Biathlon at the 2014 Winter Olympics
First Olympic mixed relay; doping disqualifications later altered results.
The 2014 Winter Olympics biathlon competition took place at the Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex, located near Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. The eleven events ran from 8 to 22 February 2014. A mixed relay event was included in the program for the first time, having been added by a vote in 2011.
Several teams that had previously won medals did not reach the podium. The German women, who had taken six medals in 2006 and five in 2010, were shut out. The German men, however, rebounded from a poor showing in Vancouver to earn two silver medals. France’s women, who had won three medals in 2010, also missed the podium, as did Canada despite some strong performances. Sweden’s men, who had been expected to medal, also came up short.
Thirteen athletes left the Games with two or more medals, and five of them won three each. Belarus’s Darya Domracheva was the most successful biathlete overall, taking three gold medals. France’s Martin Fourcade was the top male, winning two gold and one silver. Tora Berger, the 2012/13 women’s World Cup winner, collected one medal of each color, while her teammate Tiril Eckhoff, competing in her first Olympics, won one gold and two bronze. Czech athlete Ondřej Moravec earned two silver and one bronze.
The competition was marred by a positive doping test from German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle. She had finished fourth in both the mass start and the mixed relay but was disqualified from both after testing positive for methylhexanamine.
On 27 November 2017, Russian athletes Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova were disqualified for doping violations. On 1 December 2017, their teammate Olga Zaitseva was also disqualified. On 24 September 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport removed the sanctions from Vilukhina and Romanova but upheld them on Zaitseva. The IOC redistributed medals in the women’s relay on 19 May 2022.
On 15 February 2020, the International Biathlon Union announced that Evgeny Ustyugov and the Russian men’s 4 x 7.5 km relay team had been disqualified from the 2014 Olympics due to a doping violation; the IOC results affirm this decision. In May 2025, the final appeals were exhausted, allowing the IOC to formally reallocate Ustyugov’s medals—a gold and a bronze from 2010 and a relay gold from 2014—to other athletes. In September 2025, the IOC Executive Board approved those reallocations.
Quick Facts
- Event
- Biathlon
- Games
- 2014 Winter
- Venue
- Laura Biathlon & Ski Complex, Krasnaya Polyana, Russia
- Dates
- 8–22 February
- Num Events
- 11
- Competitors
- 220 / Quota limit
- Prev
- 2010
- Next
- 2018
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The 2014 biathlon competition saw Belarus's Darya Domracheva win three gold medals, making her the most successful biathlete at the Games. France's Martin Fourcade was the most successful male, winning two gold and one silver. Tora Berger of Norway won a medal of each color, while teammate Tiril Eckhoff earned one gold and two bronze in her first Games. Czech athlete Ondřej Moravec took two silver and one bronze. Thirteen athletes went home with two or more medals, with five winning three each.
The event was marred by a doping case: German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle, who finished fourth in both the mass start and mixed relay, was disqualified after testing positive for methylhexanamine. Years later, multiple Russian athletes were disqualified for doping violations. On 27 November 2017, Olga Vilukhina and Yana Romanova were disqualified; on 1 December 2017, Olga Zaitseva was also disqualified. On 24 September 2020, the Court of Arbitration for Sport removed sanctions from Vilukhina and Romanova but upheld them on Zaitseva. Medals in the women's relay were redistributed by the IOC on 19 May 2022.
On 15 February 2020, the International Biathlon Union announced that Evgeny Ustyugov and the Russian men's 4 × 7.5 km relay team had been disqualified from the 2014 Olympics. After final appeals were exhausted in May 2025, the IOC formally reallocated Ustyugov's medals—a gold and a bronze from 2010 and a relay gold from 2014—in September 2025.
Reader's Guide
Biathlon at the 2014 Winter Olympics is significant for introducing the mixed relay, which expanded the sport's program and has since become a staple. The Games also highlighted the dominance of Darya Domracheva and Martin Fourcade, who set new standards in the sport. The event's legacy is complicated by multiple doping disqualifications, which led to medal reallocations years later, including the stripping of Russian relay medals and the eventual redistribution of Evgeny Ustyugov's medals in 2025. These cases underscore ongoing challenges with doping enforcement in biathlon and the lengthy process of Olympic justice. The absence of traditionally strong teams—such as the German women, who had won six medals in 2006 and five in 2010, and the French women, who had won three in 2010—marked a shift in competitive balance. The participation of 35 nations reflected the sport's global reach.
Did You Know?
- The mixed relay was staged for the first time at the 2014 Winter Olympics, having been voted onto the program in 2011.
- Darya Domracheva of Belarus won three gold medals, the most of any biathlete at these Games.
- German biathlete Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle was disqualified from the mass start and mixed relay after testing positive for methylhexanamine.
- Evgeny Ustyugov and the Russian men's 4 × 7.5 km relay team were disqualified for doping; medals were reallocated in September 2025.
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