Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway Wins Biathlon Mass Start

Ski. Breathe. Shoot. The wonderful chaos of biathlon.Feb. 20, 2026, 11:03 a.m. ETA cross-country ski race is normally pretty straightforward. The best athletes get to the front and stay there most of the way.In biathlon, there is chaos. And that chaos is caused by a gun.ImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesAthletes must carry a rifle strapped to their backs as they ski. And every so often they must shoot at a target. Miss and they have to ski a 150-meter penalty lap. And that is where the chaos comes in. The best skier in the world might have a big lead. But if he misses some targets, those penalty laps might drop him abruptly back in the pack. ImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesAs the misses pile up, the order of the skiers shifts unpredictably, leaving the medalists in doubt for most of the race.ImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesImageCredit...James Hill for The New York TimesOn Friday in the marquee event, the 15-kilometer mass start race, the best skier/shooter was Johannes Dale-Skjevdal of Norway. He kept it simple, missing no targets at all, the only skier to do so. Combined with his strong skiing, that gave him the gold medal. Biathlon: Men’s 15km Mass Start › Time Gold Johannes Dale-Skjevdal 39:17.1 Silver Sturla Holm Laegreid 39:27.6 +10.5 Bronze Quentin Fillon Maillet 39:42.7 +25.6 Victor Mather, who has been a reporter and editor at The Times for 25 years, covers sports and breaking news.James Hill is a photographer working on a regular basis for The Times since 1993. He is currently based in Paris.