| | Event type
4 × 7.5 kilometres Relay, Men
| Date | 21 February 2006 — 12:00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Cesana San Sicario | |
| Participants | 68 from 17 countries | |
| Format | Eight shots for each group of five targets. Penalty loop (150 metres) skied for each missed target. | |
| Details | Course Length: 7,500 m Height Differential: 48 m Maximum Climb: 13 m Shooting 1: Prone at 2.5 km, 50 m range Shooting 2: Standing at 5.0 km, 50 m range Total Climbing: 249 m | |
As always the big three nations were considered to be Germany, Russia, and Norway. Norway had won the 2005 World Championship, and was second to Germany in 2004, with Russia second in 2005. France, third at the 2004 Worlds, was also expected to be strong. But an unusual thing happened on the opening leg as the lead was taken by a nation with no significant biathlon history, the United States, with Jay Hakkinen putting them almost four seconds up on the Czech Republic, with Germany in third. But that didn’t last long as the USA dropped to eighth after the second leg, with Germany moving into the lead over Italy and Poland. By the final exchange the Germans led, with Russia second and France third, while Norway was struggling, back in 10th place, as Frode Andresen missed seven shots and had to ski two penalty loops. Germany would hold on for the gold medal, Russia finishing second. The race for the bronze was extremely close with Sweden’s Carl Johan Bergman and France’s Raphaël Poirée coming to the line almost together. But a stumble right at the line by Bergman enabled France to get onto the podium, winning by about a boot-length. Norway would move up in the final leg, as Ole Einar Bjørndalen brought them up to fifth. The United States? They would finish ninth.
| Pos | Competitors | NOC | Time | Misses | Extra Shots | Shooting 1 Misses | Shooting 1 Extra Shots | Shooting 1 | Shooting 2 Misses | Shooting 2 Extra Shots | Shooting 2 | Exchange | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany |  GER | 1-21:51.5 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 3 | – (–) | 1 | 5 | – (–) | – (–) | Gold | ||
| Lead-Off | Ricco Groß | 20:47.1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7:27.7 (1) | 0 | 1 | 14:41.8 (2) | 20:47.1 (3) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Michael Rösch | 19:42.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27:35.7 (1) | 0 | 0 | 34:27.5 (1) | 40:29.6 (1) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Sven Fischer | 21:11.6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 47:39.8 (1) | 1 | 3 | 55:25.4 (1) | 1-01:41.2 (1) | ||||
| Anchor | Michael Greis | 20:10.3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1-08:50.9 (1) | 0 | 1 | 1-15:46.7 (1) | 1-21:51.5 (1) | ||||
| 2 | Russian Federation |  RUS | 1-22:12.4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | – (–) | 0 | 0 | – (–) | – (–) | Silver | ||
| Lead-Off | Ivan Cherezov | 21:10.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7:59.3 (10) | 0 | 0 | 14:57.6 (7) | 21:10.0 (6) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Sergey Chepikov | 20:09.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28:20.4 (6) | 0 | 0 | 35:26.3 (5) | 41:19.7 (5) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Pavel Rostovtsev | 20:40.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 48:51.0 (5) | 0 | 0 | 55:51.1 (2) | 1-01:59.7 (2) | ||||
| Anchor | Nikolay Kruglov | 20:12.7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1-09:10.8 (3) | 0 | 0 | 1-16:05.0 (2) | 1-22:12.4 (2) | ||||
| 3 | France |  FRA | 1-22:35.1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | – (–) | 0 | 4 | – (–) | – (–) | Bronze | ||
| Lead-Off | Julien Robert | 21:33.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7:34.3 (5) | 0 | 0 | 14:55.4 (6) | 21:33.8 (11) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Vincent Defrasne | 19:45.3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28:35.5 (9) | 0 | 0 | 35:25.7 (4) | 41:19.1 (4) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Ferréol Cannard | 21:02.1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 48:30.4 (3) | 0 | 1 | 56:01.3 (3) | 1-02:21.2 (3) | ||||
| Anchor | Raphaël Poirée | 20:13.9 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1-09:07.8 (2) | 0 | 3 | 1-16:31.7 (4) | 1-22:35.1 (3) | ||||
| 4 | Sweden |  SWE | 1-22:35.1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 5 | – (–) | 0 | 7 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Jakob Börjesson | 21:35.3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 7:50.4 (8) | 0 | 2 | 15:17.8 (13) | 21:35.3 (12) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Björn Ferry | 20:20.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 28:35.9 (10) | 0 | 3 | 36:04.6 (12) | 41:55.8 (10) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Mattias Nilsson | 20:27.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 49:18.7 (10) | 0 | 1 | 56:26.8 (5) | 1-02:23.3 (4) | ||||
| Anchor | Carl Johan Bergman | 20:11.8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1-09:15.6 (4) | 0 | 1 | 1-16:18.7 (3) | 1-22:35.1 (4) | ||||
