What was the original Olympic name for the event now known as biathlon?

Military patrol was the original Olympic name for the event now known as biathlon.

Military patrol combined cross-country skiing and rifle shooting, with teams representing military units or nations. Competitors skied over a demanding course while carrying equipment and then completed shooting stages. The event reflected the skills expected of soldiers operating in snowy terrain.

Military patrol appeared as a demonstration sport at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix. It returned as a demonstration event at several later Games, including 1928, 1936, and 1948. The discipline was eventually replaced by modern biathlon, which became an official Olympic medal sport at the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Olympics.

A common mix-up is treating military patrol and biathlon as completely unrelated events. Biathlon developed directly from the same combination of skiing and shooting, but its rules, distances, team structure, and scoring evolved substantially. Modern Olympic biathlon is primarily an individual and relay sport rather than a military team patrol.