of them look exciting. Some of them look like a bad idea for normal people. A lot of these events mix speed, ice, height,