| 5 | Norway |  NOR | 1-23:03.6 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 5 | – (–) | 0 | 4 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Halvard Hanevold | 21:33.1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8:04.0 (13) | 0 | 0 | 15:14.9 (12) | 21:33.1 (10) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Stian Eckhoff | 20:22.1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 28:38.2 (12) | 0 | 2 | 35:53.0 (11) | 41:55.2 (9) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Frode Andresen | 21:52.9 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 50:22.1 (13) | 0 | 2 | 57:40.8 (12) | 1-03:48.1 (10) | ||||
| Anchor | Ole Einar Bjørndalen | 19:15.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1-10:21.0 (8) | 0 | 0 | 1-16:55.5 (5) | 1-23:03.6 (5) | ||||
| 6 | Czech Republic |  CZE | 1-23:04.0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 | – (–) | 1 | 10 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Ondřej Moravec | 20:44.6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7:33.9 (4) | 0 | 1 | 14:42.6 (3) | 20:44.6 (2) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Zdeněk Vítek | 20:47.4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27:40.1 (2) | 1 | 3 | 35:27.0 (6) | 41:32.0 (6) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Roman Dostál | 20:57.7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 48:52.7 (6) | 0 | 3 | 56:33.4 (6) | 1-02:29.7 (5) | ||||
| Anchor | Michal Šlesingr | 20:34.3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1-09:22.4 (5) | 0 | 3 | 1-16:59.1 (6) | 1-23:04.0 (6) | ||||
| 7 | Ukraine |  UKR | 1-23:40.4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 5 | – (–) | 1 | 6 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Oleksandr Bilanenko | 21:32.6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7:41.8 (6) | 0 | 1 | 14:58.2 (8) | 21:32.6 (9) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Andriy Deryzemlia | 20:10.3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 28:37.6 (11) | 0 | 1 | 35:39.7 (7) | 41:42.9 (7) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Oleksiy Korobeinikov | 20:52.7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 48:58.9 (7) | 0 | 1 | 56:13.2 (4) | 1-02:35.6 (6) | ||||
| Anchor | Ruslan Lysenko | 21:04.8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1-09:47.4 (6) | 1 | 3 | 1-17:25.5 (7) | 1-23:40.4 (7) | ||||
| 8 | Italy |  ITA | 1-23:40.9 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 6 | – (–) | 2 | 4 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Christian De Lorenzi | 20:48.8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7:53.7 (9) | 0 | 0 | 14:47.0 (5) | 20:48.8 (4) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Rene Laurent Vuillermoz | 20:05.2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 27:48.9 (3) | 0 | 1 | 34:49.3 (2) | 40:54.0 (2) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Paolo Longo | 21:53.2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 48:00.9 (2) | 2 | 3 | 56:34.3 (7) | 1-02:47.2 (7) | ||||
| Anchor | Wilfried Pallhuber | 20:53.7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1-10:24.4 (9) | 0 | 0 | 1-17:28.5 (8) | 1-23:40.9 (8) | ||||
| 9 | United States |  USA | 1-24:23.4 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 6 | – (–) | 1 | 11 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Jay Hakkinen | 20:40.8 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7:29.0 (2) | 0 | 2 | 14:36.8 (1) | 20:40.8 (1) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Tim Burke | 21:05.9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 28:11.8 (5) | 0 | 3 | 35:44.8 (8) | 41:46.7 (8) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Lowell Bailey | 21:17.1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 49:11.0 (8) | 0 | 3 | 56:51.0 (9) | 1-03:03.8 (9) | ||||
| Anchor | Jeremy Teela | 21:19.6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1-10:18.2 (7) | 1 | 3 | 1-18:12.0 (9) | 1-24:23.4 (9) | ||||
| 10 | Slovenia |  SLO | 1-25:01.4 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 4 | – (–) | 1 | 6 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Janez Marič | 21:19.3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 8:00.7 (12) | 0 | 1 | 15:13.7 (10) | 21:19.3 (7) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Janez Ožbolt | 20:57.9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 28:29.4 (7) | 0 | 1 | 35:51.3 (10) | 42:17.2 (12) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Klemen Bauer | 21:39.9 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 49:29.7 (11) | 1 | 3 | 57:38.1 (11) | 1-03:57.1 (11) | ||||
| Anchor | Matjaž Poklukar | 21:04.3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1-10:52.9 (10) | 0 | 1 | 1-18:25.2 (10) | 1-25:01.4 (10) | ||||
| 11 | Belarus |  BLR | 1-25:04.1 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 6 | – (–) | 1 | 9 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Aliaksandr Syman | 22:04.4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 8:00.6 (11) | 0 | 2 | 15:33.9 (14) | 22:04.4 (14) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Siarhei Novikau | 20:36.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 29:13.4 (13) | 0 | 1 | 36:30.6 (13) | 42:40.4 (13) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Rustam Valiulin | 21:46.4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 50:05.3 (12) | 1 | 3 | 58:15.1 (13) | 1-04:26.8 (12) | ||||
| Anchor | Aleh Ryzhankou | 20:37.3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1-11:26.1 (12) | 0 | 3 | 1-18:57.9 (12) | 1-25:04.1 (11) | ||||
| 12 | Japan |  JPN | 1-25:15.6 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 6 | – (–) | 0 | 5 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Tatsumi Kasahara | 21:22.1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7:46.5 (7) | 0 | 1 | 15:07.2 (9) | 21:22.1 (8) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Hidenori Isa | 20:39.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2:30.1 (8) | 0 | 1 | 35:45.4 (9) | 42:01.1 (11) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Kyoji Suga | 20:48.6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 49:11.4 (9) | 0 | 2 | 56:35.5 (8) | 1-02:49.7 (8) | ||||
| Anchor | Shinya Saito | 22:25.9 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1-11:12.8 (11) | 0 | 1 | 1-18:46.3 (11) | 1-25:15.6 (12) | ||||
| 13 | Poland |  POL | 1-26:57.0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 5 | – (–) | 2 | 5 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Wiesław Ziemianin | 20:56.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7:30.1 (3) | 0 | 1 | 14:46.5 (4) | 20:56.5 (5) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Tomasz Sikora | 20:01.2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 28:05.4 (4) | 0 | 0 | 34:57.2 (3) | 40:57.7 (3) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Michał Piecha | 23:37.6 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 48:31.9 (4) | 2 | 3 | 57:28.8 (10) | 1-04:35.3 (13) | ||||
| Anchor | Krzysztof Pływaczyk | 22:21.7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1-12:03.8 (13) | 0 | 1 | 1-19:57.0 (13) | 1-26:57.0 (13) | ||||
| 14 | Slovakia |  SVK | 1-27:44.9 | 3 | 19 | 3 | 10 | – (–) | 0 | 9 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Pavol Hurajt | 22:53.5 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 8:53.3 (17) | 0 | 2 | 16:25.2 (16) | 22:53.5 (16) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Dušan Šimočko | 21:37.2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 30:23.8 (16) | 0 | 1 | 37:54.8 (16) | 44:30.7 (16) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Miroslav Matiaško | 22:11.3 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 52:40.2 (16) | 0 | 3 | 1-00:26.0 (15) | 1-06:42.0 (15) | ||||
| Anchor | Marek Matiaško | 21:02.9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1-14:06.2 (15) | 0 | 3 | 1-21:47.8 (15) | 1-27:44.9 (14) | ||||
| 15 | Estonia |  EST | 1-27:48.9 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 10 | – (–) | 2 | 6 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Dimitri Borovik | 21:43.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 8:04.5 (14) | 0 | 0 | 15:14.7 (11) | 21:43.0 (13) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Indrek Tobreluts | 21:35.5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 29:17.7 (14) | 0 | 2 | 36:59.5 (14) | 43:18.5 (14) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Roland Lessing | 21:20.7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 50:53.7 (14) | 0 | 1 | 58:17.8 (14) | 1-04:39.2 (14) | ||||
| Anchor | Priit Viks | 23:09.7 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1-12:30.1 (14) | 2 | 3 | 1-21:23.1 (14) | 1-27:48.9 (15) | ||||
| 16 | Latvia |  LAT | 1-28:10.6 | 5 | 12 | 2 | 7 | – (–) | 3 | 5 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Jānis Bērziņš | 22:21.5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 8:28.0 (15) | 0 | 0 | 15:51.1 (15) | 22:21.5 (15) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Edgars Piksons | 21:11.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 29:39.6 (15) | 0 | 0 | 37:06.7 (15) | 43:33.0 (15) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Raivis Zīmelis | 23:55.2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 51:40.1 (15) | 3 | 3 | 1-00:53.1 (17) | 1-07:28.2 (17) | ||||
| Anchor | Ilmārs Bricis | 20:42.4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1-14:39.0 (17) | 0 | 2 | 1-22:03.7 (17) | 1-28:10.6 (16) | ||||
| 17 | Austria |  AUT | 1-28:26.4 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 7 | – (–) | 0 | 4 | – (–) | – (–) | |||
| Lead-Off | Daniel Mesotitsch | 23:32.6 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 8:35.0 (16) | 0 | 2 | 16:35.0 (17) | 23:32.6 (17) | ||||
| 2nd Leg | Fritz Pinter | 21:50.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30:48.4 (17) | 0 | 0 | 38:27.8 (17) | 45:23.1 (17) | ||||
| 3rd Leg | Ludwig Gredler | 21:54.1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 53:20.7 (17) | 0 | 0 | 1-00:41.7 (16) | 1-07:17.2 (16) | ||||
| Anchor | Christoph Sumann | 21:09.2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1-14:17.3 (16) | 0 | 2 | 1-21:51.5 (16) | 1-28:26.4 (17) |